The Moutohora line was Gisborne's first railroad. Its history goes back to June 1902 when the first train ran to Ormond and back. The new line was built in progressive stages. Te Karaka was reached in 1905 and the section to Moutohora, 78 km from Gisborne, was opened for traffic in 1917.
With each section of the line becoming available for railway operations, trains began running to and from Gisborne on regular schedules.
Much of the community life of Moutohora centered around the railroad and the arrival of the evening mixed train with passengers, store and mail from Gisborne was the highlight of the day. With the passing of years and the completion of the East Coast line from Napier to Wairoa and Gisborne, the Moutohora section began to lose much of its individuality.
The line was taken over by the Railways Department in February 1943 but a serious shortage of locomotive fuel was then facing the department and the signs were ominous for the Gisborne/Moutohora line. Railway road Services buses took over the passenger side of the business and mixed trains were discontinued.
For some years after this, a daily freight train continued to run between Gisborne and Moutohora but dwindling tonnage and mounting costs had already cemented the fate of the line.
The last train ran on 14 March 1959 and demolition gangs began ripping up the tracks and sleepers a few weeks later. By 1960 nothing was left of the line except the three mile section from Gisborne to Makaraka still used occasionally by shunting services.
