City Rail Link Opens

AM 917 departs Maungawhau and heads for Henderson

14 September 2026

AM 917 heads out of Maungawhau station en route to Henderson. This section of track is only used by Onehunga West passenger trains and freight trains to Whangarei

14 September 2026

AM 917 passes over the NIMT junction, staying on the NAL throughout its route

14 September 2026

Heading the other way, AM 633 passes over the top of the North Island Main Trunk on a service bound for Onehunga. This section was used by the former Western Line, with city-bound trains now diverted to the tracks underneath into the City Rail Link

14 September 2026

AM 633 passes over the NIMT tracks, visible below

14 September 2026

The Onehunga West platforms viewed from platform level

14 September 2026

Back down in the trench, AM 552 comes out of the tunnel at the head of an East West service to Swanson

14 September 2026

Having now travelled to Te Waihorotiu, AM 1059 sees lots of passengers boarding and disembarking as it stops here on a run to Manukau

14 September 2026

At the other platform, AM 131 stops on a run towards Pukekohe

14 September 2026

At Te Waihorotiu, trains can be seen from the upper concourse

14 September 2026

AM 864 and AM 144 are still paired up after running the first service the previous day. Here, the pair stop at Te Waihorotiu heading towards Waitematā

14 September 2026

The Shore Blue pair head into the cut and cover section of the City Rail Link, as they heads towards Waitematā

14 September 2026

Also seen during the Sneak Peek event the previous month, children's artwork are on display in the corridor from the concourse to the street level lift

14 September 2026

A closer view of the art from then-students of Pukekohe School, now in high school

14 September 2026

Outside, the newly opened ramp to Te Waihorotiu with the covered escalators visible in the background on the other side of Albert Street. In the background, Auckland's most famous landmark, the Sky Tower, now has convenient rail access

14 September 2026

Looking down the ramp from Victoria Street West into Te Waihorotiu station

14 September 2026

Looking at the Victoria Street West entrance from the other side of the street. The Sky Tower pokes above other buildings in the background

14 September 2026

Back down at the platforms, two trains arrive at Te Waihorotiu, viewed from the ascending escalator

14 September 2026

AM 157 comes out of the bored tunnel and into Te Waihorotiu statio

14 September 2026

AM 157 drops down out of the tunnel and levels out at platform level

14 September 2026

AM 157 pulls into the platform at Te Waihorotiu, heading for Manukau

14 September 2026

A notable feature of the City Rail Link stations are water fountains, with options for drinking from the tap, refilling a bottle, or even allowing a dog to have a drink

14 September 2026

Back up at street level but at the other end, the station also has a small entrance onto Mayoral Drive. In the bus lane is a WX1 service from Westgate, which alongside the NX2 to Hibiscus Coast connects with trains here at Te Waihorotiu

14 September 2026

The small entrance from Mayoral Drive into Te Waihorotiu station

14 September 2026

We then travelled to the existing station at Waitematā, where AM 456 is ready to depart heading for Newmarket

14 September 2026

Platforms 2 and 3 at Waitematā are used for stabling trains, while remaining available for use if required for a terminating service not using the CRL. Here, AM 892 waits for its next duty

14 September 2026

On Platform 4, AM 144 shows up again, running a South-City Line service towards Pukekohe via the CRL

14 September 2026

AM 144 heads into the City Rail Link from Waitematā Platform 4

14 September 2026

The sharp curve into the tunnel means carriages of passing trains are visibly closer to the platform in the centre, as shown here by AMT 144

14 September 2026

AM 864 trails the service as it disappears into the CRL tunnels

14 September 2026

Outside, while heading to the other end via the surface, we see the rear of the main Waitematā station entrance, with updated maps showing the new CRL network in place

14 September 2026

AM 321 sits on the other end of the stabled unit at Platform 2

14 September 2026

Looking into the Britomart tunnel, which has now served trains for 23 years. The end of the disconnected track to the out of use platform is visible next to AM 321

14 September 2026

On Platform 1, the destination sign shows the imminent arrival of the next South City service to Newmarket, seen exiting the City Rail Link tunnel

14 September 2026

AM 375 pulls into Waitematā Platform 1, heading for Newmarket

14 September 2026

AM 375 and its buddy climb the grade out of the Britomart tunnel while AM 321 watches on from Platform 2

14 September 2026

Back on Platform 4, AM 1210 pulls into Waitematā on a run to Swanson, in a familiar view. Now however, trains to Swanson depart in the opposite direction from Waitematā than they did three days ago

14 September 2026

The Eastern Line briefly returns, at least on destination signs, as AM 1101 prepares to depart Ōtāhuhu on a short-running service from here to Manukau

14 September 2026

At Henderson, AM 904 sits in the dock platform, Platform 2. The platform is used for Onehunga West services to Onehunga, and was built as part of the City Rail Link project

18 September 2026