Auckland’s City Rail Link recorded a record-breaking 528,007 train boardings during its first week of operations from Sunday, September 13 to Saturday, September 19, 2026. This exceeded the previous seven-day record of 504,380 and reflected a 62% increase compared to the 325,203 boardings logged the week before the link opened, according to data released by Transport Minister Chris Bishop.
Train punctuality and reliability remained consistently in the mid-to-high 90% range throughout the working week, strengthening further as the week went on. An early-morning fire at Waitematā Station on Sunday disrupted extra services planned for opening day but did not significantly
affect overall reliability figures.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the strong punctuality was important for building confidence in the City Rail Link as a reliable, genuine public transport alternative. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown emphasized the need to build on the strong results and attract more passengers to the network as Auckland Transport takes sole responsibility for public transport from the following week.
The rail network opened on a reduced transitional timetable running six trains per hour during rush hour rather than the intended eight, resulting in peak wait times up to 15 minutes. AT rail services group manager Mark Lambert
announced plans to increase frequencies to eight trains per hour within six months. Additional improvements in November and December 2026 will extend Friday and Saturday evening services with 15-minute frequencies continuing until around 11:00 to 11:30 pm.
Daily boardings for the opening week ranged from 56,757 on Sunday to a peak of 85,289 on Thursday, September 17, 2026. These figures compare closely to pre-pandemic busiest single day records, including 87,092 boardings on March 6, 2019.
A second round of service increases is scheduled for February 2027, targeting southern line services around Ōtāhuhu. Talks with KiwiRail continue to improve Thursday night
train services and discuss potential timetable extensions to Pukekohe.
