Watch: Bird's-eye view of new rail station for City Rail Link

Plans for the new Karangahape Road Station entrance. Photo / supplied

The Link Alliance has shown progress on the new Karangahape train station as part of New Zealand's biggest infrastructure project.

Aerial footage of the new station for the $4.4 billion City Rail Link gives a view above Beresford Square, Pitt St, Karangahape Rd, Hopetoun St, the Southern Motorway and surrounding areas to show the new rail tunnel's many active sites.

Work at Karangahape Station Hopetoun near the Hopetoun Bridge and Karangahape Station Mercury Lane is shown.

The project is within a block of Spaghetti Junction, the central motorway interchange near Beca's headquarters in the twin-block former Auckland Regional Council headquarters.

The Link Alliance won the competitive tender for the work and is City Rail Link, Vinci Construction Grands Projets S.A.S, Downer NZ, Soletanche Bachy International NZ,
WSP Opus (NZ), AECOM New Zealand and Tonkin + Taylor.

CRL's Karangahape Station will have an entrance off Beresford Square and off the one-way Mercury Lane. The station is the deepest on the Auckland rail network at 32m below ground level.

Three big CRL sites are now active across the city: Aotea Station in the CBD, Karangahape Rd and the C3 or tunnel portal works at Mt Eden.

The new footage puts the Karangahape Station sites in geographic perspective by panning across the Auckland city skyline to show the many separate zones active to build the new Karangahape Station.

Plans for the new Karangahape Road Station entrance. Photo / supplied

CRL is the 3.45km twin-tunnel underground rail link up to 42 metres below the city centre which expects to transform the downtown Britomart Transport Centre into a two-way through-station to better connect the Auckland rail network.

It allows the rail network to at least double rail capacity.

CRL is also offering public tours of its Karangahape Station works after suspending those when work stopped during Covid-19 lockdowns.

"We have reinstated the public site tours at both Beresford Square and Mercury Lane. These tours are led by a subject matter expert and give you the chance to have a look at what's happening and understand how our work will progress. You must book for these tours," it says.

They are currently scheduled for tomorrow and next Thursday, July 16 at 3pm for an hour. Additional tours will be scheduled depending on interest.

People are invited to email karangahape@linkalliance.co.nz with the subject site tour to book in advance.