The arrival of the Blue Streak and later Silver Fern railcars saw an end for a time to regular carriage trains.

At the time of its cessation, The Overlander was usually hauled by DC or EF locomotives with NZR 56-foot carriages.

In 2012, passenger numbers were in decline and KiwiRail decided to replace the Overlander with the Northern Explorer, from Monday 25 June 2012.

The timetable was accelerated by eliminating intermediate stops, except Paraparaumu, Palmerston North, Ohakune, National Park, Otorohanga (summer only), Hamilton and Papakura.

[7] From October 2016, fire-suppressed DFB class locomotives (as required for diesel-hauled passenger trains in tunnels) were assigned to the service.