#4143

NZR RM class (Silver Fern)

🇳🇿 New Zealand ·built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries· from 1972· class of 3 New Zealand railcars

3 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences

1. RM 24 on rugby special train: Alex Burgess· CC BY-SA 3.0
2. NZR RM class Silver Fern 01: Matthew25187 ( talk )· CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Silver Fern Railcar.NZ (10499226666): Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand· CC0

what is it?

The NZR RM class Silver Fern was a class of rail motor in New Zealand. The three air-conditioned and sound-proofed 723-kW 96-seater diesel-electric twin-set railcars were built by Kawasaki under contract with Nissho Iwai of Japan. New Zealand Railways (NZR) classified the railcars as RM (Rail Motor), the same as other railcars, using the Silver Ferns (a national symbol of New Zealand) because of their exterior was made of corrugated stainless steel, like the premier night sleeper train that also ran on the Wellington-Auckland (North Island Main Trunk) route, the Silver Star.

who runs it

New Zealand Railways Department New Zealand Railways Corporation Tranz Rail Auckland Regional Transport Authority

base stats

speed 120 km/htop speed
power 670 kWpower output
weight 107 tin working order
seats 96passengers
built 3made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

First built 54 years ago, in 1972.
670 kW is about 8 family cars (~85 kW each) flat out.
Weighs about as much as 18 African elephants (~6 t each).
47.4 m long: about 11 cars parked nose to tail.
Served for 47 years (1972–2019).

multiple unit: A self-propelled train: motors are spread under the passenger cars, so no separate locomotive.

spec sheet

built: 1972
in service from: 1972
retired: 2019
status: retired
number built: 3
kind: multiple unit
traction: diesel
origin: 🇳🇿 New Zealand
builders: Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Toshiba, Kawasaki Railcar Manufacturing
operators: New Zealand Railways Department, New Zealand Railways Corporation, Tranz Rail, Auckland Regional Transport Authority
top speed: 120 km/h
power: 670 kW
gauge: 1,067 mm Cape gauge
length: 47.4 m
weight: 107 t
capacity: 96 passengers

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q6956238, Wikipedia: NZR RM class (Silver Fern) (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-25.