Dunedin NZ railway station

I was going through a box of "junk" from my father's estate and I found a glossy pamphlet from the Dunedin NZ train station. Looks like it's a pretty nice building, but I don't see any passenger service to Dunedin anymore. Because this forum seems to have an expert on NZ rail history, I'd like to ask what the south island passenger service was like, when it ended and will it ever return? Thanks

Dunedin is by far New Zealands most glamorous railway station .
http://www.cityofdunedin.com/city/?page=restore_railway
Mainline passenger service to Dunedin ended within the last 10 years , with the axing of the southerner ,A train from Christchurch to Invercargill ( NZ's and i think the former british empires most southern city , famous for bert munro of the worlds fastest indian ) .The taieri gorge excursion train still runs from the station , through the historic taieri gorge , and also excursions up the main line , mainly for crusie ship passengers .
http://www.taieri.co.nz/
wether main line passenger service will ever return to Dunedin is doubtful . Certainly service south to Invercargill is unlikely . Service to Christchurch may return , but the track would need huge amounts spent on it to be speed competitive with road .

Thanks for the info, the station is even more impressive than the pamphlet indicated!

no worries . If you ever get down to this part of the world , the taieri gorge train and the tranzalpine express are well worth taking .
by the way i edited your title from rail station to railway station , mainly so i could see how the new moderator control panel works !

What a pity such a magnificent pile has hardly any trains. But the same is true of Toronto Union - a very grandiose station with rather few trains in it - though at least there are suburban trains as well as a few long distance.

Dunedin had surburban services , and it s geography is rather suited to the existing lines . however changes in work patterns , and growth of car use , saw them run down and abandoned . maybe light rail one day . Long distance , who knows , there probably is scope for one service a day to Christchurch . any ld service in nz must rely on tourists to survive , and there are many other options for them . Dunedins population is is around 120 000 , no other town on the line would have mre than 20 000 people i dont think .

george matthews wrote:What a pity such a magnificent pile has hardly any trains. But the same is true of Toronto Union - a very grandiose station with rather few trains in it - though at least there are suburban trains as well as a few long distance.

Toronto Union Station is actually quite busy, maybe not by European standards, but according to the city's web site, hosts 44 VIA trains per day (VIA is Canada's intercity rail operator), plus a fair number of GO Transit trains (the local Toronto suburban system) carrying 155,000 passengers a day. Don't know how many trains but GO runs 181 trips per day and I believe most of them originate or terminate at Union Station.

Jon

Toronto Union Station is actually quite busy, maybe not by European standards, but according to the city's web site, hosts 44 VIA trains per day (VIA is Canada's intercity rail operator), plus a fair number of GO Transit trains (the local Toronto suburban system) carrying 155,000 passengers a day. Don't know how many trains but GO runs 181 trips per day and I believe most of them originate or terminate at Union Station.

Yes, you are right. I have taken a train from Toronto to Montreal.