Auckland One Rail staff welcomed over 40,000 visitors into the City Rail Link stations over three weekends in August for Auckland Transport’s First Look events.
This was a chance for visitors to celebrate the new stations and build excitement ahead of passenger services beginning on Sunday, 13 September.
From live performances such as local kapa haka groups and buskers at Maungawhau, drag queens, mushroom parades and disco carriages at Karanga-a-Hape, and cultural performances reflecting the diversity of Tāmaki Makaurau and members of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra performing live at Te Waihorotiu, it was fantastic to see the stations come to life, and the reaction from Aucklanders experiencing the spaces for the first time.
As the stewards of these stations, Auckland One Rail has an enormous amount of pride in helping bring these events to life alongside our partners at Auckland Transport, KiwiRail and City Rail Link Ltd. Our team was on hand throughout the day, answering questions from the public while also testing station capacity and processes in preparation for opening day – and doing a fantastic job along the way.
Some visitors even got to see a train driver’s view from inside the cab, with tours from some of our fantastic drivers and for a lucky few, our very own Chief Operating Officer, Gavin Panter.
And if you fancy yourself as a bit of a trainspotter, you can now download our new ‘tick-as-you-see-them’ trainspotting sheets, giving train enthusiasts young and old a fun way to stay connected to Auckland’s metro rail network long after the First Looks are over.
The countdown to Day 1 is well and truly on.
