Hundreds to attend ceremony marking City Rail Link opening

The timetables have been revealed, there’s been test after test through the tunnels, the finishing touches have been put on shiny new stations – and today a ribbon cutting will take place for the City Rail Link, ahead of Sunday’s actual opening.The Transport Minister is brimming with excitement this morning as he describes a feeling of “hubbub and hullabaloo” around the country’s first underground train metro.The public will be able to jump on board the City Rail Link from early Sunday morning, with the first train departing Otahuhu just before 6am.Speaking live on Ryan Bridge TODAY from Auckland’s new Te Waihorotiu Station, based by SkyCity, Chris Bishop said it was a momentous occasion. “It’s fair to say there’s a bit of hubbub, a bit of excitement building in the city for the official ribbon cutting and hullabaloo at 9.“People watching will probably say ‘oh that looks like something in London, Sydney, Paris’ or whatever and it’s Auckland, look how good it looks.”Bishop said despite some anxiety expected for D-Day, Sunday, they’re ready.“Any new timetable, any new change to the network, you’re a bit anxious about it, but we’re good to go.“There’s been an enormous amount of work done over the last few years to get ready for this day.“Will there be teething problems? Probably … human nature being what it is we should calibrate our expectations.”Coalition colleague Winston Peters was a little more restrained, telling Bridge while he planned to go to the station, “you can’t be excited”.“This has been massively delayed, it’s massively overpriced but thank God the light at the [end of] the very long tunnel is coming to open today.” KiwiRail CEO Peter Reidy told the Herald earlier this week he is confident that the system is ready to go.Train enthusiasts have snapped up tickets to be on that train, alongside politicians and other officials.About 450 people are expected at today’s ribbon-cutting and opening ceremony.Commuters will face new timetables and some route changes on the three main services: the East West, South City and Onehunga West lines.The first weekday timetable will operate on the new CRL-enabled rail network with trains scheduled to run from just after 5am.The East West Line will connect Swanson with Manukau, effectively joining today’s Western and Eastern lines and running through the new city-centre tunnel.The South City Line will replace the Southern Line, running from Pukekohe through Newmarket and the city centre.The Onehunga West Line will run between Onehunga and Henderson off-peak, but terminate at Maungawhau during peak hours.Members of the public have flocked to open days held at Karang-a-hape, Maungawhau and Te Waihoritiu stations in the lead-up to the official opening.Katie Bradford is a Senior Correspondent at the Herald. She has been a broadcast journalist for over 20 years and was based in the press gallery for 10 years. She specialises in politics, business and Auckland issues.