The Strath Taieri Community Board chairman intends to approach the company to ask for community involvement in operating decisions because of the effect the train has on the area.
It would be "quite nice" if the community was consulted "rather than just being told all of a sudden", he said.
"The trips normally go down in winter, but I don't see why they can't have it all year round, especially as the colours are so different up here at the moment.
"I'm quite concerned. I would like trips to be increasing rather than decreasing, for the community and the whole of Otago."
Train visitors were important to the area and he believed more should be done to attract them, such as advertising for people to travel by train to Middlemarch and spend the weekend in the Strath Taieri.
However, Taieri Gorge chief executive Murray Bond said he would love to run more trains, and throughout winter, but the "biggest problem" was the number of tourists visiting Dunedin.
About 80% fewer people travelled on the trains in winter, compared with summer, and those who did were looking for shorter, cheaper trips.
"Tourists only want to do activities which take half a day. We don't want to lose people doing the train," he said.
Getting more tourists into Dunedin was a "high priority" for the company, as was getting them to stay longer.
If demand increased, the company would be willing to run more trains to Middlemarch, but had been "heavily subsidising the cost of trips there ... for community reasons".
"We have to think about the viability of our business."
Mr Williams was also concerned about the drop in barn dances, which brought people by train for parties in the area.
Mr Bond said the company used to run five dances a year, but ran only three last year and they were "only partly full".
"The availability of company and personal money to do Christmas functions seems to have dropped off a little bit. Hopefully, when the economy turns, this market will build up again. We certainly haven't written off doing such trips."
As for keeping the community informed, Mr Bond said informal discussions were held "fairly regularly" and a "significant email" was sent out detailing train schedules.
