Auckland's expanded rail service carried around 20% more passengers than a typical Monday during the City Rail Link's first weekday morning peak today, according to Auckland Transport.
Speaking to media at Te Waihorotiu station, Auckland Transport chief executive Stacey van der Putten said the morning had gone smoothly, with an estimated 24,000 extra commuters using the network compared with a normal Monday.
"We're pretty happy with how things have gone. It's been a very smooth morning," she said.
"You can see lots of people getting on and off, and it's definitely busier than a usual Monday."
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Today's passengers were largely focused on getting to work or school, in contrast to Sunday's record-setting crowds, who had come to explore the new stations and try out the line, she added.
"Today it's really about business. I need to get to work, I need to get to school, and so people were very focused on doing that."
Rail enthusiasts from across the country packed the historic first service out of Ōtāhuhu, shouting "tunnel, tunnel, tunnel!" as they entered the new underground line. (Source: 1News)
Auckland One Rail chief executive Martin Kearney said it had been "exciting" to see the network tested during the weekday rush for the first time.
He confirmed there had been a small train fault and a handful of early morning cancellations.
"All trains are operating to destination and on time now."
Auckland Transport had staff stationed across the network helping commuters with journey planning and wayfinding, van der Putten said, adding most queries had come from people navigating the new stations for the first time.
82,000 passengers board trains as of 6pm
As of 6pm this evening, 82,000 passengers travelled across the rail network.
"What we’ve seen today is not only a busy morning peak period with customers heading into work, school or university, but numbers have stayed strong throughout the rest of the morning and afternoon too," van der Putten said.
"This shows Aucklanders are getting out there and exploring the new routes that CRL offers, and it’s a fantastic new way for people to visit parts of the city they may not have had easy access to in the past.
"Our ambassador staff have been supporting customers at Karanga-a-Hape and Maungawhau stations throughout the day to transfer from the East-West to the South-City or Onehunga-West lines. These transfers will become second nature to Aucklanders in the weeks to come."
Auckland Transport partners Auckland One Rail said a total of 84 trains are in service today operated by 200 drivers and supported by 150 train managers.
Over 100 customer service staff and ambassadors have been at stations helping people with travel and transfer information, and more than 100 security staff have also been present.
'It's not a Ferris wheel' - Mayor on CRL
The Auckland mayor bumped into Breakfast on his commute to Karanga-a-hape Station, revealing 20% more public transport use this morning after 70,000 rides on opening day. (Source: Breakfast)
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown, who caught the train to Karanga-a-Hape station on his way to a doctor's appointment, earlier played down the excitement around the CRL's first weekday run.
"If you're living in a city, public transport's normal," he told Breakfast.
Brown said reliable public transport should simply be the norm in a city.
"I just want normal working days to get more and more people steadily, not people coming out. It's not a Ferris wheel. It's not something you come to see. It's just something you get every day."
Te Waihorotiu, Karanga-a-Hape and Maungawhau were opened yesterday. (Source: 1News)
He welcomed reports numbers were up about 20%.
"I only get updates, if it's bad news, not good news, and so no news is good news," he said.
"I have heard that there's 20% more people using public transport this morning than normal, and that's a good sign," he said.
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a coroner slams our drinking culture, Trump brushes off AI concerns, and Celine is back. (Source: 1News)
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