Passenger traffic never reached expectations. The population of the town grew rapidly in the 1870s, but the extension of the railway from Woodside to Masterton on 1 November 1880, making the Greytown line a branch line, helped Masterton become the dominant town in the district. Between 1905 and 1915 trains between Greytown and Woodside were increased to six return trains daily, Monday to Saturday. Thereafter the number of trains fluctuated: in 1946 five were scheduled, and by 1952 this had been cut to two. Though by this time there was still a passenger car attached to the train, few passengers were carried (often none), and the trains only infrequently hauled freight wagons. The last train ran on 24 December 1953.