KiwiRail Block of Line between Auckland and Hamilton

KiwiRail have confirmed line closures will affect rail freight services between Hamilton and Auckland during the Matariki weekend period commencing from Friday 20th June 2025 07:00am to Monday 23rd June 2025 4:00pm. These closures are required as part of Auckland’s City Rail Link (CRL) work programme, delivering critical rail network upgrades.

An additional block of line is also planned from Saturday 28th June 2025 06:00am to Saturday 12th July 6:00pm with KiwiRail providing a road-bridging solution during this period which is expected to deliver equivalent capacity to the normal MetroPort rail capacity. Dry containers will be road-bridged between Hamilton and Auckland MetroPort. Reefer containers will be road-bridged direct to/from Tauranga and Auckland MetroPort. Trains between Port of Tauranga and Hamilton will continue to run through this period.

The road-bridging contingency (28th June to 12th July) is planned to operate on a business-as-usual basis and Maersk is working closely with Port of Tauranga and KiwiRail, monitoring cargo flows during this period with an aim to deliver seamless service coverage for your cargo.

Our teams will continue to monitor for network delays during this period to ensure that you are updated with any further changes.

Thank you for you continued support and trust in Maersk as your supply chain partner. Should you have any questions please contact our Customer Experience Team via our Live Chat channel.