by Tranz Scenic in 2002, it is the only passenger train on the Main South Line. In 2012, Dunedin Railways leased one of the Silver Fern class railcars from KiwiRail for use on the same route as the Seasider. Rebranded Dunedin Railways On 23 October 2014, the Taieri Gorge Railway announced that it would be changing its name to Dunedin Railways. For 35 years, the Taieri Gorge Railway and the Otago Excursion Train Trust had taken tourists on scenic rail excursions up the Taieri Gorge to Middlemarch and more recently up the coast, north of Dunedin on 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. AO 77 was the first carriage to be repainted into their new blue livery with their name on the sides in October 2014. This was followed by A 3022 and AG 239. In September 2015, AL 1695 was repainted into their yellow version of livery. Mothballing On 20 April 2020, the company announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, it mothballed its track and equipment. The company said up to 80% of its revenue came from international tourists. The mothballing could affect up to 51 jobs. Reactivation and restructure Following the decision to mothball Dunedin Railways, the Otago Excursion Train Trust sold its shares in the company to the council in April 2020. In May 2021, Dunedin City Council agreed to keep the Taieri Gorge line as far as Hindon in operation, as well as services on KiwiRail's railway lines. In November 2021, the council agreed to extend support through to 2024. In 2023, the council decided to reactivate the Hindon-Middlemarch section as well. Financial performance In the financial year to June 2017, Dunedin Railways had revenues of NZ$6.578m and expenses of NZ$6.387m, and turned a profit of NZ$137,000. Following the Covid-19 pandemic of 2021, Dunedin Railways was losing NZ$1.5 million per annum. Locomotives and railcars The railway owns seven former New Zealand Railways DJ class locomotives, four of which are currently operational and certified for mainline operation. They are painted in a variant of the modified New Zealand Railways scheme carried by the class in the 1980s, where the low nose sides are painted blue instead of yellow and grey cab front. Two locomotives are in an operational condition, but are