Auckland rail’s Western Line reopens after Newmarket station fault

A track fault has been found at Newmarket train station. Photo / Natalie Slade

A track fault at Newmarket station has now been fixed but Auckland commuters can expect to still deal with cancelled trains on the Western Line until after 9am.

Auckland Transport earlier posted on X that maintenance teams found a fault at Newmarket station’s platform 1 that had put it “out of service until further notice”.

However, it has now posted the fault has been fixed and that the station’s platform 1 is back in service.

Some services will remain cancelled to reduce congestion during peak time until around 9am, however, AT said.

“Please expect some delays while services recover.”

Track fault has now been fixed. Newmarket train platform 1 is back in service.
Some services remain cancelled to reduce congestion during peak time until around 9AM.
Please expect some delays while services recover. https://t.co/yD8SwrpK0H pic.twitter.com/tEoKTJvMEG

— Auckland Transport Travel Alerts (@AT_TravelAlerts) December 17, 2023

The trouble for commuters comes as further disruptions are expected over the holidays when Auckland’s rail network closes from Boxing Day and reopens in stages from January 14.

For several years now, the network has closed from around Boxing Day for KiwiRail to carry out maintenance, but this year the closures are compounded by the ongoing $330 million Rail Network Rebuild (RNR).

The Auckland passenger rail network will be closed from Boxing Day to January 14 for the regular shutdown.

The Western Line will be closed until January 19 and Britomart will be closed until January 21, while City Rail Link teams undertake necessary track work.

With Britomart closed until January 21, Eastern Line services will run between Manukau and The Strand (near the bottom of Parnell Rise) for that week. From January 22 services will resume travelling to Britomart.

KiwiRail’s chief planning officer, David Gordon, said the quieter holiday period, when many people do not have to travel to and from work, is the ideal opportunity to get stuck in on maintenance, repairing slips, and RNR work.

“This is one of our biggest Christmas closures ever – with around 1800 people working at 89 different rail sites across the city.”

Over this period, Auckland Transport will run replacement bus services, including on the Western Line for the additional five-day closure.