Oamaru vintage train's future in doubt if forced to relocate

A vintage train group in Oamaru says its future is under threat if it is made to relocate by the local council.

The volunteer-run Oamaru Steam and Rail Restoration Society has operated vintage trains around Oamaru's Victorian precinct and the harbour since the 1980s.

The track was first used in 1872, and covers two kilometres in central Oamaru, running from Thames Street to the penguin colony and back past the harbour.

The group's general manager, Harry Andrew, said the council said the route was unsafe and was pressuring them to move the station and line.

"The council want to shift it, but then it's going to affect our viability to keep running, and will make it more dangerous for pedestrians because it will still go across the road."

The group also could not afford to relocate, Andrews said.

The current station was built by the community and the council, he said.

The tracks sat on land now owned by the Waitaki District Council, after they bought it off Toll, he said.

The Waitaki District Council said it valued rail heritage in the harbour and Oamaru Steam and Rail's contribution to its preservation and development.

The council would not confirm what it wanted to do with the track and station, but said it was currently in mediation with the Oamaru Steam and Rail Committee and therefore could not comment on the process at this time.

Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said he was restricted in what he could say, but he said the council, and particularly the elected members, wanted to find a way for the society to continue operating.

The Oamaru Steam and Rail Committee did not currently have a legal right to the site they operated from, and the council wanted to ensure they did have a legal right, and they got a lease or licence to occupy the land they used, Kircher said.

One of the proposals was to move the station and reduce the track, he said.

The Oamaru Steam and Rail line runs each Sunday, three times a day.