The Karanga-a-Hape underground station will house the longest escalator in New Zealand, at 40 metres long Photo: Supplied: CRL
Those in charge of the country's most expensive transport infrastructure are confident the new timetable for opening will stick - but they won't name a date.
Auckland's $5.5 billion City Rail Link has to undergo thousands of tests including crowd emergency evacuations before it can open in the second half of next year.
Today The Detail goes to the deepest point of the new project inside Karanga-a-Hape station for a glimpse of the country's longest escalator, and the tracks running more than three kilometres under the city, connecting the two brand new stations (Karanga-a-Hape and Te Waihorotiu) and two extensively modified ones (Maungawhau and Waitematā).
It was originally planned to open this year but it has been pushed back by several months, to the second half of 2026.
More than 13,000 tests have to be completed before City Rail Link Limited hands it over to Auckland Transport, says Alan Trestour, head of CRL delivery for Auckland Transport.
He says there is much more to it than ensuring the trains run every four minutes at peak time.
"It's about making sure the stations are also delivering the system performance that we're asking them to," Trestour says.
Intense and complex testing has been carried out in the last four months and will continue until June 30.
"You run into glitches all the time," says CRL chief executive Pat Brockie. "But nothing that's a showstopper at the moment."
A 'showstopper' would set back the June 30 target date, he says.
In the station control room, filled with screens which monitor fire panels and safety system, Russell McMullan explains the role of a large red button with a sign saying 'DO NOT TOUCH' on it.
"In the event of something really bad happening, should it occur in the very unlikely event, that button can be used by staff to send a signal to all of the train drivers that there's a major incident and that they need to stop the trains wherever they are," says McMullan, CRL's general manager of assurance and integration.
Passenger modelling simulations have already been carried out and more real life emergency tests will be organised next year involving staff and families, as well as disability groups.
What's the hold-up?
Several issues contributed to delays but Covid-19 had the greatest impact, he says, with lockdowns and severe restrictions on bringing in workers from overseas.
It also contributed to the budget blowout. It was first estimated to cost $2.8 to $3.4 billion. It was pushed out to $4.4b 2019, then $5.5b in 2023.
For McMullan, who's worked on the project from the start nearly 10 years ago, the CRL holdups are a hot topic around the barbecue.
"The analogy I give to family and friends and people at barbecues is if you've ever built a house and the builder gives you a date and you work towards a date any little things can trip you up and cause that date to move and you cater for that.
"But the CRL is about a thousand times more complicated than a house and it's about a thousand times the size of your general house so you can generally expect things, when they catch you out can just add to the time that it takes."
Transport expert Trestour, an Australian who has worked on Sydney and Melbourne rail projects, says the involvement of many agencies has added to the complexity of the architecture.
Auckland Council and the Crown have gone half and half to fund it; a number of other agencies such as construction partner the Link Alliance are on board, iwi groups have had a huge part in the planning and design, Auckland Transport will take over and run it when it's finished; and KiwiRail has a role integrating it with existing tracks.
But Trestour says it is the incorporation of the Māori design and artworks that set it apart.
"What I find is beautiful on this project is the snapshot to cultural heritage. There's been high level collaboration to get there with iwi being part of that process," he says.
"These are pieces of infrastructure that are going to keep a legacy to Aucklanders and I think it's really important that they represent the local cultural values that are enshrined in the life of Aucklanders."
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