Auckland rail fleet hits 95 as final electric train arrives ahead of CRL opening

Sunday, 22 February 2026

The last electric train that will boost Auckland’s rail fleet has rolled into town.

It brings Auckland’s total rail fleet to 95 and arrives as all the city’s old trains have been modified to be compatible with the new network and all train drivers have been certified as City Rail Link (CRL) ready.

It is these trains that will deliver what Auckland Transport is promising to be a faster and better commuter service than the city has ever seen before once the CRL loop opens, linking south and west tracks.

The latest train unit to arrive is the 23rd and last of the electric trains built by Spanish train manufacturer CAF at its manufacturing facility in Mexico specifically for Auckland.

Ironically it had to be hauled by road to the Wiri train depot for inspection, coupling, testing, and commissioning ahead of entering service.

It and the other new electric units join the freshly modified existing fleet of 72 trains.

Alongside the hardware, a major training programme to prepare 264 drivers for the new stations and tunnel environments is complete and 195 train managers have completed station familiarisation.

A further 101 customer service staff are currently in training throughout the new stations.

“Reaching the final delivery is a significant achievement as we get ready to open the CRL. The project isn’t just about tunnels and stations – it increases the capacity of our rail network so we can provide trains more often, increasing over time,” Stacey van der Putten, Auckland Transport’s director of public transport and active modes, said.

Auckland’s new trains will be assembled into three‑car trains. Trains can operate across the Auckland network as three-car sets or be coupled in pairs to run as six‑car trains depending on demand.

The $330 million investment to get the city to this point was been jointly funded by the Government with NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi covering half the cost and Auckland Council meeting the balance.

Included in the funding was extended the “stabling facilities” at the Wiri depot and the modification of the existing fleet.

“We’ve retrofitted trains with improved features such as operational connectivity, LED lighting, drag-detecting door sensors, and emergency alarms,” van der Putten said.

Auckland Transport owns the fleet, sets service patterns and provides customer information systems, while operator Auckland One Rail (AOR) maintains and runs the services.

The majority of the new units are already operating across the network and were heavily used in AT’s region-wide timetable simulation held at the end of January.

The exercise saw 84 trains running across the network to test CRL ready frequencies and ensure safe, reliable performance ahead of the CRL’s opening in the second half of 2026.

“The testing was a valuable learning curve”, van der Putten said.

“It highlighted several challenges, particularly around network congestion, which our teams are now working through.

“We’ll tweak a few things before we run the simulation again in the April school holidays, to help us finalise a robust timetable and provide reliable services from day one.”

The testing has also given AOR critical insights into how its train crews, station teams, and operations staff will manage the increase in services.