An aerial view of the grand, ornate Dunedin Railway Station surrounded by gardens, city streets, and rolling hills under a blue sky.

Onboard Experience

Settle in and enjoy the journey

Travel aboard classic railway carriages designed to let you experience the journey at a different pace.

Take your seat, watch the landscape change outside the window, listen to live onboard storytelling and step onto a viewing platform when conditions allow.

Two women laughing and holding coffee cups inside the Taieri Gorge vintage wooden train car .

Classic railway carriages

Our passenger carriages combine the character of rail travel with the facilities needed for a comfortable scenic journey. Seating is allocated at check-in.

Two women inside the Taieri Gorge train car point excitedly out the window at a mountain landscape.

Move between the view and your seat

You don't need to spend the entire journey in one place. Viewing platforms provide opportunities to experience the railway and landscape from another perspective when it is safe to do so.

A passenger looks out a train window at a coastal landscape with green hills and the ocean inside The Seasider train.

Live onboard storytelling

Our storytellers share the people, places, railway history and engineering connected with the journey as you travel.

An open cardboard lunch box containing a frosted pastry, a bunch of grapes, crackers, and a wrapped item next to a bottled water aboard the Taieri Gorge Train.

Food & drink

An onboard café operates on every scenic train journey, with food and drinks available to purchase. We recommend bringing some cash, as card payment availability can be affected in areas with limited mobile coverage.

Food & Drink

A vintage yellow Taieri Gorge train at night time at the Dunedin Railway station platform with passengers boarding.

Facilities onboard

Our classic carriages include toilet facilities, heating and air conditioning.

Facilities