Desultory work beyond Glenhope went on until 1931, but the Nelson section was never connected to the rest of the South Island rail network.
[1] In response to the call for an alternative connection to the rest of the South Island network, Prime Minister Sidney Holland promised completion of a survey of possible northern routes from Nelson to Blenheim, and reports on other potential routes via the West Coast.
[1] In the meantime, in recognition of transport problems caused by Nelson's lack of a rail connection, Prime Minister Holland announced the government would subsidise the cost of transporting passengers and goods by road between Nelson and Blenheim so that the charges to the users would be the same as if a railway already existed.
[4] On 1 March 1960 the Labour government, elected with a one-seat majority in 1957, broke ground on a line from Nelson to Blenheim.
However the Labour government lasted only one three-year term, and on 14 December 1960 the new National Party Prime Minister Keith Holyoake announced that all work on the Nelson–Blenheim line was to stop immediately, and the enabling legislation would be repealed in the first session of the new parliament.