The scene of Auckland Christmas In The Park is stuck in a train

Somewhere south of Kaikōura, the stage of Christmas In The Park is stuck in a train.

Trains between Picton and Christchurch have been stopped since Monday and the route should not be open until at least Friday morning.

Among the many containers that were waiting to head north were those carrying the Christmas stage in the park.

Although Kiwi Rail promised to organize the Auckland stage urgently, concert organizers were naturally stressed.

The annual Christmas show started on Saturday in Christchurch, where party fanatics gathered in the rain to sing, dance and wait for Santa's arrival.

The big stage and the sound installations then had to be moved north to Auckland, in time for the show on Saturday, December 8th. However, the scene was still in containers south of Kaikōura.

Event producer John Searle said the material should be in Auckland by Sunday to stay on track.

"There is still a chance we can have the boxes here on Sunday," he said, apparently optimistic. Although the long-time producer, who works with Christmas In The Park since its inception in 1994, said such incidents were "the reason why I have gray hair".

Kiwi Rail commercial director Alan Piper said heavy rains had made the runway dangerous.

"The precipitation level was well above our safety thresholds for train traffic between Christchurch and Picton," he said.

The heavy rain, which fell about 90 millimeters a day near Kaikōura, caused slips on roads and railways. SH1 was closed south of Kaikura on Wednesday morning, after a bullet was laid on a tree on the road.

Piper said that a number of cards were blocking the train line on Thursday. However, he expected the trains to carry goods again on Friday.

He also promised that the Christmas equipment in the park would be moved as soon as possible. "We are aware of the urgency of getting equipment north of Auckland for their next event.

The backlog of pending cargo will be eliminated over the weekend, he said.