Train passengers to disembark by ramp near Moorhouse Ave for Christchurch’s April stadium opening

Tuesday, 24 February 2026

Mainland Rail plans to drop passengers off about 1km from Christchurch’s new stadium.

A central Christchurch railway platform won’t be built in time for the city’s new stadium opening, but the company behind an Events Express train has a solution.

Mainland Rail chief executive Paul Jackson, who runs the company behind the Mainlander train, has revealed a pop-up solution.

Passengers will disembark onto Pilgrim Place, opposite Pak’nSave on Moorhouse Ave, using a ramp similar to those used on Air New Zealand planes, he told Canterbury mayors at a meeting last week.

The location is about 1km from the new stadium at Te Kaha, Riverside Market and Parakiore, roughly where the old station used to be, and much closer to the stadium than the closest surviving platform in Addington.

Jackson said the company was still working with the city council on a permanent or temporary platform.

In the meantime, the ramp would be ready for the April opening of Te Kaha. Jackson told The Press it would be able to carry lightweight mobility devices like walkers and collapsible wheelchairs.

A council spokesperson said Mainland Rail was the one discussing logistics with the landowners, but council staff were providing support where they could.

Jackson has previously said he wanted the Events Express to be seen as a pilot for regular commuter rail, and repeated this to the region’s mayors in person.

“Something hypothetical not that long ago has now become more tangible, and more real,” he said.

“Together we could create a milestone moment for public transport in the South Island.”

Mayors around the table agreed there was enthusiasm for the regional events the Events Express has and would service in the coming months.

Environment Canterbury chairperson Deon Swiggs said the committee would report back to Jackson about how they could work together, and said getting KiwiRail to join the transport committee – as representatives agreed to formally request later in the meeting – was an important next step.

Also in stadium news, Air New Zealand will operate a party plane from Auckland to Christchurch for the sold-out Once In A Lifetime concert at One New Zealand Stadium, transforming the flight into a high-altitude concert including a standing ticket to the sold-out historic first concert.