[3] Some construction work was carried out beyond Tāneatua towards Opotiki in 1928, and an opening ceremony was held for the new line (the ECMT) in Tauranga on 28 March 1928.

[4][5][6][7] When the Minister of Public Works Bob Semple turned the first sod for building the Paeroa–Pokeno Line on 28 January 1938, it was said that the proposed 47 km (29 mi) line would shorten the distance from Auckland to towns on the ECMT by nearly 80 km (50 mi).

Following the Great Depression, the Second World War and the greater availability of road vehicles in the period after the war, the proposal was dropped and Tāneatua remained the eastern terminus of the railway line in the Bay of Plenty.

[13] A passenger service was provided on the line with the Taneatua Express from Auckland between 1928 and 1959.

[18] Tūhoe Charitable Trust built an eco-village on the former Tāneatua railway yard [19][20]