Antipodes Explorer NZ is looking to buy 31 old train carriages from Auckland Transport and turn them, at Dunedin's Hillside workshops, into luxury rides for 56 guests.
The business venture will target mainly Chinese tourists in New Zealand.
The ride from Auckland to Invercargill is expected to take six days. The train will stop for two to five hours every morning and afternoon, covering more than 75 locations across the country.
It would stop once a week in Dunedin.
The business venture was presented by co-founder Amanda Johnston at the New Zealand China Mayoral Forum.
"[It's] for visitors that don't have four weeks or the information to drive around New Zealand. We will use the beauty and elegance of rail to show them all of New Zealand, tailored to their personal preferences," Johnson said at the Forum.
The train is expected to be ready by 2019.
New Zealand welcomes more than 400,000 Chinese tourists every year and the number is expected to continue to rise.
