Dunedin Railways is introducing a timetabled passenger train service to Oamaru.
The service will run about once a month this winter and increase to weekly in summer.
Dunedin Railways has been working with Tourism Waitaki to increase its services north of Dunedin in its new timetable for the next 12 months.
Dunedin Railways chief executive officer Murray Bond said in an ''exciting development'' about 30 trips had been scheduled for Moeraki and Oamaru in the next 12 months.
''Our aspiration is to eventually have a daily service to Oamaru through summer and we hope to slowly build to this as customer demand increases.''
The new Oamaru services, via the Silver Fern railcar, will depart Dunedin at 9.30am, passing though Palmerston and Moeraki, arriving in Oamaru at 12.30pm and returning to Dunedin at 1.30pm.
Dunedin Railways business manager Toby Mann said the new service was an extension of successful ''fish and chips'' trips to Moeraki last winter.
Passengers could choose to have a couple of hours at Moeraki Beach or go the whole way to Oamaru and have an hour there.
''We expect one-way trips to and from Oamaru to be popular with tourists,'' Mr Mann said.
''Encouraging tourists to deviate from the standard Mt Cook to Queenstown direct route by tempting them to include Oamaru, Dunedin and our two spectacular train journeys in their itinerary is part of the master plan.''
He hoped the service could help them grow to become a ''key gateway'' for the Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail.
Two ''double header'' weekends in Oamaru are also scheduled, which would give people travelling from Dunedin the opportunity to spend a night in Oamaru and people from Oamaru the chance to ride the train to Dunedin for a Saturday night out.
Tourism Waitaki marketing manager Ian Elliott said he had been working closely with Dunedin Railways for some months to increase the number of passenger train trips.
''It'll benefit the whole of coastal Waitaki.
''What really excites me about it is ... they have a long-term goal of a daily service.''
The new service was a further indication of how Oamaru and the southern regions of the South Island were growing as a tourist destination, he said.
There would be challenges to meet a daily demand, but there was ''huge potential'' for the service to fit into the international traveller's itinerary, offering an ''incredibly scenic'' trip along the coast.
This summer, Dunedin Railways ran 30 Seasider trips to Palmerston.
That would be reduced to eight next season, but with the increase in Oamaru trips, there was the option for people to disembark and spend three and a-half hours in Palmerston.
Mr Mann said Dunedin Railways was keen to work with operators wanting to run tours out of Palmerston.
The Oamaru train services start this year with a special evening service on May 29 to the Oamaru Fire and Steam festival, formerly known as Oamaru on Fire.
The service
What: Dunedin-Oamaru-Dunedin service with stops
Distance: 128km Dunedin to Oamaru
Return fares: $109 Oamaru, $99 Moeraki, $89 Palmerston (expect opening specials and event-related specials). One-way fares yet to be finalised.
Schedule (subject to change): May 29, June 21, July 5 and 19, August 2, September 19 and 20, October 4, 11, 18, November 22, 29, Dec 6, 20 and 27, Jan 3, 9, 10, 17, 24.
Timetable: Depart Dunedin 9.30am, Palmerston 11.10am, Moeraki noon, arrive Oamaru 12.30pm. Depart Oamaru 1.30pm, Moeraki 2pm, Palmerston 2.50pm, arrive Dunedin 4.30pm.
Number of seats: 94.
