City Rail Link opening: New train lines, stations and routes explained

The East West Line will connect Swanson with Manukau, effectively joining today’s Western and Eastern lines and running through the new city-centre tunnel.

The South City Line will replace the Southern Line, running from Pukekohe through Newmarket and the city centre.

The Onehunga West Line will run between Onehunga and Henderson off-peak, but terminate at Maungawhau during peak hours.

Two new underground stations will open: Karanga-a-Hape, with entrances at Mercury Lane and Beresford Square, and Te Waihorotiu, with entrances around Victoria and Wellesley Sts.

The former Mt Eden station has also been rebuilt as Maungawhau Station, where the CRL connects with the existing Western Line.

Waitematā Station, formerly Britomart, gets perhaps the biggest operational change.

Instead of trains arriving downtown and having to reverse back out, they will be able to continue through the city.

Quite possibly, and western commuters should pay particular attention.

During peak hours, passengers travelling from the west to Grafton or Newmarket will need to change to a South City train.

They can transfer to the South City Line at Karanga-a-Hape Station, or to the Onehunga West Line at Maungawhau Station.

Auckland Transport (AT) says Karanga-a-Hape will offer the easiest option, with a short, flat walk between platforms and more frequent connecting trains.

About 1200 passengers currently travel from the west to Grafton during peak times, while another 460 travel to Newmarket.

AT said some of those passengers currently transfer to buses or walk to other destinations and could instead use one of the new CRL stations.

For those still travelling to Newmarket, peak journeys from current Western Line stations could take up to 10 minutes longer.

AT said passengers changing at Karanga-a-Hape could wait as little as two minutes for a South City Line train, with most transfers taking less than five minutes.

It said crowding was not expected, with the station platforms designed to accommodate future growth.

AT said the change allowed more trains to travel through the city centre and provided faster journeys for the majority of passengers travelling from the west.

Those travelling to Parnell can change to the South City Line at any city-centre station.

Off-peak and on weekends, Onehunga West services will continue providing a direct connection from stations between Henderson and Maungawhau to Grafton and Newmarket.

There are major new direct journeys too.

Someone in Panmure will be able to catch one train to Kingsland for an Eden Park event, while passengers from Pukekohe and Papatoetoe will have direct trains to Karanga-a-Hape and the heart of the city.

Every Auckland train timetable changes when the CRL opens.

During peak times, several train services will use the same tracks through the city centre. Combined, that means a train will arrive about every five minutes at central city stations.

Elsewhere, peak trains will initially run about as often as they do now.

Outside peak hours and on weekends, trains will run every 15 minutes, instead of every 20 minutes now.

The CRL will initially operate on a transitional timetable. Peak frequencies outside the city centre will be similar to today’s, before increasing as operators gain confidence running the new network.

For regular commuters, the key advice is simple: don’t assume your old train will still work the same way.

AT has released the new timetables and added a CRL preview to its Journey Planner, allowing passengers to compare their current journey with what it will look like after September 13.

And after years of disruptive rail shutdowns, there is another change commuters may welcome.

KiwiRail said significantly fewer full-network closures will be required, with trains set to run across the entire network on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day this year.

Aucklanders wanting to be among the first passengers through the CRL will need an early start, with services beginning from about 5am on Sunday.

A special timetable will operate throughout opening day, with trains departing earlier than on a normal Sunday and additional services running on the East West and South City lines.

Trains on the East West Line will depart from Henderson (5.16am), Swanson (5.23am), Puhinui (5.23am), Manukau (5.33am) and Waitematā (5.27am), with the first services on the South City line from Ōtāhuhu (4.57am), Pukekohe (5.21am), Puhinui (5.12am), Parnell (5.31am) and Newmarket (5.26am).

AT said the timetable gives plenty of options to be on a first passenger service through the CRL from across the network, with demand for trains expected to be high throughout the day.

“We know many people will be keen to be on one of the first services and we encourage people to start their first journey from their local station,” AT chief executive Stacey van der Putten said.

“Trains from right across the network will be travelling through the CRL from early that morning, so there will be plenty of opportunities to be part of this historic day.”

AT ambassadors will be stationed across the network to give directions and help passengers navigate the new stations and services, while KiwiRail and Auckland One Rail will deploy extra staff.

Passengers are being warned the opening-day timetable will differ from the standard Sunday timetable that follows, and they should check AT Mobile or Journey Planner before travelling.

The opening follows a series of First Look events that attracted more than 43,000 people through the new stations.

Rachel Maher is the education correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. She also covers other topics such as Auckland issues, crime and local government. She started at the Herald as a breaking news journalist in 2022, before joining the Auckland team this year.

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