THE final section of Auckland’s City Rail Link (CRL) was completed on February 21. The installation of track and rail infrastructure over the remaining 3.4 km of the northbound line between Maungawhau and Waitematā stations has now finished. This section includes two new city-centre underground stations at Karanga-a-Hape and Te Waihorotiu. Tracklayingon CRL’s southbound line was completed last year.
All tracklaying across the project’s three sites is now complete. New Zealand’s largest transport infrastructure project has involved the construction of 11km of new underground line at a depth of up to 42m.
In addition to the underground lines, new track has been laid at Maungawhau to connect CRL and the Western/North Auckland Line, and a short section of track has been laid at the eastern end of Waitematā, formerly Britomart, station.
“Completing the two tracks brings us one big step closer to the next phase of the project,” says Dr Sean Sweeney, City Rail Link CEO. “That involves testing trains inside the tunnels mid-year, and from there handing CRL over next year to Auckland Transport and KiwiRail, who will operate and maintain it.”
Work on the project now moves on to fitting out the stations, including the installation of lifts, escalators, security systems, CCTV, electricity, signalling and telecommunications.
