Auckland’s City Rail Link (CRL) celebrated an exciting milestone today, welcoming Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, Government Ministers, civic leaders and project partners as passengers on the transformational railway under the central city.

“The Government and Auckland Council are joint funders of the $5.5 billion project, and we’re delighted to have been able to show off the progress we are making and offer a preview of the benefits thousands of Aucklanders will enjoy when CRL opens next year,” says City Rail Link Ltd’s Chief Executive, Patrick Brockie.

The train travelled beneath the city centre through the twin 3.45 kilometre-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.

Mr Brockie says with heavy construction complete, work is focused on commissioning and testing all the tunnel and station systems necessary to operate the CRL safely.

“While the finish line is getting closer, there is still a lot of work to be done before the CRL can open to passengers in 2026,” he says.

The trip was organised under strict safety protocols as part of the CRL’s rigorous train testing phase. 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 and Mr Brockie says 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 and getting this right for Aucklanders is our utmost priority.”

All project partners are working together to complete and open the CRL as quickly as possible to deliver the largest ever change to Auckland’s public transport network.

“We can’t wait to show more people just how transformational City Rail Link will be for Auckland’s wider rail network. It allows for a rethink of our train lines giving customers more choice in how they travel and ways get to where they’re going faster,” says Auckland Transport Chief Executive Dean Kimpton.

“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,” says Dean Kimpton.

KiwiRail Chief Executive Peter Reidy says KiwiRail continues to deliver significant upgrades to the metro network to support the increased services City Rail Link will bring.

“In Auckland we are carrying out work which would normally take a decade but is being delivered in three to four years.

“While working closely with our partners to ensure rigorous testing and commissioning of the City Rail Link, KiwiRail is also modernising our older rail assets so they can support significantly more trains and passengers.

“We have delivered large new infrastructure projects to support this – Pukekohe to Papakura electrification, Third Main Line and Wiri to Quay Park, Western Power Feed – and continue at pace with the final stages of our Rail Network Rebuild and constructing three new stations in southern Auckland.”

CRL is New Zealand’s first underground railway.

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