Trains for the Auckland City Rail Link operated beyond the tunnels and on the inner city loop to test operations before the scheduled 2026 opening. This proved readiness for operation at a high frequency.

This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Auckland City Rail Link runs high-frequency trials
Image: City Rail Link

Auckland City Rail Link testing scope and metrics

Trains operated at a speed of 18 per hour in both directions using the CRL tunnels and stations; the teams also made a stop at all stations in the inner city. Train operators and operations teams assessed timing and headways.

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Trials continued around a loop to Grafton, Parnell, and Newmarket, and along the Western Line as far as Kingsland. A total of thirty-five drivers took part and amassed a cumulative 290 hours between Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th October.

Auckland City Rail Link partners and next steps

Auckland Transport’s Mark Lambert described this activity as a milestone and explained that the group would just modify the timetable before the next competition.

Lambert stated that his group was able to identify things to modify but nothing insubstantial to remove. Referring to CRL Ltd CEO Pat Brockie’s comment that there was a huge amount of planning involved with hundreds of staff members of CRL Ltd, KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail, KiwiRail’s Bevan Assink stated that the test was supported by monitoring, control services, and response teams that occurred successfully.

This project remains the country’s largest and most complex transport infrastructure project to date and the first passenger rail transport system built beneath the earth’s surface.

Finally, further network and frequencies testings will eventually lead to timetable trials on the metro network of Auckland next year.

Source: www.railexpress.com.au

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What is the Auckland City Rail Link?

It is a major rail project in Auckland that includes underground tunnels and stations and aims to support more trains, more often across the city.

When did the high-frequency tests occur?

They ran on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 October, with trains operating at 18 per hour in both directions through the CRL tunnels and stations.

Who took part in the trials?

Thirty-five drivers participated and logged a total of 290 hours; CRL Ltd, KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail coordinated planning and operations.

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