Containers for Auckland leaving by train and truck from Whangārei

Constantinos P docked at Northport last week with 1116 containers destined for Auckland.

A third load of containers bound for Auckland have been unloaded at Northport, with the 1116 containers being transported by road and rail.

The Constantinos P left the deepwater port at Marsden Pt on Easter Sunday after Northport's two mobile harbour cranes undertook 1364 container moves - 1116 discharged for Auckland and 248 handled as DLRs (discharge/load/restow).

A spokesman for Northport said the job went exceptionally well.

''Our team performed to an extremely high standard and finished unloading well ahead of pre-arrival estimates.''

Exactly when the last container will be taken to Auckland is yet to be determined as the timing of container transport from Northport is entirely in the hands of the transport operators and freight agents.

''Northport cannot speculate on when the last ones from this third call will leave the port.''

While most containers will be taken by truck, up to 150 will be taken by train to Auckland.

KiwiRail executive general manager sales and commercial Alan Piper said the rail line from Whangārei to Auckland - closed last month after two trucks derailed between Kaiwaka and Te Hana - had reopened on Tuesday.

The containers will be trucked to KiwiRail's Whangārei yard in Porowini Ave, where they will be loaded on to train carriages to be taken south.

Northport took the first lot of containers in December as Ports of Auckland cannot handle the volume of freight coming in.

About 150 containers for Auckland are being loaded on to trains at KiwiRail's Whangārei depot, above. Photo / File

And given how congested things are at Ports of Auckland, it's likely more containers for the big city will be unloaded at Northport.

''Supporting Auckland's freight growth is part of Northport's future business strategy, the plans for which are currently out for public consultation at www.visionforgrowth.co.nz,'' the Northport spokesman said.

''Our ability to help ease the freight congestion currently besetting the country illustrates well the role Northport could play in a resilient, three-port Upper North Island supply chain strategy, given ongoing and significant investment in north-of-Auckland transport infrastructure.

''So further such calls are likely; we expect to be handling Auckland-bound container traffic for as long as NZ port congestion remains a challenge for the national supply chain.''

The containers from Constantinos P at Northport ready to be taken to Auckland by truck and rail.