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The current Southern Line

Until CRL opens, the Southern Line (STH) will run between Waitematā Station and Pukekohe Station every 10 minutes during peak hours and every 20 minutes during off-peak hours.

At all stations along this line, trains arrive at and depart from the same platforms.

Transfers

There are 3 key transfer locations along the line: 

  • At Newmarket Station you can transfer to the Western Line or Onehunga Line. 
  • At Waitematā Station you can transfer to the Eastern Line.
  • At Puhinui station, you can transfer to the Airport Link to get to Auckland Airport.

The new South City line (after CRL opens)

After City Rail Link opens, the South City Line (S-C) will travel from Pukekohe to Newmarket via a loop around the city centre. It will pass through:

  • Newmarket
  • Grafton
  • Karanga-a-Hape
  • Te Waihorotiu
  • Waitematā
  • Parnell
  • Newmarket.

Newmarket is the end of the line. It then turns around and goes back through the city centre, passing through Waitematā, Te Waihorotiu, Karanga-a-Hape and Grafton before continuing south to Pukekohe.

Trains will run every 15 minutes off-peak. During peak hours trains will run every 10 minutes on average. Peak hours are 7am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm.

What’s different

At Newmarket Station, the South City line will travel in multiple directions:

  • toward Grafton to loop around the city, ending in Newmarket again
  • toward Parnell to loop through the city, passing Newmarket again before continuing to Pukekohe.

During peak hours some trains will finish their journey at Waitematā Station.

This will mean trains won’t always arrive and depart from the same platform number every time, so make sure you check what platform the next train departs from as you arrive at the station.

Check the destination on the front of the train and on digital screens on the platform before boarding to ensure you’re travelling on the right service.

Transfers on the new South City line

There are multiple stations where you can transfer to other rail lines or bus routes on our network.

You can transfer to the East West line at several stations including: 

  • Puhinui
  • Ōtāhuhu
  • Waitematā
  • Te Waihorotiu
  • Karanga-a-Hape.

You can transfer to the Onehunga West line at several stations including:

  • Penrose
  • Ellerslie
  • Newmarket
  • Grafton.

To get to Auckland Airport, transfer to the Airport Link bus at Puhinui Station.

Travel to major events

Reaching destinations like Go Media Stadium, Spark Arena and Eden Park will be easier and faster than ever with our new rail lines.

On the South City Line, you can: 

  • go directly to Penrose Station for events at Go Media Stadium
  • go directly to Waitematā Station for events at Spark Arena
  • transfer to the East-West Line at Waitematā, Te Waihorotiu or Karanga-a-Hape stations and get off at Kingsland Station for events at Eden Park.

Getting home after events will be easier, with higher-capacity trains running more often from major venues to key destinations.

Alternative transport when trains are not running

From time to time, train lines or stations may be closed for maintenance, or trains may be stopped due to an incident or emergency.

When trains aren’t running, alternative transport will be available. This includes:

  • Another rail service that will take you to or close to your destination. This may include detoured trains. For example, if there is an issue at Te Waihorotiu station, the South City Line might detour at Newmarket and travel through Parnell to allow customers to still get to Waitematā.
  • Special bus replacement services that will connect between main transport hubs, such as Swanson to Maungawhau stations. Rail buses on the new train network may take you to a nearby station to transfer to another train, so you can get to your destination faster, rather than running the entire length of the train line.
  • Regular scheduled bus services that travel where you need to go.

There are signs at all train stations showing where you can catch replacement services and regular scheduled buses and where they travel to.

Get notified about disruptions

If there's a change to your service, we can let you know via the AT Mobile app. We'll send alerts to let you know what's happening and what you can do instead. 

Sign up to Service Alerts for your train line in the AT Mobile app.

You can also call us on 09 366 6400 any time and our friendly customer care team will help you find the nearest available transport options. 
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