Major disruptions on Southern and Eastern lines for Auckland trains this evening

Passengers waiting for replacement buses near Britomart after significant delays to the Auckland metro rail network this evening. Photo / Edward Swift

Commuters using trains on the Eastern lines in Auckland are being advised to consider other options due to significant disruptions.

Earlier, Auckland Transport (AT) said there would also be disruption to the Southern line, however, the issue has since been resolved.

Two separate incidents occurred late this afternoon, including where a car crash damaged a railway bridge near Ellerslie and a track failure in the Parnell tunnel.

Following what AT called a “bridge strike” event, KiwiRail teams have since assessed the bridge and have determined it is safe to resume running trains on the Southern line.

At 6.22 pm, the first Southern line train to Papakura departed from Britomart/Waitemata Station. This evening, train personnel are working to promptly restore services throughout the network, AT said.

AT earlier said there would be substantial delays and cancellations affecting services on the Southern and Eastern lines.

There will still be some delays and cancellations across the network this evening but the incidents this afternoon won’t have any impact on any train services tomorrow, AT said.

A commuter near Britomart said there were “plenty of people waiting for rail replacement buses here.

“One passenger told me that she’d been waiting 30 minutes already but others have been waiting over an hour.”

An AT spokesperson said: “Our rail team has been able to organise limited bus replacement services, which are currently running between Britomart and Penrose.”

Southern line services are now only capable of running between Penrose and Papakura, while Eastern line services are only capable of running between Ōtāhuhu and Manukau as a result of these accidents.

Although services on the Western and Onehunga Lines are running to all stations, there may be occasional cancellations and delays due to network-wide issues, AT warned.

“Our rail teams are working with KiwiRail to understand how long it will take for the Parnell track fault to be addressed and for the rail bridge near Ellerslie to be inspected and cleared,” the spokesperson said.

Rail network status at 5.10pm:

Western: Operating to all stations at reduced frequencies with some cancellations

Southern: Reduced frequency and operating from Penrose to Papakura only

Eastern: Reduced frequency and operating from Ōtāhuhu to Manukau only

Onehunga: Running to Schedule, but some delays expected