A KiwiRail spokeswoman said yesterday while its staff still used the site, Antipodean Explorer had leased one of the buildings there, and would use its own staff.
Antipodean Explorer is behind a planned luxury train journey through New Zealand.
To be pitched at wealthy tourists, the journey would run from Auckland and travel through provincial New Zealand, including Dunedin and Invercargill.
The company confirmed on Wednesday it owned 16 carriages that arrived recently on a siding near Forsyth Barr Stadium.
It said in a statement it would use Hillside to refurbish its carriages, though Antipodean Explorer NZ co-founder and general manager Amanda Johnston said she did not want to say more while she was "tidying up some contractual matters''.
Once that was done, she would be able to give more information.
KiwiRail said it had 11 staff at Hillside, undertaking scheduled maintenance repairs on locomotives and wagons.
