There have been proposals for the reinstatement of commuter rail services on the Main North Line that would involve the use of Papanui but thus far, none has been approved.

The decision to construct the Christchurch–Amberley line to the Canterbury Provincial Railways 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge standard caused considerable expense of time and cost such that in 1877 it was decided to convert the line to the national standard 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge.

[4] Tram services were timed to meet trains on the Main North Line as well as for passengers from the Waiau and Oxford branches.

The Christchurch Tramway Company assumed control of its operations and proceeded to phase out the steam motors in favour of horse-drawn services.

The concession by which trams were able to enter land at Papanui railway station had been issued to the Canterbury Tramway Company.

The matter was resolved when the Board had land it used at the entrance to the Papanui station yard vested as part of a public road.

With the onset of the Great Depression, the Board sought ways to save on costs, and considered the possibility of discontinuing the Papanui railway station connection.

[6] After the tram tracks were lifted, the tramway reserve, which had become known as Station Road, was sealed by the Christchurch City Council and thereafter used as a public thoroughfare even though ownership of much of the land remained with the Railways Department for several more decades.

By 1916, there were two passenger and three mixed trains passing through Papanui daily making return trips between Christchurch and Rangiora.

[9] The decline of the passenger service started in 1956 when the number of trains dropped to three daily return runs, one of which was provided by a pair of twinset railcars.

Papanui stopped accepting general goods consignments on 13 October 1986 and was thereafter designated a Special Purpose Freight Terminal for the handling of private siding traffic.

It was noted at the time the types of freight handled through Papanui as coal and tyres with private siding customers being Thomas Brown (a coal merchant), Sanitarium Health Foods, and Firestone Tire and Rubber but that Sanitarium's siding was due to close.

The Christchurch City Council agreed in late 1993 to purchase the station building as part of a deal to acquire land for road purposes to extend Restell Street.

Having acquired the property in 1994, the Council rejected proposals to either relocate or demolish the building and, after some initial difficulty, was eventually able to find a commercial tenant.

It was determined that in order to extend the platform as planned, that the tramway company's concession to enter the station yard would have to be extinguished.

[18] In the 1940s, there was a proposal to duplicate the track on the Main North Line between Addington and Rangiora to relieve rail traffic congestion.

Even without the double tracking of the Main North Line, the Department considered that an island platform at Papanui was still useful for the crossing of passenger trains there.

A report commissioned by Environment Canterbury and released on 23 June 2005, it examines several options for establishing new passenger rail services for Christchurch.

The report states that a more detailed study would be required to determine the number and location of stations to serve the needs of potential users of the service.