The first official train for Motupiko departed Nelson on 2 March 1899 carrying Railways Department officials who inspected the line along the way. After interested parties in the Tadmor Valley successfully prevailed upon the government to choose a longer route through their area rather than the shorter route over the Hope Saddle selected by the Midland Railway Company, work began on the section to Tadmor in July 1901. Locals expected rapid progress, as the only major work on this section was the Motueka River road-rail bridge. It was, however, this part of the job that was to be the source of considerable delays that prevented the opening of this section until August 1906. Though the bridge itself was finished in good time (in March 1904), it was to be the following October before the approaches were completed by the Public Works Department. The delays frustrated locals to the extent that they made representations to the government over their concerns at the lack of progress. The response was to the effect that there was a lack of resources – both men and money – for the government to devote to railway construction, especially considering all the other railway projects under-way at the time and that Nelson would just have to wait its turn. The opening date for the section slipped several times, being planned for December 1905, Easter 1906 then 24 May (Empire Day) before finally being set for 6 August. The occasion was not considered to be an official opening, due to the lack of government (ministerial) representation, brought about by the unexpected death of Premier of New Zealand Richard Seddon on 10 June 1906. The deviation of the line through the Tadmor Valley required three authorisations from the government before the work could proceed, those being: Motupiko – Tadmor, Tadmor – Tui, and Tui – Glenhope. A work camp was established at Kaka, including a school for the children, at which the men were based while they worked on the extension of the line from Tadmor. By 1908, ballasting and plate laying had reached Kiwi station. This section was handed over to the Railways Department on 18 December 1908. Of the three sections of the deviation, the last – to Glenhope – was considered to be the most difficult. It had to pass over the Tadmor Saddle and cross numerous steep-sided creeks. In May 1911, the Nelson Chamber of Commerce dispatched 25 of its members to the camp at Kaka to see for themselves why progress was so slow. After being shown around the construction site at the Tadmor Saddle and listening to the troubles that had been encountered with the unstable ground and earthworks, they were assured that despite the amount of work remaining, the project was nearing completion.