Taieri Gorge Railway

One of the world’s most spectacular rail trips - it’s a must! The train winds for about 50kms through a wilderness area, along the side of a rocky gorge like nothing else in NZ. Incredible views and great commentary along the way, covering social, cultural and environmental history.

Fabulous experience traveling through rugged landscapes from coast to highland plains. Great commentary over the PA throughout trip and good food and beverage options in dining car. Friendly knowledgeable staff and comfortable seating with plenty of opportunities to take video and photos from the carriage observation platforms.

This is a great experience for families or individuals. The coaches are air conditioned and quite comfortable. Each coach has a nice bathroom. There is great narrative throughout the trip.

Wonderful and helpful staff, great commentary throughout, interesting scenery. We did a one way trip from Dunedin to Pukerangi with our loaded bikes to get to the start of the Otago rail trail and the process was simple and staff efficient. Highly recommend the trip!

This railway will take you around the mountains and with all the information by host. Enjoying this tour along with lovely staff it's really happiness. And the food and drinks will not disappoint at all. There are all the facilities in the train. This train is accessible for ADA and companion too. It has all the safety equipment onboard. The tour is about 5.5 hrs and this tour is one of the wonderful experience. Rather than photos just go with enjoying nature and food and drink.

Our journey on15/1/24 was enhanced considerably by the excellent commentary given by the young hostess .She was very articulate and informative about the history of the district and the railway. Thankyou. BH

I have been on this trip ,many many times over the past 20+ years and the scenery never gets old. The trip to Pukerangi and back takes roughly 4 hours though it took us closer to 4 and a half because we had to wait for one of the cruise ship trains to pass. The commentary was informative and humorous. I have rated this only 4 stars for one reason. When I went with my 4 year old daughter to purchase some food and drinks we were told that they had new machines but the eftpos hadn't been set up yet. While this is probably not their fault I would have been good to have known beforehand so I could have got some cash out to take on the trip. Needless to say, after four and a half hours we were both starving and very thirsty. Perhaps they should have had complimentary water? All in all it was still a great trip with views on both sides of the train. The Taieri River begins on the left but changes over to the right side around Hyde I believe it is. I will no doubt go on this trip again.

Great trip. Comfortable seating. A bit disappointed we never got more photos. Some people were unwilling to have turns on viewing platforms.

A neighbor recommended that we take the Taieri Gorge Railway trip so we booked it through our cruise line. The train cars were waiting for us in Port Chalmers. Some of the cars were vintage, others from the 1960's. We were seated in one of the 1960's cars. The cars are hosted by volunteers who provided the drinks and food during our ride. They are train buffs but sure do work hard for the opportunity to ride and meet people. There was narration throughout the trip. We had a brief stop in Hindon to get out and stretch our legs and then a longer stop at the end in Pukerangi. Local artisans had tables set up there selling wool items and other hand-made souvenirs. Heading back to Port Chalmers we stopped at the Dunedin Railway Station for about 20 minutes, enough time to take pictures of this beautiful station, inside and out. Overall an enjoyable tour though too much sitting for me.

We took the train for the half day trip to Taieri Gorge. The trip was fun and we saw many places that you wouldn't see from the road. This train goes through some very steep countryside and across a number of bridges. We did the ride in Mar 2017

It blows my mind that I lived in Dunedin for 5 years and never even knew about the Taieri Gorge Train. Granted, I was a student who was probably more concerned with getting OTP at Gardies and the train doesn't actually go anywhere useful (Middlemarch & Pukerangi) but still.... In fact, the only reason that I found out about the Taieri Gorge Railway was because I was did the Central Otago Rail Trail, which ends in Middlemarch. My family were taking the shuttle back to QT but I needed to get to Dunedin and after a little research, I found out there was a train. Chuffed! Who doesn't love a train ride.... Arriving at the Pukerangi station - a tiny wooden shack surrounded by farmland, I didn't have very high expectations. I thought we'd be travelling in an old musty train through flat farmland. Well, I was wrong. The train was actually reasonably modern with large panoramic windows and the scenery was spectacular. The train hugged to the side of the steep cliffs with water rushing beneath. It was actually somewhat exhilarating. We saw hawks, salmon and even a family of wild mountain goats huddled together on a sheer-faced ledge. All up the trip took a couple of hours - from Pukerangi to the Dunedin Railway Station. I was told you can do return trips in a day so if you're visiting Dunedin and want a relaxing tourist activity I'd definitely recommend this! Fabulous way to see South Island scenery - I only wish I'd done it earlier!