Kingston Flyer normally operated seven months of the year, from 1 October to 30 April. Two trains ran daily, excluding Christmas Day. In 1992, NZR's successor, New Zealand Rail Limited (Tranz Rail from 1995), acquired Kingston Flyer Limited, which was sold again in 2003 by Toll NZ, then owners of Tranz Rail, to a private operator. 2009 bankruptcy In November 2008 the operation was offered for sale at $3 million as a going concern. In late August 2009 it was announced that the train would not operate again in the foreseeable future as mounting debt had forced the operation to close. Kingston Acquisitions tried to sell the train in November 2008 to repay about $4.7 million to Christchurch-based finance company Prudential. Prudential blocked an initial offer by United States-based company Railmark to buy the operation for $2.25m, the insurers refusing to accept anything less than the whole debt being cleared. Invercargill-based enthusiast Karl Barkley formed the Kingston Flyer Steam Train Trust to preserve the Flyer under the auspices of a charitable trust but was unable to raise the necessary funds to purchase the Flyer from Prudential. In November 2009, the Flyer's owners were put into receivership and the train itself put up for sale. In 2011 business was listed on the internet auction site TradeMe for sale with a price of NZD$2.5 million. That included the locomotives, all land associated with the railway, including the Kingston and Fairlight stations, and parts of the Kingston wharf, and several other development sites in Kingston which were not related to the railway. The business was purchased in August 2011 by businessman David Bryce who put it back in operation on 29 October 2011. In December 2012 the Kingston Flyer was again suspended, due to the discovery of leaks in AB 778's boiler and owner David Bryce's ongoing health problems. The train resumed operation once the extensive overhaul of AB 795 was finished, and the business was once again put up for sale. As at December 2013 no offers had been accepted and the operation remained mothballed, the owner suggested that the Kingston Flyer could be put into a trust. On 23 February 2017 it was announced that the Kingston Flyer and all associated land and buildings had been sold to a local consortium. Within two months it became apparent that the buyers were interested only in the land that the train runs on.