Te Huia will add a Pukekohe Station stop from February next year, providing a connection to the Auckland Transport network and direct travel to central Auckland.
The stop will be added to the Waikato-Auckland passenger rail service from Monday, 10 February 2025. As part of the change, Te Huia will discontinue service to Papakura Station, with the final stop planned for Saturday, 8 February at 6.21pm heading southband to Hamilton.
“Connecting north Waikato residents to the Auckland Transport network and central Auckland is an exciting next step for Te Huia,” said Future Proof Public Transport Subcommittee Deputy Chair, Councillor Angela Strange.
“Given the calls and messages we’ve had from our communities asking when this service will be available, we know the start date is going to be celebrated and I’m sure it will only add to our growing passenger numbers.”
For the first 10 months of 2024, Te Huia carried almost 74,000 passengers compared with 58,000 over the same period last year.
“To ensure running times and trip efficiency are prioritised, we’ve had to make the tough decision to remove Papakura as one of our stops. But we’ll continue stopping at Puhinui Station, providing our passengers with easy access to Auckland airport, as well as connections to AT bus and rail services,” said Cr Strange.
Pukekohe station facilities include a new overbridge with lifts to connect the bus stops and train station, park and ride facilities for 87 vehicles, a passenger waiting area, cycle parking facilities and public toilets.
The upgrades and service improvements are in partnership with KiwiRail and AT.
The 21 Northern Connector and 44 Pōkeno to Pukekohe bus services also connect to the station, improving the public transport network for north Waikato communities.
“We’re proud to deliver this important inter-regional train service for Waikato Regional Council and it’s great to see patronage on Te Huia continue to grow. Stopping at Pukekohe Station will offer another public transport option for people in the wider area,” said KiwiRail General Manager Commuter Rail, Tracey Goodall.
“We appreciate that the extended network closure over Christmas 2024 isn’t ideal. The Christmas work and other needed closures around public holidays in 2025 are the final push to lift the standard of the Auckland metro network ahead of the opening of the City Rail Link. Once this work is done, KiwiRail will be able to maintain the network without the level of disruption for Te Huia and other passengers we have seen in recent years.”
Te Huia will be off the tracks for longer than usual during the holiday period due to a four week closure of the Auckland rail network. This time is needed for KiwiRail to undertake upgrade work to get the network ready for the opening of the City Rail Link in 2026, the Council said in a statement.
Te Huia will stop running on Christmas Day (25 December) and return to normal services from Tuesday, 28 January 2025.
The updated timetable is available to view online at tehuiatrain.co.nz/timetables, while printed timetables will be available from late January 2025.
