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About 61,000 people boarded Auckland trains by 5pm Sunday, on the City Rail Link’s first day of operation.
The figure was more than three times higher than at the same time last Sunday, according to Auckland Transport door counters.
Among the first passengers was Taylor (23), who hopped in an Uber from Drury and began queuing at Ōtāhuhu Station at 3.40am.
“It’s exciting to see Auckland’s future coming to fruition,” he says. “It’s definitely worth getting up early for.”
More than 400 people boarded the first service through the CRL tunnels, which left Ōtāhuhu at 4.57am.
AT public transport director Richard Harrison says more than double the usual number of train units were running to meet demand.
“This shows how the City Rail Link will revolutionise the way Aucklanders move around their city,” Harrison says.
KiwiRail chief metro officer Bevan Assink says seeing passengers travel through the CRL was sentimental after thousands of people had worked on the project.
“Seeing first-hand trains carrying customers through the City Rail Link and witnessing Auckland’s new rail network come to life was a bit emotional,” says Assink.
The first weekday timetable begins today, with trains running every four to five minutes through the new stations during peak hours.
