The Otago Central Railway, also known as the Otago Central Branch Railway and now referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, located on the South Island of New Zealand.
Construction of the OCR began in 1877. The 27-km section to Hindon opened in 1889, and the line was completed to Middlemarch two years later. The 26-km section from Middlemarch to Hyde opened in 1894, followed by the 16-km section from Hyde to Kokonga, which opened in 1897.
The full 236 km line to Cromwell opened in 1921.
The 20 km Clyde-to-Cromwell section was closed in 1980 due to the construction of the Clyde Dam, a hydroelectric power station in the Cromwell Gorge on the Clutha River. The dam flooded the gorge through which the line ran to form Lake Dunstan.
The line between Clyde and Middlemarch was demolished between December 8, 1990, and December 5, 1991. The section between Wingatui near Dunedin and Middlemarch became a tourist railway, operated by Dunedin Railways. The rest of the line was removed, and the trackbed developed into the Otago Central Rail Trail.
