Auckland City Rail Link opening nears as fleet hits 95 trains

Auckland City Rail Link opening preparations are picking up pace with Auckland Transport taking delivery of its 23rd and final new electric train at the Port of Auckland. The three-carriage unit lifts the region’s electric fleet to 95 trains ahead of CRL operations in the second half of 2026.

Built by Spanish manufacturer CAF at its Mexico facility, the train arrived as individual carriages. It will be inspected, coupled, tested and commissioned at the Wiri Depot before it can officially enter service.

Stacey van der Putten, Auckland Transport Director of Public Transport and Active Modes, described the final delivery as a milestone as the network moves toward the Auckland City Rail Link opening. She said the programme is not only about tunnels and stations, but also about adding capacity so trains can run more often over time.

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The new units sit within a $330 million investment jointly funded by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) and Auckland Council. Auckland Transport set out the delivery and fleet expansion in an Auckland Transport media release.

That funding package also covered extended stabling facilities at the Wiri Depot under a separate contract, along with work to modify the existing fleet of 72 trains so they are compatible with the CRL.

Those older trains were retrofitted with upgrades such as operational connectivity, LED lighting, drag-detecting door sensors and emergency alarms. Together, the improvements are intended to support more frequent and reliable services once the Auckland City Rail Link opening is completed.

Auckland Transport owns the fleet, sets service patterns and provides customer information systems. Operator Auckland One Rail (AOR) maintains the trains and runs services across the network.

Most of the new trains are already in service, and they were heavily used in a region-wide timetable simulation held at the end of January. The test involved 84 trains running across the network to trial CRL-ready frequencies and confirm safe, reliable performance.

Van der Putten said the testing delivered a valuable learning curve and brought several issues into focus, particularly around network congestion. She added that Auckland Transport will tweak settings and run the simulation again during the April school holidays to finalise a robust timetable and provide reliable services from day one of the Auckland City Rail Link opening.

The City Rail Link is New Zealand’s largest transport infrastructure project and includes twin 3.45 kilometre underground rail tunnels linking Waitematā Station (Britomart) and Maungawhau Station. For broader context on the programme’s run-up to operations in 2026, Railway Supply has covered the project’s testing phase.

Two new underground stations—Te Waihorotiu and Karanga-a-Hape—have been built, with entrances at Mercury Lane and Beresford Square. Waitematā Station has been redeveloped into a two-way through station, while Maungawhau Station has been upgraded to include the new CRL line and a modern station building. The fleet-delivery details were also reported by Rail Express.

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