Tunnels in New Zealand

This list of Tunnels in New Zealand is a link page for any railway tunnel, road tunnel or waterway tunnel, including any hydroelectric intake or tailrace or gun battery tunnel anywhere in the New Zealand. It includes man-made chambers but excludes caves and mines.

Hydroelectric Tunnels and Chambers

• Manapouri Power Station - Machine hall (111 m long, 18 m wide, 34 m high) and road access tunnel 2040 m long, 6.7 m wide and high, with a semi-circular arch roof.
• Manapouri Tailrace - 2 Tunnels - original tailrace tunnel 9817 m, 9.2 m diameter horseshoe section, commenced 1964, breakthrough 1968 drill-and-blast construction, sixteen deaths. Second tailrace tunnel 9829 m, 10.05 m diameter, circular section, commenced 1997, breakthrough 2001, commissioned April 2002, tunnel boring machine construction, zero deaths.
• Tongariro Power Scheme

Gun Battery or Military Tunnels

• Devonport Tunnels, Auckland
• Stony Batter, Waiheke Island
• Wrights Hill Fortress, Wellington
• Cashmere Hills - Chamber, Christchurch
• Godley Head, Christchurch

Railway Tunnels

From longest to shortest.

1. Kaimai - 8879 m - opened 12 September 1978 - at Apata on the East Coast Main Trunk Line to Tauranga.
2. Rimutaka - 8798 m - opened 29 October 1955 - between Upper Hutt (Wellington) and Featherston (Wairarapa), replaced the Rimutaka Incline, a Fell mountain railway.
3. Otira - 8566 m - opened 1923 - between Arthur's Pass and Otira, in the Southern Alps on the transalpine Midland Line - continuous 1 in 33 grade - electrified until 1990s.
4. Tawa No. 2 - 4324 m - opened 1935, goods on 1 line, 1937 all traffic - longest double-track tunnel in New Zealand. Between Wellington (near Ngauranga) and Glenside (near Tawa).
5. Tikiwhata - 2989 m - opened 1943, between Wairoa and Gisborne.
6. Lyttelton - 2596 m - opened 1867, between Heathcote Valley, (Christchurch) and Lyttelton.
7. Turakina - 2091 m - opened 1947, between Marton, New Zealand and Wanganui.

Shortest Tunnels not constructed by the cut and cover technique

1. A 39.83 m long tunnel - opened 1906, between Staircase and Avoca, South Island Midland Line.
2. A 42.05 m long tunnel - opened 1891, near Woodville, in the Manawatu Gorge.

Some Disused Railway Tunnels

In the North Island

• Cruickshanks Tunnel - opened 1 January 1878, between Mangaroa and Upper Hutt. Public access uncertain (see Valley Signals site (http://www.trainweb.org/valleysignals/tunnels/cruickshanks.html) for information)
• Mangaroa Tunnel - 152 m - opened 1 January 1878, at Tunnel Gully recreation area, Te Marua, Upper Hutt. Accessible by public walkway.
• Summit - 584 m, and 3 other shorter tunnels, opened 12 October 1878 on the Rimutaka Incline (now a walkway).
• Okaihau - on the never opened section of line to Rangiahua, now used for road traffic.
• Single track Parnell tunnel, adjacent to the current double-track tunnel.
• Karangahake Tunnel - 1006 m, in the Karangahake Gorge, on the former East Coast Main Trunk, closed in 1978. Now part of a walkway.
• Porootarao Tunnel - 1071 m, replaced by new tunnel on deviation in 1980.
• Nine tunnels on the North Island Main Trunk that were deviated around between 1981 and 1985. Most were on the Mangaweka Deviation. Hedgehog tunnel near Taihape is adjacent to State Highway 1; access to the rest is unknown.
• Four tunnels on the closed Moutohora Branch ranging from 45 to 258 m in length. One tunnel is accessible on a public walkway, the others can all be viewed from public roads.
• Three tunnels of unknown status on the closed Ngatapa Branch. Public access unknown.
• No. 24 tunnel on the Palmerston North - Gisborne line - 123 m (collapsed).
• No. 12 tunnel on the Wellington & Manawatu Railway (now NIMT) - abandoned in 1900.

