The last DFT in Tranz Rail blue livery leads DXB 5074 on train 623 Napier - Palmerston North out of a tunnel in the Manawatu Gorge. The highway on other side is almost continuous bridge sections built out from the steep and unstable hillside.
Trains on 3' 6" (1.067m) track from Whangarei to Bluff with virtually heritage rebuilt EMD and GE locomotives still the mainstay power. The network was privatized in 1990's and operated by Toll until 2008 when state owned KiwiRail was established.