By Alexandra Cain

Auckland is well on its way towards finishing the biggest and most transformational rapid transit project in its history, the City Rail Link. The project unlocks a key part of Auckland’s rapid transit and rail network, allowing trains to cross the city through new underground tunnels and connections. 

The City Rail Link upgrade includes three new stations across the city centre and completes a missing link underneath it. Right now, there’s construction work on every line of the metro, complicated by the fact that trains are still running.

‘City Rail Link, Auckland Transport and KiwiRail are working together to deliver a better-connected network with faster, more frequent and reliable trains,’ says City Rail Link Chief Executive Dr Sean Sweeney. ‘This is a huge and complex project, the scale of which has not been seen before in New Zealand.’

While City Rail Link adds new stations and rail tracks around Auckland’s CBD, it also means that Waitematā Station, formerly Britomart Station, is no longer a terminus station. Instead of trains going into Waitematā and then having to go back out again, they can go into Waitematā and continue through the tunnel. This will see a significant lift in the number of trains running across the city.

‘For well over a decade, funding for day-to-day track maintenance in Auckland hasn’t kept pace with wear and tear, as the number of trains and patronage increased significantly. We’re on a fast track to addressing that in readiness for City Rail Link, so we can unlock the full benefits of what that will bring to the metro network,’ says Andre Lovatt, KiwiRail’s Chief Infrastructure Officer.

‘Once our current phase of large-scale upgrades and new infrastructure is complete, we will have a network that, future finding pipeline allowing, will be up to standard, enabling us to transform the way we manage maintenance,’ he says.

KiwiRail is delivering a number of major projects to upgrade the network in preparation for the City Rail Link.

$318-million Third Main Line and Wiri to Quay Park

This additional line between the Westfield and Wiri rail junctions delivers additional capacity in the busiest part of the Auckland rail network. The area is used by Auckland Transport’s metro trains, and is also an important freight route for goods coming into and out of Auckland. The Third Main Line will help separate freight from commuter services, and is needed to allow more frequent commuter trains in this part of the city.

$408-million rail network rebuild

This is a major upgrade of the rail track foundations across Auckland, some of which are more than 100 years old. It involves improving drainage in the rail corridor, as well as replacing work rail, sleepers and ballast. This project raises the Auckland network’s standard and resilience, and ensures the reliability and schedule integrity of services.

$419-million Papakura to Pukekohe Electrification

This extends the electrified network to Pukekohe and means that Auckland Transport’s electric trains will be able to travel to Pukekohe for the first time.

$569-million Drury Stations

This part of the project includes three new stations between Papakura and Pukekohe. The stations support the massive housing growth going on in this part of Auckland.

Sweeney says innovation has been the key to the project’s success. 

‘One outstanding example of innovation is Auckland’s historic Central Post Office, which is now the main entrance to Waitematā Station,’ he says. ‘Fourteen thousands tonnes of a heritage-listed building had to be delicately raised and then lowered again so that we could build two rail tunnels in its basement. The job, never undertaken before in New Zealand, was completed safely without our team leaving a mark on the building.

‘The project’s beneficiaries not only include Auckland’s rail travellers, but also wider New Zealand. The successful post office lift is one great example of City Rail Link helping upskill New Zealand’s workforce now and into the future, and giving it the confidence to tackle large-scale and tricky construction.’

Sweeney says the use of an alliance model to deliver its main construction program has paid dividends. City Rail Link’s main contractor is Link Alliance, which involves six New Zealand and international design and construct companies with proven infrastructure records. Link Alliance has already completed 80 per cent of construction of the railway and stations. That work is expected to near completion by the end of this year.

‘With everyone involved sitting around the one table, the alliance model gives us a great deal of flexibility, especially when dealing with the unexpected, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Setting up programs to allow work from home and from overseas, changes to shift hours, and managing staff and supply chain issues allowed us to maintain progress, and to then quickly build up a full head of steam when restrictions were lifted,’ Sweeney says.

With heavy construction almost complete, City Rail Link is now transitioning into the systems integration, and testing and commissioning phases to ensure the project is safe to be handed over to Auckland Transport and KiwiRail for final preparation ahead of the start of services.

‘There’s a fair amount of work that needs to be done to open the stations and the services to the public,’ says Mark Lambert, Auckland Transport’s Executive Programme Director.

For instance, there is much to be done to complete the work and fit-out, as well as testing and commissioning, and safety certification. Once construction is complete, 300 train drivers will need to be trained, as well as 220 train managers and station staff.

‘The complexities and challenges should not be underestimated as we begin integrating new systems, infrastructure and processes into an existing metro network. This is not a straightforward process. In fact, evidence from projects overseas tells us this is the most complicated phase of building a new railway,’ says Sweeney.

There are 31 test plans that must be completed, covering the signal systems, track work, overhead power lines, lighting, station lifts and escalators, fire detection and suppression systems, ventilation, security cameras, communications, and station ticket machines and gates.

‘All those systems will have to be methodically tested, and tested again, to make sure they mesh completely with the rest of Auckland’s rail network to do the job they are designed for: keeping everyone safe,’ Sweeney says.

Later in the year, test trains will start running in the tunnels under controlled conditions. Auckland train drivers will have an opportunity to test and evaluate responses to a wide range of more than 40 different operational scenarios below ground.

‘City Rail Link and Link Alliance’s aim is to get the project to what we call practical completion for handover to Auckland Transport and KiwiRail. This is not the same as customer operations beginning,’ says Sweeney.

Once the project has been handed over, Auckland Transport and KiwiRail will need to undertake many timetable, training and customer support initiatives to be ready to introduce the City Rail Link into Auckland’s metro network. It’s anticipated that this work will take between six and nine months to complete.

‘Approximately 75 people in the alliance are sharing resources and their expertise to get the best possible outcomes efficiently. But as New Zealand has never built an underground metro railway before, it’s a case of not knowing what we don’t know until we test it,’ says Sweeney.

‘In the meantime, progress towards the project’s finish line remains intense. We stay committed to completing the project as quickly as possible, with the intent that New Zealanders will be travelling along the new railway and enjoying its many benefits in 2026.’