It links Wanganui with the Marton - New Plymouth Line (MNPL) at Aramoho and has been open since 21 January 1878, although solely for freight traffic since 7 September 1959.
[3] By 1877, it was proceeding apace, and the five kilometres from the central Wanganui station up the western bank of the Whanganui River to Aramoho were opened for service on 21 January 1878.
The five kilometres between Wanganui and Aramoho became a branch of the MNPL from 1879 when work began on completing the line north to New Plymouth and the Taranaki region.
Passenger services were originally provided by slow mixed trains, with a September 1878 timetable allowing for three daily to Palmerston North.
In Aramoho, it exchanged some carriages with the express so that passengers from Wellington or New Plymouth did not have to change trains to reach Wanganui and vice versa.
[8] By the start of the 20th century, the slow mixed services between Wanganui and Hawera had become the subject of complaints that they did not suit the convenience of the locals for whom they were operated.
[7] The only passenger services on the branch since 1959 have been infrequent excursions, such as those operated by Steam Incorporated and the New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society.