Kingston Flyer on track to return

Six years have nearly passed since the Kingston Flyer last operated but the latest attempt to reinstate it is looking promising.

Maintenance work on the train and railway line between Kingston and Fairlight has been a familiar sight to locals in recent months.

The Pounamu Tourism Group has leased the train off the Kingston Flyer Ltd and is in the process of preparing documentation for resource consent from the Queenstown Lakes District Council and Southland District Council to operate the train as a tourist attraction.

Engineer and an independent consultant

Neville Simpson is overseeing maintenance work on one of the train’s two locomotives, the railway line and facilities.

‘‘One of the locomotives is in good condition but the other needs extensive work to the boiler and there’s nothing planned for it,’’ Simpson said.

A joiner has assessed replacing window sashes in the seven carriages.

Broom and other vegetation is being clear from the railway line and either side of it for an independent track inspection in the next few weeks. The total number of sleepers needing to be replaced would be known during the inspection.

The Pounamu Tourism Group’s plans also include introducing a ferry on Lake Wakatipu to transport tourists from Queenstown to Kingston for train rides. The ferry service operating to and from both destinations would be available to residents in the areas.

Talk of flyer possibly returning was welcome news to Kingston cafe and bar owner Gessica Veras.

‘‘It’s going to be great . . . a lot of people always ask about the train,’’ she said.

The Pounamu Tourism Group, of Blenheim, was committed to restoring the train, its managing director Paul Jackson said.

‘‘It’s probably New Zealand’s most iconic train.’’

Kingston Flyer Ltd completed negotiations to buy the train off the Bryce family in December.

It is hoped the Kingston Flyer will return later this year, and, inset, maintenance work being done on the Kingston-Fairlight railway line recently.