Artist render of an underground train station platform.

New images reveal re-designed City Link Rail stations and underground systems

Author: Jaime Lyth,
Publish Date: Thu, 25 May 2023, 3:13pm

New artist impression images unveil what Auckland’s $5.5 billion City Rail Link (CRL) will look like when it opens in 2026.

The mega-project is expected to transform several Auckland neighbourhoods, including Karangahape Rd and Mt Eden with modern London Underground-like tunnels.

City Rail Link chief executive Dr Sean Sweeney said November 2025 is when City Rail Link Ltd hands over the brand spanking new 3.4km track from Britomart to Mt Eden to Auckland Transport and KiwiRail, which then have to do extensive testing before it opens to passengers.

When the CRL opens, hopefully sometime in 2026, patronage will rise from 15,000 passengers per hour to 27,000 and Aucklanders will be able to whizz from the central city to Mt Eden, via Karangahape Rd, in about 10 minutes.

Artists’ impressions of the designs show how over the coming years the expansible new rail line and nine-car trains will be capable of carrying 54,000 passengers.

Karanga-a-Hape Station

Beneath the Karangahape Rd ridgeline, 100,00 tonnes of spoil have been removed to create two caverns for the 203m platforms with entrances up to 44m below ground at Mercury Lane and Beresford St.

The long platforms, arched walkways between the north and south rail lines, and space for the largest escalator in the Southern Hemisphere have the look and feel of the London Underground, Paris Metro and New York Subway.

City Rail Link / CRL station Karanga-a-Hape - exterior artist impression render. Photo / Supplied

City Rail Link / CRL station Karanga-a-Hape - interior artist impression render. Photo / Supplied

City Rail Link / CRL station Karanga-a-Hape - exterior artist impression render. Photo / Supplied

Te Waihorotiu Station

The underground Te Waihorotiu station is expected to become the busiest rail station in New Zealand when opened and serving the Aotea Centre, Auckland Town Hall and Skycity Auckland.

Te Waihorotiu station is also the biggest of the new stations below Albert St, with entrances at Mercury Lane and Beresford Square and Te Waihorotiu (Aotea) at Victoria and Wellesley Streets, midtown.

City Rail Link / CRL station Te Waihorotiu - exterior artist impression render. Photo / Supplied

Artist render of an underground train station platform. A sign reads Te Wai Horotiu. There is a large concrete X beam above and a train is pulling up to the platform where two people await to board. Photo / Supplied

Maungawhau Station

Maungawhau Station is the Mt Eden site, where two years ago the giant tunnel-boring machine, named Dame Whina Cooper, rumbled under the motorway network from Spaghetti Junction to Albert St in downtown Auckland. Twice.

There, a new station, with a featured water wall and Māori motifs carved out of concrete panels, is taking shape. The 10ha site is still a busy construction zone with walls of scaffolding above the tunnel entrances, but artist interpretations show a complex and expansive system,

In Sweeney’s words, the area circling Mt Eden and Eden Tce will become a rail version of “Spaghetti Junction” with trains running in all directions.