The track between Papakura and Pukekohe has been closed since September 2022 to complete a major project to extend overhead electricity.

This week, the Pukekohe train station development celebrated a milestone as it moved from construction to the testing stage.

Franklin Local Board chair Angela Fulljames said she was delighted they were getting closer to the full operation of the station.

“It has been long awaited and customers have had disruptions," Fulljames said.

“I really want to see quality of life improved for people who use the train.”

Fulljames wants the public to be rewarded with a top train service when it opens next year in January 2025.

“They've had to take a bus through to Papakura.

"In previous years they used to get a diesel train and transfer there. It was raining, they'd come out and have to get back on another train.

"This will be quite a step up from what they've had in the past.”

KiwiRail has finished installing and energizing 19km of overhead electric lines and redeveloping Pukekohe Station as part of the $419 million project.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown said it will give Aucklanders more choices as to how they get around.

“Papakura and Pukekohe project will enable more frequent trains across the city, and bring the suburbs closer to the CBD with a further 19 kilometers of electrified network, and also take away that transition that was required to forward the diesel trains.”

This means electric trains can travel further, and residents will no longer have the disruption of taking a diesel shuttle and changing trains at Papakura, he said.

It's expected to result in faster travel times for people traveling into the CBD.

Brown said the most important aspect is the potential that the newly electrified line offers the southern part of Auckland.

“The next stage of investment, which is going to be new stations being added between here and Papakura, which is going to add even more choices.

"And we know that this part of Auckland is growing incredibly rapidly."

Over 800 mast structures have been set up between Pukekohe and Papakura to uphold almost 130km of overhead electric lines that power the trains.

Papakura Local Board chair Brent Catchpole said it was a fabulous opportunity.

“People will be able to jump on this train and come through and shop in Papakura. And vice versa."

Catchpole said this will take away some of the pressure on the park and ride in Papakura, as there will be the same facility in Pukekohe.

For Papakura’s Pacific community, he said it will provide opportunities for work.

“It’s rewarding to see how far we’ve come and how close we are to the finish line.

KiwiRail Chief Asset Development Officer David Gordon thanked the community for their patience as they finish the work before this section of the line reopens in mid-January.

KiwiRail will also deliver the Rail Network Rebuild (RNR) during this time, taking full advantage of the closed line to carry out work on the same section of the Southern Line between Papakura and Pukekohe.

Gordon said this will be another game-changer.

“It's been a pretty awful service from Pukekohe for quite some time.

"When the old trains were running, they were old diesels, they weren't that reliable, they certainly weren't that comfortable, and you had to change trains at Papakura.

"Now when this operates, you'll be able to get on a train. When City Rail Links opens, you'll be able to go right to the core of the city, get off at any one of the three stations downtown.

"It just connects Pukekohe to the rest of the community."

Local Democracy Reporting is funded through RNZ and NZ On Air.