The City Rail Link emerges from below
A look at the progress of the CRL stations, the streetscape works, and the opportunities for transit - oriented development.
Like many transport nerds, I've been watching the progress of the construction of the City Rail Link (CRL). I have kept up to date on this major public transport project in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland over the last few years by making various visits around the perimeter of the station sites or from the City Rail Link Limited (CRLL) social media channels.
The CRL is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Aotearoa New Zealand with 3.5km of new train tracks to be added in twin tunnels from Waitematā Station to Maungawhau Station to deliver more faster and accessible trips on our commuter rail network. The project will also include two new stations: Te Waihorotiu and Karanga-a-Hape Station and a complete rebuild of Maungawhau Station, expected to open in 2026. Today, we’ll have a look at the progress of these stations, the streetscape improvements supporting these stations and the opportunities that this project will unlock for transit-oriented development.
Waitematā:
We’ll start with a look at the upgrades at Waitematā Station (formerly known as Britomart Transport Centre) to become a two-way through station. Most of the upgrades to the station are now completed, which consisted of the restoration of the Chief Post Office, extending and rebuilding the platforms, new lifts, systems upgrades and installing new equipment.
New public spaces and developments opened up around Waitematā Station with Lower Queen St being converted back into a public space called Te Komititanga and the opening of Commercial Bay, which consists of offices, retail and eateries, both of these opened in 2020. Galway St, alongside the southern end of the station, was converted into a shared zone, which was opened in 2023. The remaining works to occur around Waitematā Station are the return of the plaza at the Commerce St entrance and turning Tyler St into a shared space which is being delivered by CRLL and Auckland Council, These works will be completed in 2025.
Te Waihorotiu:
We head to midtown to have a look at Te Waihorotiu Station, located underneath Albert St with entrances on Wellesley and Victoria St. The station is within walking distance to SkyCity, The Civic, Aotea Square and Queen St. When the station is completed, it will become the busiest train station in Aotearoa.
The fitting out of the station is currently underway with the sky element facade currently being installed on the exterior of the Wellesley St entrance, The sky element facade is being installed at Te Waihorotiu and Maungahau Station representing the tears of the sky father Ranginui. At the Victoria St entrance, glass panels were recently installed to the station building west of the Victoria/Albert St intersection.
At the concourse and platform levels, the lifts and escalators continue to be installed and commissioned, and the ventilation systems have been installed. Architectural features such as ceiling battens, skylights and artwork designed by artist Graham Tipene have started being installed, with more features to be installed on the concourse and platform levels over the next few months.
The streets close to these stations are being redesigned to accommodate the high volume of foot traffic and multimodal journeys that are expected when the station opens. To achieve this, works are currently being undertaken by Link Alliance and Auckland Council via projects being delivered as part of the council’s midtown regeneration programme such as Te Hā Noa to widen footpaths, new cycleways and delivering improvements to the public realm with new seating, a linear park featuring new trees and artwork featuring Māori designs, incorporating Te Ao Māori into our built environments. Most of the streetscape works on Albert, Victoria and Wellesley St are projected to be completed in 2025.
Works are set to begin this month on Stage 1 of the Wellesley St Bus Improvements. This will see increased bus priority and new facilities at bus stops to improve the reliability and accessibility of buses. These improvements will also see new seating, upgrades to utilities, improved tree protection and placemaking. Stage 1 (between Albert and Queen St) is projected to be completed in late 2025.
In the city centre, developments that are either planned or under construction (Eg: The 225-room Indigo Hotel and 50 Albert St) will benefit from being in proximity of the station. This year, construction will begin on The Symphony Centre, a 21-storey mixed-use development above the Wellesley St entrance, consisting of apartments, offices and eateries. Additionally, a new laneway connection between Wellesley St and Aotea Square will be created and the neighbouring Bledishoe House will be refurbished with new offices, retail and eateries. The refurbishment of Bledishoe House is projected to be completed in 2026. The Symphony Centre is projected to be completed in 2028.
