KiwiRail is delivering infrastructure upgrade work across the Auckland metro at a huge scale as we move into the final, intensive push to get the network ready for City Rail Link (CRL). Aucklanders can start to get excited.
We appreciate the public’s ongoing patience as we deliver more than a decade’s worth of work in time for City Rail Link to open in 2026. We’ve worked hard with our rail partners to design a programme where we close the network entirely only at the quietest times (public and school holidays) across 2025 into early 2026. This allows us to deliver intensive work safely, in shorter timeframes – compared to a scenario where we attempt to keep trains running impacting timetables and reducing train frequency on an ongoing basis.
It’s been historically underfunded, and it was designed for freight. The fact that it needs to accommodate an ever-increasing number of passenger services is great news for us all in the sense that public transport demands are growing, it’s a more sustainable form of travel and it takes cars off the road. But the network is not yet up to standard to support these increases on train movements – that’s our focus between now and 2026.
The extensive programme we are delivering across the Auckland metro – the Rail Network Rebuild – addresses the ‘priority’ areas – those that most need upgrading. This will uplift the network to enable it to support the faster, more frequent trains that CRL will bring. Although we are moving at pace safety remains our key priority and working while trains aren’t running is the safest option too.
There’s a lot to do
But there’s still a lot of work for us and our partners Auckland Transport and City Rail Link to do to manage public and stakeholder expectations around this. The first test train ran through the CRL tunnels in February which was an exciting milestone but so much more needs to happen before it’s ready to open.
So, we need to keep on sharing the journey we are on – what we need to work through to opening day and how capacity will grow from there.
By the time we complete the testing programme, we will have completed around 8000 tests – covering everything from the infrastructure and rail systems interfaces, the emergency procedures and scenarios and the stations and urban realm, finishing with some simulated stress testing (running lots of trains through the tunnels over a short period of time) to really put the new rail system through its paces.
We also have the Auckland Transport-led driver training, developing and implementing new timetables and updating a number of systems to ensure they’re ready for opening. We’ll also carry out a variety of practice and readiness exercises before confirming we can ensure a safe, reliable service that provides a great experience for Aucklanders in 2026.
These final phases of a complex new railway project are known from international experience to be the most challenging, with various potential scenarios to plan for. We’re integrating new systems with old, in a complex environment, keeping trains running wherever possible and there will inevitably be teething issues.
One of the most effective actions we’ve taken is to create an informal “alliance” with Auckland Transport and City Rail Link – to ensure we are all aligned and all accountable for delivering City Rail Link successfully.
KiwiRail’s network readiness projects
We’ve delivered some huge milestone projects recently and we’ve got an ongoing series of them coming up. Seeing the fruition of significant Government investment, the hard work from our teams and the improvements to the network as these start to come online is really rewarding.
Southern Auckland
In January the electrification of an extra 19km of the network from Papakura to Pukekohe opened – extending the metro and enabling residents of Southern Auckland to get a train direct to the city without having to change from a diesel train at Papakura.
On this same stretch we are building three new stations – Drury, Paerātā and Ngākōroa. When they open in 2026, these stations will serve the population growth forecast in Southern Auckland where housing intensification is already responding to demand from an estimated increase of 120,000 residents in the area over the next 30 years.
KiwiRail.
The third main line
Around mid-year, the third main line – which separates freight from passenger rail at the busiest part of the network will come into operation, immediately decongesting that section and increasing resilience for the entire metro.
Our challenges
As we head into the transformed transport era of the City Rail Link, part of our challenge is managing expectations. We have had an injection of funding over recent years – $1.5 billion across the Auckland metro, which is enabling us to support these increased services, but it will not be a “magic” network that will never have issues again.
In common with any metro railway in the world we will continue to need to maintain and update the infrastructure, but we will have a new, cyclical way of delivering that, which will mean lengthy whole network closures should be a thing of the past.
Future maintenance strategy
The work we are doing pre-CRL has been designed to create a “maintainable network”. The entire Metro maintenance model will change. We have a new management plan which identifies the repairs, replacements or upgrades needed. The plan coupled with the massive improvements being made now allows KiwiRail to shift from a reactive maintenance state to a preventative long-term forecasted approach. This offers significant benefit to passengers including far fewer disruptions, proactive maintenance and replacement work and allow our partners to deliver a more resilient, reliable, timetable with reduced disruption.
One of our key focuses at KiwiRail is to grow our value and win customer loyalty and this relates to our so-called “above rail” side of the business – meaning freight services, ferries, and our Great Journeys passenger rail. We are working hard to improve performance in these parts of the business and give our customers the efficiency and reliability they want. Doing that, will help us grow, and help our customers meet the needs of their customers.
We have delivered on time, over $4 billion of infrastructure upgrades and new projects across New Zealand over the last three years. This is part of a $10b investment to modernise the rail system to benefit freight customers to connect to global and domestic markets and connect people to communities.
The work we are delivering on the Auckland metro impacts our freight customers when we close the network to all trains while delivering our intensive work programmes. During these times we organise freight transport by road as an alternative. This comes with logistical challenges and impacts on roads and congestion at times, so it’s a big job and we appreciate the patience of our customers and other road users. We also need to ensure any additional noise or road movements are communicated with stakeholders, local businesses, retailers and communities.
Each full closure is a chance for us to learn lessons and implement these learnings at the next opportunity as we deliver the intensive shutdowns that allow us to safely and efficiently blitz the network while trains aren’t running.
Looking to the future
When City Rail Link opens, the pain Aucklanders have gone through will no doubt be forgotten in the light of the huge gain of transformed travel. As well as a more resilient network, faster more frequent trains and shorter journey times, there is a whole interconnected system of buses and ferries designed by Auckland Transport that will open up the entire city to improved public transport.
When we look back at past large infrastructure projects around the city, the frustrations disappear once the outcome is realised. We can’t imagine life without the harbour bridge, for example. We will know our job is done when CRL becomes part of the fabric of the city.
