Auckland Transport has released footage of what the new train journey from east to west will look like once the City Rail Link opens.

The new line will run directly from Manukau to Swanson using the new underground stations and the tunnels, once they open this year.

Footage posted by Auckland Transport (AT) shows the driver’s point of view of the train, starting at Manukau Station, as it heads north via eastern stops.

Instead of ending at Waitematā Station, as the eastern line currently does, it continues through the new City Rail Link (CRL) underground stops of Te Waihorotiu, Karanga-a-Hape, and the refurbished Maungawhau.

The new Karanga-a-Hape Station.

That connects it to the existing western line, creating a continuous journey from Manukau to Swanson as part of the new east-west line.

The reveal comes as April is set for further network disruption.

AT said more dry-run tests of the new network would be run next month to check if systems are linking with trains and to make sure “new services will be safe and reliable”.

The transport authority’s website showed a full network closure “for CRL timetable testing” from April 13-15.

No trains will be running from April 3-6, and other partial or full closures will be in place during the month. These closures are not for CRL testing.

The upcoming opening of the $5.5 billion project contributed to a full rail closure from December 27, 2025, to January 18 this year as work was undertaken to get it up and running, while other maintenance work also took place.

Partial closures or reduced services were also in place around the summer holidays.

The City Rail Link project, now costing $5.5 billion, will open this year. Photo / Facebook / City Rail Link

The CRL, the country’s largest transport project, is slated to open in the latter half of this year. Sources have told the Herald the opening was scheduled for September.

Construction on the CRL began in 2015. The tunnels were finished in 2022 and the first full test was completed in February last year.

Once finished, the mega project will link the eastern and western lines via 3.4km of tunnels, providing new direct connections.

The southern line will run in both directions via a loop through the central city.