Our Story
A railway story that keeps moving
Today's scenic train journeys are part of a railway story stretching back more than 140 years.
The railway through the Taieri Gorge was built to connect Dunedin with the communities and industries developing inland. It carried passengers and freight, supported farming and settlement, and created an important connection between Dunedin and the goldfields of Central Otago.
Over time, the purpose of the railway changed. What began as a transport route became a journey people wanted to experience in its own right.
From the construction of the Otago Central Railway to the first excursion trains, the creation of the Taieri Gorge Railway, the growth of Dunedin Railways and our latest chapter as Dunedin Railway Station, this is the story of a railway that has continued to find new reasons to keep moving.
From the goldfields to the railway
The discovery of gold in Otago in the 1860s transformed the region.
People, supplies and investment moved inland as mining settlements grew across Central Otago, while Dunedin developed rapidly as the commercial centre supporting the region.
Plans developed for a railway connecting Dunedin with inland Otago, improving access to the goldfields while supporting farming, settlement and the movement of passengers and goods.
Construction of the Otago Central Railway began in the late 1870s. Building through the Taieri Gorge presented considerable engineering challenges, with tunnels, bridges and viaducts required to carry the railway through the steep and difficult terrain.
The railway reached Hindon in 1889 and Middlemarch in 1891 before continuing further into Central Otago.
For generations, the line connected Dunedin with inland communities and carried passengers, freight and supplies through the Taieri Gorge.
From transport route to railway experience
As transport changed, another reason for travelling the railway began to emerge. People wanted to experience the journey itself.
The roots of today's scenic rail operation can be traced to railway enthusiasts who began organising excursion trains from Dunedin in the 1950s.
The Otago Excursion Train Trust was formed in 1978, building on this earlier excursion activity. After restoring passenger carriages, the Trust operated its first excursion from Dunedin to Cromwell in October 1979.
Over the following decade, thousands of passengers travelled aboard excursions into Central Otago and across other parts of New Zealand. Regular journeys through the Taieri Gorge became particularly popular.
By the mid-1980s, the Trust recognised the potential to develop the journey through the gorge as a regular visitor experience.
The Taieri Gorge Limited
In February 1987, the Taieri Gorge Limited was launched as a regular scenic train service.
It marked an important change. Travelling through the Taieri Gorge was no longer simply about getting from one place to another. The railway, its engineering and the landscapes it travelled through had become part of the reason for making the journey.
A new style of passenger carriage was developed for the service, with large panoramic windows, air conditioning and onboard catering facilities.
The Taieri Gorge Limited was becoming established as a Dunedin visitor experience just as the future of the railway itself came into question.
Saving the railway
In 1989, New Zealand Railways announced the closure of the Otago Central Railway.
For passenger journeys through the Taieri Gorge to continue, the railway needed to be saved.
The Dunedin City Council moved to secure the railway through to Middlemarch, while the Otago Excursion Train Trust faced the challenge of raising the money required to continue and develop the operation.
The community responded. A fundraising campaign raised approximately $1.2 million in cash, pledges and gifts-in-kind, helping secure the future of the railway and allowing passenger trains to continue travelling through the Taieri Gorge.
The railway beyond Middlemarch would eventually begin another chapter of its own, with the former railway corridor between Middlemarch and Clyde becoming the Otago Central Rail Trail.
The Taieri Gorge Railway
Saving the line created the foundation for the Taieri Gorge Railway.
The Otago Excursion Train Trust initially leased the railway corridor from the Dunedin City Council and continued operating passenger trains between Dunedin and the Taieri Gorge.
As the operation grew, so did the investment required to maintain and develop it.
In the mid-1990s, the Dunedin City Council and Otago Excursion Train Trust established Taieri Gorge Railway Limited, bringing their railway assets together within a jointly owned company.
Based at Dunedin Railway Station, the company continued developing the railway as a visitor experience, supported by paid staff and volunteers whose involvement had been central to the railway's survival.
From Taieri Gorge Railway to Dunedin Railways
Over time, the experience grew beyond the Taieri Gorge. Coastal journeys gave passengers another way to travel by rail from Dunedin, following the railway north along the Pacific coastline. Special and charter journeys also became part of the programme.
As the operation expanded beyond one route, Taieri Gorge Railway became Dunedin Railways.
The name reflected a broader scenic rail operation based in Dunedin, while the Taieri Gorge remained at the heart of the experience.
A new chapter at Dunedin Railway Station
Today, our story has returned its focus to the place where our journeys begin.
For many years, our scenic rail experiences operated under the Dunedin Railways name. Today, they sit within the Dunedin Railway Station brand, connecting the railway more clearly with the historic place it calls home.
Dunedin Railway Station is one of the city's best-known heritage landmarks. It is also a working railway station, the departure point for our scenic train journeys and a starting point for exploring further into Dunedin and Otago.
The Taieri Gorge remains our flagship scenic rail journey, alongside The Seasider and a changing programme of seasonal and special journeys throughout the year.
One place, two connected stories
Dunedin Railway Station and the scenic railway operation based here have their own histories.
The landmark station building opened in 1906 and has a story of its own, from its architecture and railway heritage to its changing role in the city.
Our scenic rail story follows a different path: from the Otago Central Railway and the people who travelled it, through the work of the Otago Excursion Train Trust, the Taieri Gorge Railway and Dunedin Railways, to the journeys departing from Dunedin Railway Station today.
Those stories now meet at the station.
Still going places
The role of this railway has changed considerably since construction began. It has connected inland communities with Dunedin. It has carried freight and generations of passengers. It has faced closure, been saved through community support and found a new purpose as a scenic railway.
Today, we're continuing that story.
Our trains take passengers through the Taieri Gorge, along the coast and aboard seasonal and special journeys throughout the year, while new connections make the station a starting point for exploring further into Otago.
The railway was built to connect Dunedin with the places beyond it. More than 140 years later, that's still what it does.