Southern Line (Auckland)

Southern Line
STH
Southern Line train at Takaanini
Overview
Owner	KiwiRail (tracks and platforms) Auckland Transport (trains and buildings)
Locale	Auckland
Termini	Waitematā Pukekohe
Connecting lines	Eastern Line Onehunga Line Western Line
Stations	17
Service
Type	Commuter Rail
System	Auckland Transport
Operator	Auckland One Rail
Rolling stock	AM class
Technical
Number of tracks	2 (Waitematā – Westfield) 3 (Westfield – Wiri 2 (Wiri – Pukekohe)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	Overhead line, 25 kV 50 Hz AC
Route map  planned South-City Line service  planned South-City Line station km Karanga-a-Hape Te Waihorotiu 0.0 Waitematā Grafton Parnell Parnell Tunnel 3.7 Newmarket 4.8 Remuera 6.2 Greenlane 7.6 Ellerslie 9.1 Penrose Ōtāhuhu Middlemore Papatoetoe Puhinui Homai Manurewa Te Mahia Takaanini 33.1 Papakura Drury Ngākōroa Paerātā 51.3 Pukekohe

The Southern Line in Auckland, New Zealand, is the name given to suburban train services that operate between Waitematā and Pukekohe via Newmarket. Services are operated by Auckland One Rail under the Auckland Transport brand.

Routing

From Waitematā to Newmarket, Southern Line services use the Newmarket Line, then follow the North Auckland Line to Westfield Junction, and thence onto the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) line as far as Pukekohe, the terminus of the Southern Line. In its entirety, this line follows the original 1875 North Island Main Trunk route between central Auckland and Pukekohe.

The line, originally single-tracked, was duplicated, piecemeal, between 1909 and 1939. In 1915, the original single-track Parnell tunnel was bypassed by a twin-track tunnel. The older tunnel can be seen alongside the current one, between Parnell station and Newmarket Junction.

History

In 1930, the Westfield Deviation opened a new eastern route for the NIMT between Auckland and Westfield via Glen Innes. The route between Auckland and Westfield via Newmarket then ceased to be part of the NIMT. The portion between Newmarket and Westfield became part of the North Auckland Line (NAL), which runs between Westfield and Whangārei.

The Southern Line suburban services continued to run on the older route. A new line, called the Eastern Line, was introduced for services on the new route. While the Eastern and Southern lines have a different route between Auckland and Westfield, they share the same tracks between Westfield and Puhinui station.

Third Main Line

Construction for the third main line, as part of the Wiri to Quay Park began in 2020 and was completed by 2025. It is expected to ease congestion on Auckland rail lines by allowing "through" trains to pass stationary trains at stations, improve rail freight access from the Port of Auckland to the Westfield yards and allow more frequent passenger and freight services. The new line runs between Westfield Junction and just south of Wiri Depot.

The $315 million funding package for these works was announced as part of the Government's New Zealand Upgrade Programme.

Electrification

Main article: Auckland railway electrification

Along with the rest of Auckland's suburban railway network, the Southern Line was electrified from Waitematā to Papakura, with electric services beginning in 2014. Services between Pukekohe and Papakura were initially provided by diesel multiple units (DMUs). In 2020, as part of the New Zealand Upgrade Programme, the government announced $371 million in funding to extend electrification from Papakura to Pukekohe. The project was completed in early 2025, and electric train services from Pukekohe commenced on 3 February 2025.

Future

After the opening of the City Rail Link in 2026, the Southern Line will become the South-City Line; trains will run Pukekohe to Newmarket, then to Waitematā railway station via Grafton and the City Rail Link before returning to Newmarket via Parnell and terminating.

Stations

	Name	Opened	Notes
	Waitematā	7 July 2003
	Parnell	12 March 2017
	Newmarket	20 December 1873
	Remuera	20 December 1873
	Greenlane	20 December 1873
	Ellerslie	20 December 1873
	Penrose	24 December 1873
	Ōtāhuhu	20 May 1875	New station and bus-train interchange opened 29 October 2016.
	Middlemore	20 July 1947
	Papatoetoe	20 May 1875
	Puhinui	29 June 1925	New station and bus-train interchange opened 26 July 2021.
	Homai	15 August 1924
	Manurewa	20 May 1875
	Te Mahia	16 August 1926
	Takaanini	9 December 1913
	Papakura	20 May 1875
	Drury		Scheduled to open on 2 August 2026.
	Paerātā		Scheduled to open on 2 August 2026.
	Pukekohe	20 May 1875

See also

• Public transport in Auckland
• List of Auckland railway stations