This railroad line over Arthurs Pass is considered one of the most beautiful in the world. We can confirm this in that it is probably one of the most beautiful and varied we know. First the train passes through the plain of Canterburry, which is dominated by agriculture (lots of sheep). Then the track follows a beautiful river valley to Arthurs Pass, where there are only barren pastures for sheep. On the west coast, small palm trees can be found in the woods and shrubs along the route. The area is so lonely that it looks like the train is going through the middle of "Nowhere".
On the way we crossed about 4 coal trains, but not a single passenger train. This is because the TranzAlpine is the only daily connection between East and West. Instead, the coal from the mines in the west is transported by train to the port of Lyttelton (near Christchurch).
The terminus of the TranzAlpine is Greymouth, the largest settlement (yes, not a town, it's more like a village) on the west coast. There the stores close on Saturday afternoon between 2:00 and 3:00 PM. After that, it's almost like a ghost town there. In the evening, when bars and restaurants attract people, it is a bit more lively again.
We spent the night in the nicely located youth hostel.
Although the west coast is said to have a lot of rain, we got very good weather and were thus affected by only about 2h of bad weather.