Waikato Regional Council's Te Huia train will from next week stop at Auckland's Puhinui Station, allowing for connection to Auckland Airport.
The train service, which runs between Hamilton and Auckland, will return to the tracks on Monday following a number of improvements to the service.
Te Huia has an updated timetable which includes a morning service to Hamilton from Auckland and an afternoon service from Hamilton to Auckland.
There will be two weekday services departing from Hamilton at 6:15am and 2:07pm, while Auckland passengers will depart from The Strand at 9:18am and 5:15pm each weekday.
Late last year, the multi-agency rail governance working group announced that Te Huia would terminate downtown at The Strand Station on weekdays, allowing passengers direct access to the Auckland city centre and its waterfront without the hassle and cost of parking.
Te Huia's weekend service will remain the same as in 2021, operating once on Saturdays to allow KiwiRail to conduct track work on the network.
The return to the rails follows a five-month interruption to services caused by Auckland border restrictions and track work over the Christmas break.
Te Huia has been haemorrhaging cash since it launched in April - the two-and-a-half hour commute attracted on average only 100 people a day.
Revenue plunged from almost $70,000 a month in April to $59,000 in July, eventually falling to zero after the country entered alert level 4 in August.
In total, Te Huia lost $2.9 million dollars last year.
Te Huia had been operational for just 102 days before the country was forced into lockdown in August. Since then it's been sitting idle for 131 days at a cost of $8000 a day.
"Yes there was a deficit there but once we get going if we can increase our revenue basis then increased revenue is less subsidy from ratepayers and government," says Hugh Vercoe, Waikato Regional Council and chairperson.
Officials are confident the new-look timetable with a later departure twice up and back daily will tempt more travellers between Auckland and Waikato.
Te Huia is currently eight months into a five-year trial funded by subsidies from the New Zealand Transport Agency and Waikato local authorities.
Waikato Regional Council has also confirmed that from February 1, Bee Card holders with their SuperGold Card concession loaded will be able to travel for free on all Waikato services.
Russ Rimmington, chair of Waikato Regional Council, said Te Huia got off to a good start with about 15,000 boardings through to August 2021, when the service was paused due to the Auckland COVID-19 border closure.
Transport Minister Michael Wood previously said while we know we can't build our way out of congestion, Te Huia will support a shift to public transport.
When the service returns for the first five days of service, one child aged 18 and under will travel for free with every paying adult.
