The first ride on Auckland’s City Rail Link (CRL) has been made by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, Government Ministers, the City Rail Link Ltd’s Chief Executive, Patrick Brockie, civic leaders and project partners as passengers on the transformational railway under the central city. The trip was organised under strict safety protocols as part of the CRL’s rigorous train testing phase.
The train travelled beneath the city centre through the twin 3.45 km-long tunnels, starting at the new Maungawhau station and passing through Karanga-a-Hape and Te Waihorotiu underground stations and Waitematā station (Britomart) before returning to Maungawhau.
Following commissioning and testing all the tunnel and station systems necessary to operate the CRL safely, the new line is due to enter passenger service in 2026.
“There’s still a long ‘to-do list’ before we can open in 2026 and together with our partners, we are working hard to be ready for day one. We’re hiring front line staff, procuring new trains, updating bus routes, improving streets, paths and bus stops around our new stations and removing level crossings from our rail network,” Auckland Transport Chief Executive Dean Kimpton, said.
Since the first test train ran in February this year, more than 1,600 individual test train journeys have already taken place inside the tunnels. “There is a lot more to do to ensure the CRL and future train services are safe and reliable. We know from lessons learned overseas, this is our most challenging and complex phase andgetting this right for Aucklanders is our utmost priority,” the Chief Executive of City Rail Link Patrick Brockie said.
Auckland’s City Rail Link is New Zealand’s largest transport infrastructure project ever. The twin tunnel is built up to 42 metres underground, between Waitematā (Britomart) and Maungawhau stations.
The construction of the stations and supporting rail infrastructure is now expected to be completed by December 2025. The work is implemented by Link Alliance, comprising six companies responsible for delivering the main stations, tunnels and rail systems for the CRL project.
Auckland’s City Rail Link is worth NZD 5 billion (USD 3 billion) and is financed by the New Zealand Government and Auckland Council.
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