RAIL TRAIL

The Otago Central Rail Trail is a year-round recreational facility, designed for walkers, mountain bikers and horse riders.  It is a public reserve and can be walked or ridden in either direction.

There is no charge for its use although donations can be made to the OCRT Trust in the boxes provided.

Modelled on Rails to Trails projects elsewhere in the world, the trail follows the former Otago Central Branch railway line from Middlemarch to Clyde.  Completed at the turn of the 20th century – in the days when it took travellers two days to make the journey between Dunedin and Central Otago, and even longer for freight – the rail provided a vital link between New Zealand's largest city and the country's major goldfields. And, for 83 years, the railway brought a steady stream of commerce and activity to a number of towns and communities throughout Central Otago.

However, as roads improved, cars became faster and restrictions on distances trucks were permitted to carry goods were lifted, the railway's use waned. In 1990, this 150km stretch of the line was closed permanently.

The Department of Conservation saw the disused railway's potential for outdoors enthusiasts, and acquired the line in 1993. Six years and over $850,000 were then spent preparing and upgrading the closed railway for its current use, which involved redecking the trail's 68 bridges, several over 100m in length, and furnishing them with hand rails.

All the railway's original sleepers, rails and crushed rock ballast have been removed, and users now find a trail similar to a good gravel road.  The difference is, on the Rail Trail, there are no motor vehicles or hills!

Opened in February 2000, the Rail Trail is now one of a kind within New Zealand. Steeped in a sense of history and remoteness, it provides a chance to view scenery unable to be seen from the highway. It has also preserved, largely intact, an important part of Otago's heritage.

Ride it, walk it, experience it!