 The immediate precursor to the "Taneatua Express", and a victim of its introduction, was the "Thames Express", which operated from Auckland to Thames.The East Coast Main Trunk Railway, in its first incarnation, diverged from the Thames Branch in Paeroa (the Thames Branch later included the line from Morrinsville to Paeroa with the opening of the Kaimai Tunnel deviation), and when it opened in 1928, Thames swiftly declined in status as a railway terminus as services began operating through to the Bay of Plenty.A direct passenger service between Auckland and the Bay of Plenty terminus in Taneatua commenced upon the East Coast Main Trunk's opening, rendering the "Thames Express" superfluous as the "Taneatua" service ran all of the "Thames Express"s route except the final leg between Paeroa and Thames.