KiwiRail has confirmed the Tranz Alpine will only run on Thursdays and Fridays between May and October.
Yesterday it said its new winter schedule reflected lower customer demand while the New Zealand borders remained closed.
Greymouth Mayor Tania Gibson was unimpressed, saying winter was the best time to travel on the train.
From the end of the next school holidays (May 3) until the end of the October school holidays (October 17), the Christchurch-Greymouth passenger train will be restricted to two days.
The Christchurch-Picton service, the Coastal Pacific, will cut back to Saturdays and Sundays during the same period.
KiwiRail group chief executive Greg Miller said the decision to reduce Tranz Alpine trips had not been easy.
However, the train had 75% international passengers before the Covid-19 border restrictions.
