On 13 March 2007, the Government announced that it had given approval to spend $10 million on reopening the branch line for passengers and freight.

[5] On 24 June 2022, the line was shortened to terminate at Newmarket due to a reduction of platforms at Britomart for City Rail Link construction.

[6] Auckland Transport said data showed only 15% of passengers on the line travelled to Britomart and that they could easily transfer to other services at Newmarket, thus the change would be the least disruptive of those needed to allow the reduction in platforms.

[8] During Stage 2 of the Rail Network Rebuild between March 2023 and January 2024, the line was restored to Britomart during off-peak and weekends, running as a shuttle between Penrose and Onehunga during peak hours.

The bridge was duplicated from four motorway lanes to ten in 2007–10, and Transit New Zealand had announced in 2007 that it was being 'future proofed' to allow it to accommodate a rail line.