KiwiRail DFB 7158Shannon Shannon

This is Linton, right? Nicely timed shot with that lovely lighting. Lucky you're not stuck in Auckland!

Thank you very much!
This picture was taken about 1km North of Shannon station. There are many good spots on this line with mountain background.

Old DFT locomotives are still going strong, manufactured by GMD in Canada during 1979-1981 and considered very reliable. They are used mostly on lines with low track quality due to their lower axel load (14 t) compared to new locomotives, for example this train from Whanganui. Their operational speed is 110 km/h.

In general the freight trains in New Zealand are relatively fast, considering world standards. For example, some intermodal trains have scheduled average speed exceeding 70 km/h.

Not to sound like I'm boasting, but normal intermodal trains here in the UK travel at around 120km/h (or 75mph because we use imperials)

@Greg Indeed 120 km/h as maximum speed for intermodal trains is common in many countries, for example in EU, UK and USA.
However, freight average speed between departure and arrival stations mostly is 50-60 km/h or less.