[3] Dunedin City Council then stepped in, purchasing the line as far as Middlemarch and five locomotives,[3] which were then leased by the Trust to run its trains.

[2] The line beyond Middlemarch on the Otago Central Branch was lifted during 1991, and the trackbed handed over to the Department of Conservation in 1993.

The company operated as a Council-controlled organisation (formerly known as a Local-authority trading enterprise) under Part 5 of the Local Government Act 2002.

Two of these people were selected by Dunedin City Holdings Limited, two by the Otago Excursion Train Trust and two jointly by both shareholding parties.

[5] The Taieri Gorge Limited is New Zealand's longest tourist railway and stretches along the former Otago Central Railway from the 4 km peg on the Taieri Branch, 18 km west of Dunedin, to Middlemarch, a distance of 60 kilometres (37 mi).

[7] After the line passes through the 437 metres (1,434 ft) long Salisbury Tunnel, the longest on the line, it crosses Mullocky Gully over the 197 metres (646 ft) long Wingatui Viaduct, the largest wrought iron structure in New Zealand since it was built in 1887.

Here the line slowly starts to climb higher and out of the gorge, passing over the Flat Stream viaduct, and "The Notches", a section of short bridges and cuttings through several rocky outcrops, on its way to Pukerangi.

Between Pukerangi and Middlemarch, the railway only once more comes close to the Taieri River, where it crosses Sutton Creek over another combined road-rail bridge.

[12] Special services also run, including the Christmas Inlander in December[13] and the addition of Quiz Trains in 2023.

2024 saw the addition of The Stargazer,[14][15] a trip to Hindon for an evening of star gazing hosted by the Dunedin Astronomical Society.

In 2012, Dunedin Railways leased one of the Silver Fern class railcars from KiwiRail for use on the same route as the Seasider.

The reason for the change was so that tourists can link the train trips to Dunedin and it makes it much clearer what the railway is.

[17][18] Following the decision to mothball Dunedin Railways, the Otago Excursion Train Trust sold its shares in the company to the council in April 2020.

Two locomotives are in an operational condition, but are not currently certified for mainline use; a seventh, DJ3021 (ex-DJ 1202), is being stored, pending future restoration after it was purchased from its former home at Ranfurly station where it was a static display.

These cars are known as "Scarrett'" heritage carriages and were built between 1912 and 1923 with open platform ends, gangways and 37 seats.

The steel-clads have 30-37 seats, enclosed vestibules and covered gangways and were built by New Zealand Railways Department in 1931–40.

In September 2007, the Taieri Gorge Railway announced that it had purchased 12 NZR 56-foot carriages formerly used on the Wairarapa Connection.

The announcement was met with disappointment by the Dunedin City Council, which favourably viewed the rail option as it was more environmentally friendly and would have reduced traffic congestion.

[28] It has since been worked out that with extra damage caused by the logging trucks on the Mosgiel to Port Chalmers road that it would have been cheaper to perform the operation by rail, but despite pleas by the local council, Wenita, the relevant company, said it had invested too much in the road option to change its plans.

[29] The route's loading gauge restricts the maximum size of rolling stock that can operate on the railway; some freight wagons cannot use the line.