Glen Afton Branch

Glen Afton Branch
1955 Glen Afton, showing coal mining area, view to Pukemiro Collieries coal processing plant with railway in valley. Whites Aviation Ltd :Photographs. Ref: WA-38779-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington.
Overview
Other name(s)Rotowaro Branch,
Rotowaro Industrial Line,
Awaroa Branch
StatusOpen
OwnerKiwiRail
Termini
Stations7
Service
Operator(s)KiwiRail
Rolling stockNone
History
Opened1911
Extended to Pukemiro20 December 1915
Extended to Glen Afton14 June 1924
Closed beyond Rotowaro5 March 1973
Technical
Line length7.97 km (4.95 mi)
Number of tracksSingle
CharacterRural
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map

km
0.00
Huntly
Huntly Town
Huntly West
Weavers Crossing
Mahuta
7.97
Rotowaro
Rotowaro
(original)
Taupiri Collieries
Rotowaro
(heritage)
Pukemiro Juction
Pukemiro Colliery
14.10
Glen Afton

The Glen Afton Branch was a branch railway line of 7.9 km (originally 14.1 km) in the Waikato in New Zealand, built to serve coal mines in the Awaroa district west of Huntly at Rotowaro, Pukemiro and Glen Afton. Rotowaro is Māori for "coal lake".

When handed over from Public Works to NZR in 1915 it was called the Awaroa Branch, but was also known as the Glen Afton Branch to about 1974, then as the Rotowaro Branch to 3 November 1988, then as the Rotowaro Industrial Line. By 2014 it was again named the Rotowaro Branch.