Auckland's entire train network is being redrawn on Sunday when the $5.5 billion City Rail Link, or CRL, opens to passengers for the first time. Here's what to know about opening day and beyond.
Day one
There will be a special timetable running on September 13 with extra trains on top of the normal Sunday service, including additional runs early in the morning.
The very first train to arrive at a new CRL station will be a South-City line service at Karanga-A-Hape station at 5.22am, departing Ōtāhuhu at 4.57am. Other early services are also running on the South-City and East-West lines around 5am.
Until 3pm, there'll be extra trains running across all lines, but there are also usual services running at least every 15 minutes from all suburban stations as per a normal weekend.
Auckland’s new Karanga-a-Hape Station has been brought to life by performers from the community above it, ahead of the City Rail Link opening next month. (Source: Breakfast)
Demand for trains throughout the day is expected to be high.
"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," said Auckland Transport (AT) chief executive Stacey van der Putten.
"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."
What is the CRL?
Until now, every train into central Auckland has terminated at Britomart, an end-of-the-line downtown station that capped how many services the network could run.
From Sunday, Britomart becomes a through-station, renamed Waitematā, and trains carry on beneath the city and out the other side.
It's worth noting that the CRL is not a separate new railway.
The underground link is a 3.5km tunnel under the CBD that joins the suburban train lines already running through Auckland's existing stations.
How do I ride the CRL?
If an Aucklander lives near a suburban train station, the same trains that stop there now will travel through the new tunnel — except for the Onehunga line.
READ MORE: Going underground to find the City Rail Link's winners and losers
No booking or online ticket is required, and there is no assigned service to reserve.
Passengers go to their nearest train station, "tag on" at a ticket reader, check the platform screen for the next train heading their way, and board. Timetables for exact departure times are available on the AT Mobile or Google Maps apps.
Most train stations do not have a parking lot, and AT advises people to take connecting bus services to get to a station.
Leaked announcement, flubbed lines, as officials finally schedule the long-awaited rail network’s first services. (Source: 1News)
These connecting buses are usually included in your ride cost depending on where a person starts a trip.
How do I pay for my trip?
To pay, most people tap an AT HOP prepaid card on the reader at the platform when they board and tap it again when they get off.
Paywave cards and phone payments using Apple or Google Pay are also accepted on the same readers.
Children under 13 travel free and SuperGold card holders ride free outside peak hours. However, both groups need to use pre-registered HOP cards.
Cash tickets can be bought from machines on train station platforms, but these can cost significantly more than using Paywave or a HOP card.
What else do I need to know about trains?
Trains are accessible for prams, and the new city centre stations have both escalators and elevators. Bikes and scooters are also allowed on board services.
Trains run every 15 minutes on suburban lines until 8pm on Sundays and every half-hour after that. Full timetables are available on the AT website.
Stations across Auckland are expected to be staffed on opening day, and there are customer facilities available at the new underground stations.
Will the trains actually run on time?
The network opens on a reduced "transitional" timetable, after congestion at rail junctions during testing in January forced officials to rework their original day-one plans.
Most suburban stations will keep six trains an hour at peak, rather than the eight tested earlier in the year, with gaps between services stretching to as long as 15 minutes.
READ MORE - 'Success until cancellations': Councillors warn of CRL opening risks
Beneath the city centre, where the lines combine, a train will run through the tunnel around every four minutes at peak.
AT has committed to building up to a full timetable "within six months" of opening.
Train commuters are being forced onto replacement buses during the testing. (Source: Breakfast)
KiwiRail has said the new tunnel is in strong enough shape that no major maintenance closures are expected for at least three years, a welcome promise after several years of weekend shutdowns and bus replacements for Auckland commuters.
READ MORE: Two key City Rail Link commitments confirmed ahead of opening
What to know about the CRL project
The CRL is the largest infrastructure project in New Zealand's history, and its two new stations - Te Waihorotiu in midtown near the Sky Tower and Karanga-a-Hape off Karangahape Rd - are the country's first major underground railway stations.
Construction on the project began with early preparatory works in 2016, with major works on the tunnels and new stations beginning in 2019.
CRL Ltd chairperson John Bridgman defended the project's record at Parliament's transport select committee in May, describing it as "the biggest transport transformation in Auckland since the Harbour Bridge."
"Everyone says this project is late. Yes, we're not up to the projected timelines, but we're only six months late in a nine-year project," Bridgman said.
The build had been due to finish in 2024 before delays attributed to Covid-19 pushed it back two years, and the budget grew from about $2.9 billion when early works began to $4.4 billion in 2019 and then $5.5 billion.
Officials said earlier this year they did not expect further cost increases.
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