Editing South Island (section)

===Rail transport===
{{see also|List of New Zealand railway lines|Rail transport in New Zealand}}
[[File:SouthIsland rrMap v02.svg|thumb|South Island Rail Network map]]

The South Island's railway network has two main lines, two secondary lines, and a few [[branch line]]s. The [[Main North Line, New Zealand|Main North Line]] from Picton to Christchurch and the [[Main South Line]] from Lyttelton to Invercargill via Dunedin together constitute the [[South Island Main Trunk Railway]]. The secondary [[Midland Line, New Zealand|Midland Line]] branches from the Main South Line in [[Rolleston, New Zealand|Rolleston]] and passes through the [[Southern Alps]] via the [[Otira Tunnel]] to the West Coast and its terminus in [[Greymouth]]. In [[Stillwater, West Coast|Stillwater]], it meets the other secondary route, the [[Stillwater - Westport Line]], which now includes the [[Seddonville Branch|Ngakawau Branch]].

A number of other secondary routes are now closed, including the [[Otago Central Railway]], the isolated [[Nelson Section]], and the interdependent [[Waimea Plains Railway]] and [[Kingston Branch (New Zealand)|Kingston Branch]]. An expansive network of branch lines once existed, especially in Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, but these are now almost completely closed. The branch lines that remain in operation serve ports ([[Bluff Branch]] and [[Port Chalmers Branch]]), coal mines ([[Wairio Branch|Ohai Branch]] and [[Rapahoe Branch]]), and a dairy factory ([[Ross Branch (railway line)|Hokitika Branch]]). The first 64&nbsp;km of the Otago Central Railway remain in operation for tourist trains run by [[Dunedin Railways]] (formerly Taieri Gorge Railway). The most significant freight is coal from West Coast mines to the port of Lyttelton for export.

Passenger services were once extensive. Commuter trains operated multiple routes around Christchurch and Dunedin, plus a service between Invercargill and Bluff. Due to substantial losses, these were cancelled between the late 1960s and early 1980s. The final services to operate ran between Dunedin's City Centre and the suburb of [[Mosgiel]], and they ceased in 1982.<ref>Tony Hurst, ''Farewell to Steam: Four Decades of Change on New Zealand Railways'' (Auckland: HarperCollins, 1995), 96.</ref> Regional passenger trains were once extensive, but are now limited to the [[Coastal Pacific]] from Christchurch to Picton and the [[TranzAlpine]] from Christchurch to Greymouth.

The [[Southerner (New Zealand train)|Southerner]] between Christchurch and Invercargill, once the flagship of the network, was cancelled on 10 February 2002. Subsequently, the architecturally significant [[Dunedin Railway Station]] has been used solely by the TGR's tourist trains, the Taieri Gorge Limited along the Otago Central Railway and the [[Seasider (train)|Seasider]] to [[Palmerston, New Zealand|Palmerston]]. Rural passenger services on branch lines were provided by [[mixed train]]s and [[NZR RM class (Vulcan)|Vulcan]]/[[NZR RM class (88 seater)|88 seater]] [[railcar]]s but the mixeds had largely ceased to exist by the 1950s and the railcars were withdrawn in the mid-1970s.

The South Island saw the final use of [[steam locomotive]]s in New Zealand. Locomotives belonging to classes long withdrawn elsewhere continued to operate on West Coast branches until the very late 1960s, when they were displaced by [[New Zealand DJ class locomotive|DJ class]] diesels. In comparison to most countries, where steam locomotives were last used on insubstantial rural and industrial operations, the last services run by steam locomotives were the premier expresses between Christchurch and Invercargill: the [[South Island Limited]] until 1970 and the Friday and Sunday night services until 1971. This was due to the carriages being steam-heated. The final steam-hauled service in New Zealand, headed by a member of the [[NZR Ja class|J<sup>A</sup> class]], ran on 26 October 1971.<ref>David Leitch, ''Steam, Steel and Splendour'' (Auckland: HarperCollins, 1994), 89.</ref>