Karanga-a-Hape:
We head to Karanga-a-Hape Station, located in the heart of Karangahape Rd, one of Tāmaki Makaurau's most diverse and vibrant neighbourhoods. The station will have two entrances at Beresford Square and Mercury Lane.
The fitting out of the station is well underway with the station buildings taking shape with the pre-cast panels installed on the Mercury Lane entrance and windows starting to be added on both entrances over the next few months. Below ground, the ventilation systems and escalators are starting to be installed with one escalator set being the longest in Aotearoa at 40m. 33m below ground at the station’s platforms, the architectural fit-out is underway with the glass-reinforced concrete panels currently being installed.
Auckland Transport has plans to redesign the streets surrounding the station as part of the Karangahape Neighbourhood and Bus Improvements project, also known as Project K. These improvements include separated cycleways on Pitt St. At the same time, upgrades will be made to existing cycleways on Canada and East St to create a connected cycleway network in the neighbourhood that is adjacent to the existing cycling infrastructure on Karangahape Road and the Lightpath.
Improvements will be made to the reliability and accessibility of buses with bus lanes, extended bus priority hours and upgrades to bus stops. Finally, footpaths will be widened and part of Mercury Lane to be converted into a pedestrian mall to support the projected 40,000 people who use this station every day. Works for the project are expected to begin in June. In 2022, Eke Panuku released its Precinct Development Plan, which discusses its desired outcomes for urban development in the Karangahape neighbourhood. The Plan identified opportunities for laneways, shared zones, housing and mixed-use development within the station’s catchment.
Maungawhau:
We go over the motorway to the inner city neighbourhood of Eden Terrace to the redevelopment of Maungawhau Station (formerly known as Mt Eden Station), where the CRL emerges from the underground tunnels to join the Western Line. The station has two platforms, one platform for trains to or from the city centre and Manukau via the CRL and one platform on the Western Line for trains to or from Henderson to Onehunga via Newmarket.
The station is starting to assemble the artists’ impressions with the sky element facade and glasswork completed on the station building. The ventilation building is also completed, which will support the ventilation for the whole CRL network. The architectural fit has started on the platforms with coping stones and soffit panels currently being installed.
Two level crossings have been removed at Normanby Rd and Porters Ave with the former including works for a new roundabout at the Normanby/Boston Rd intersection, raised platforms and new footpaths. Two footbridges have been installed at Ngahura/Fenton St and Porters Ave to improve the safety and accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists. The Porters Ave bridge was opened in 2022, and the Ngahura/Fenton St bridge is to open alongside the station in 2026.
Works to begin this year for the streetscaping improvements and placemaking within the precinct. The works will be traffic calming, shared zones, bike parking, drop-off areas, improvements to utilities, seating and new trees. The works are projected to be completed in 2025.
Eke Panuku in partnership with Kāinga Ora is working to transform the neighbourhood around Maungawhau Station and has released their desired outcomes for urban development within the station’s catchment. These outcomes focus on creating a mixed-use precinct that includes homes for all typologies, resilient to climate change, has good access to public spaces and employment, encourages mode shift to public transport and active modes, and has Te Ao Māori reflected throughout the neighbourhood through partnership with mana whenua. It’s expected that 750 homes and 20,000 sqm of offices, eateries and retail to be built in the area, following the opening of CRL.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, it’s great to see the CRL stations taking shape and look forward to seeing more of the streetscape improvements and the architectural features installed to the stations as the project reaches closer to its opening date in 2026, where we’ll see what this city-shaping project will unlock for Tāmaki Makaurau. Not only to improve public transport in the city but also the opportunities for housing, employment, public spaces and other amenities in the neighbourhoods around these new stations. and also, around stations along the commuter rail network throughout the city.
I enjoyed the update and this substack. Do you know if there is a similar one about Wellington?
You had great access. The project still has a long tail, reminding people about the time cost of major infrastructure.