In the South Island

• Spooners Range Tunnel - 308 m, on the closed Nelson Section. Accessible by public walkway.
• Kawatiri Tunnel - on the closed Nelson Section. Accessible by public walkway.
• Abandoned tunnel - near Oaro? on the Main South Line. Partially collapsed.
• Chasm Creek - former Seddonville Branch. Accessible by public walkway.
• Charming Creek - former private coal railway. Accessible by public walkway.
• Former coal tramways at Stockton and Denniston. Public access.
• Cape Foulwind - former quarry line. Public access but tunnel has largely collapsed.
• Rewanui Incline - 2 short tunnels now used by access road.
• Puketeraki - 157 m. Track deviated around in a cutting. Partly collapsed and ends have been fenced over.
• Sawyers Bay, Dunedin - 101 m, track deviated through new tunnel. Status unknown.
• Caversham, Dunedin - 865 m, track deviated through new double-track tunnel. Public access to both ends but it is quite muddy (access is down the steps beside Kaikorai Valley Nurseries (between intersections with Ensor Street and Townleys Road) and also on the opposite side of road to the Caversham entrance of the current tunnel).
• Chain Hills (Wingatui) - 889 m, track deviated through new double-track tunnel. Public access unknown.
• Three tunnels on the Otago Central Rail Trail (former Otago Central Branch), ranging in length from 152 to 229 m. All have public access.
• Three tunnels on the former Roxburgh Branch ranging from 226 to 443 m. Tunnel 1 is in public reserve, access to the others is uncertain.
• Rakis - on the former Tokarahi Branch. Can be seen from road, on private land.
• Conical Hill - 71 m, on the former Tapanui Branch. Public access unknown.
• Hunts Road - 221 m, former Catlins Branch. Public walkway access.
• Glenham Branch, 301 m. Possible public access.

Sources for Railway Tunnels:

• New Zealand Railway Tunnels at http://trains.wellington.net.nz (http://trains.wellington.net.nz/tunnels.html)
• New Zealand Railway Tunnels at 31st March 1975 (http://trains.wellington.net.nz/tunnels2.html)
• Exploring New Zealand's Ghost Railways, David Leitch and Brian Scott, Grantham House Publishing, Wellington (1995).
• New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas, Quail Map Co, UK (various editions)
• See also: Rail transport in New Zealand

Road Tunnels

• Lyttelton Road Tunnel - 1900 m - opened 1964, on SH 74 between Lyttelton and the Heathcote Valley in Christchurch.
• Homer Tunnel - 1200 m - completed 1953, opened 1954, on SH 94 between Hollyford Valley and Milford Sound, Fiordland. Mean altitude 945 m. Unlined rock.
• Mount Victoria Tunnel - 600 m - SH 1, opened 1931, Mount Victoria, Wellington.
• Karori Tunnel, between Kelburn and Karori, Wellington.
• Northland Tunnel, between Northland and Karori, Wellington.
• Hataitai - bus tunnel, Mount Victoria, Wellington.
• Seatoun tunnel, between Strathmore and Seatoun, Wellington.
• The Terrace Motorway Tunnel, SH 1, under The Terrace, Wellington.
• Moki Tunnel - approx 200 m, SH 43 between Whangamomona and Taumarunui - uses wooden shoring.
• There are two short twin road tunnels on SH 1, on the coast a few kilometres south of Kaikoura.

• There are short (less than 50 m) tunnels on SH 3 between New Plymouth and Te Kuiti - one at the summit of Mt Messenger and a single-lane one in the Awakino gorge.
• There are one or two short tunnels north of Okaihau constructed for railway purposes but now used by road traffic.

See also: List of Tunnels of the World.