New rail map, line names revealed as CRL shunts closer

More direct access to the city centre and a cross-city service are the key features of the new Trains and Rapid Buses map, says Auckland Transport (AT).

The map highlights the scale of public transport improvements that will come into effect when the City Rail Link (CRL) opens next year.

The CRL will allow for big changes in the way customers can travel across Auckland, says AT.

The network has been reshaped with AT adding new train lines and bus connections to provide more choice and faster journeys.

“It’s exciting to be able to give people a clearer idea of how their train journeys will change, as many people don’t realise that City Rail Link benefits all of Auckland and the whole public transport network,” says AT chief executive Dean Kimpton.

“This is more than a map, it shows how people can more easily connect with friends and loved ones, attend events, shorten their commute, or just explore a new part of the city by rail.”

Three new central city stations – Maungawhau, Karanga-a-Hape and Te Waihorotiu – alongside a better-connected Waitematā Station (Britomart), are the cornerstone of the route improvements, Kimpton says.

The new underground twin tunnels from Waitematā Station mean trains can travel straight through the middle of the city, unlocking capacity for more frequent trains and reducing travel times.

Some 90 per cent of all train services will pass through the underground tunnels and city centre stations on new routes, replacing the Southern, Eastern, Western and Onehunga Lines.

The East-West Line – a merge of the former Eastern and Western Lines – will now connect via the CRL for a new cross-city service taking people direct from Swanson all the way to Manukau on a single journey.

“You could be shopping at LynnMall and if they don’t have what you want, jump on an East-West train straight to Sylvia Park to see if they do, all within the $50 weekly fare cap,” Kimpton says.

This will reduce travel times for future west Auckland commuters as Western Line trains going into the city will reroute through CRL tunnels, rather than the present route east of the city centre.

For customers coming from the west, it will make journeys from Henderson to Wellesley Street around 24 minutes faster than current public transport times.

“City Rail Link will double the number of Aucklanders within a 30-minute train journey to the central city, offering an attractive alternative to driving,” says councillor Andy Baker, Auckland Council’s transport, resilience and infrastructure committee chair.

Passengers using the Southern Line will see changes too, says AT, with the new South-City Line route looping around the city and returning south.

The network map also highlights new southern stations coming soon.

KiwiRail and AT are adding three new stations under construction: Drury, Ngākōroa, and Paerātā.

The Onehunga Line will see an extension westward also, extending past its existing terminus at Newmarket, all the way to Henderson (initially in off-peak times only) to form the new Onehunga-West Line.

All train lines, except Onehunga-West services, will travel via the city centre and the new CRL tunnels.

Trains will run more frequently – at peak times up to every four minutes through the central city, with more trains at stops on the Western, Eastern and Southern Lines, AT says.

Along with trains, rapid buses are critical arteries of Auckland’s public transport network.

CRL’s new stations create key interchanges between Northern Busway and Northwestern rapid bus services, and AT is delivering key projects – such as the Wellesley Street improvements – to make connections stress-free.

“By linking an enhanced bus network that seamlessly connects to the rail services, it provides a real opportunity to shift the way people travel around our city – helping to ease pressure on motorways and main roads,” Kimpton says.

It’s not just about the new stations and routes. Critical rail network upgrades being delivered by KiwiRail before CRL opens in 2026 will support the changes – increased train frequency and integration with CRL infrastructure will help enable transformation across the entire network, AT says.

It adds that it’s finalising the service patterns and timetables, as the train operating timetable is subject to approvals.

When CRL opens, train line names will change to reflect journey options: Onehunga Line to Onehunga-West Line (O-W), Eastern Line to East-West Line (E-W), Western Line, Southern Line, South-City Line (S-C).