The CRL wait is over

Tomorrow morning, September 13, the City Rail Link (CRL) will be up and running.

Ahead of the start of passenger services, the CRL was formally opened yesterday (September 11) with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, ministers, councillors and iwi in attendance.

Auckland Transport chief executive Stacey van der Putten says the focus is now on helping passengers confidently integrate the new train routes into their everyday lives.

“We encourage people to familiarise themselves with the new rail link network and how it connects with the wider public transport system before travelling,” van der Putten says.

Pat Brockie from City Rail Link says he is excited to see the rail line serve Auckland for generations to come.

“The City Rail Link is one of New Zealand’s most ambitious projects,” he says. “What Auckland will experience on Sunday is the result of years of engineering, construction, testing and collaboration.”

After months of testing the trains and systems, and preparing the staff who will run the network, KiwiRail chief metro officer Bevan Assink says the work behind the scenes has been extensive.

“From renewing critical foundations and upgrading rail infrastructure, to installing modern drainage and delivering new stations in Drury, 19km of electrification to extend the metro and a 6.5km third line to separate freight from passenger rail at the busiest part of the Auckland network,” Assink says.

“This transformation has been many year in the making, we’re all very happy to have made it to this huge milestone.”