Date: 15 September 2026
As Aucklanders boarded trains on our city’s new rail network an estimated 90,000 times on Monday, Auckland Transport (AT) noticed a big uptake in SuperGold card holders making the most of the City Rail Link.
Monday was the first real weekday test of Auckland’s new train services, City Rail Link infrastructure and new train stations, with the system rising to the challenge.
AT Chief Executive Stacey van der Putten says Monday was a fantastic day for the rail network with a big boost in passenger numbers.
“We had a great day on Sunday getting Aucklanders onboard our new rail network and showcasing the City Rail Link and our incredible new train stations,” Ms van der Putten says.
“On Monday Aucklanders stepped things up a level, with an estimated 90,000 train boardings across the day which is about 55% higher than what we saw last Monday.
“It was great to see so many people using the network to get to work, school and university during our peak commuter period but the biggest change came during the day.
“We actually saw the biggest percentage increase in people travelling on the rail network in between our peak periods, with SuperGold card holders leading the charge.
“Our early data suggests SuperGold Card holders took about 130 percent more trips yesterday than last Monday, followed by tertiary students and Community Connect users who took about 60 percent more trips.
“This lines up with what our teams on the ground have been seeing, which is that Aucklanders of all ages, and from all across the city, are getting out to make the most of our new rail network.”
Early data shows Tuesday rail use also well up
Estimates from Tuesday’s morning peak period also shows train use well up on last week, with about 44,000 boardings by midday today – compared with 30,000 at the same time last Tuesday.
Train services continued to run smoothly this morning, with reliability across the network sitting at about 97% for the morning peak, with 99% of services reaching their destination within 5 minutes of schedule.
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