NEW ZEALAND: National railway KiwiRail’s tourist train business Great Journeys New Zealand has unveiled a coach which has been refurbished to provide a premium ‘immersive travel experience’ on the 223 km TranzAlpine coast-to-coast service between Greymouth and Christchurch.
‘The innovative carriage is the icing on the cake for this world-class rail experience’, said Chief Customer & Growth Officer Adele Wilson on May 1. ‘Its stylish interiors, comfortable seating configurations and large panoramic windows enhance the experience of travelling through some of the world’s best scenery.’
The Scenic Plus class coach has been refurbished at KiwiRail’s Hutt workshop, with features including a coiling bird design and a ‘guardian eye’ sculpture. It has wi-fi and an infotainment app providing a storytelling feature which is linked to GPS-geolocation.
Passengers are offered ‘paddock to plate’ fine dining, with food and wine sourced from the area the train travels through.
As further coaches are refurbished to a similar standard, they will be added to other Great Journeys routes.
