 The service started on Monday 15 April 1991 as the "Cityrail Express", with "Cityrail EXPRESS Palmerston North – Wellington" emblazoned on carriage sides.From 1991 the train was operated by New Zealand Rail suburban passenger division CityRail, which was re-branded Tranz Metro in 1995 when New Zealand Rail itself was rebranded Tranz Rail.In 2001, with the partial sale of Tranz Scenic (the long-distance passenger division of Tranz Rail), the company sought to separate its commercial passenger rail operations from its subsidised services (which remained in Wellington under Tranz Metro), operation of the train was transferred to Tranz Scenic.