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Auckland Light Rail (Cancelled)
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi · Auckland
Proposed light rail from the Auckland CBD south through Dominion Rd to the airport and northwest to Kumeu. Two competing designs reached procurement before the National-led government cancelled it, committed in its November 2023 hundred-day plan and formalised by the Transport Minister on 14 January 2024. Announcing the cancellation the government put the cost at $15b, cited advice it could reach $29.2b, and said $228m had already been spent. The $14.6b shown is the 2022 preferred-option estimate for tunnelled light metro.
Data current as at 13 Jun 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.
Key facts
- Region
- Auckland
- Sector
- Transport
- Status
- Cancelled
- Estimated value
- $14.6b
- Indicative completion
- TBC
- Funding status
- No Source
- Lead organisation
- NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi
- Election risk
- Extreme
Election risk assessment
Cancelled by National-led government in late 2023. Would require Labour/Green government to reinstate.
Government priority alignment
COUNTER: Cancelled. Light rail runs counter to the roads-focused transport policy.
Chronology
- 2016ATAP report recommends rapid transit corridor on Dominion Rd to airport as Auckland's top priority
- 2018Government announces light rail to airport. Procurement begins. Cost estimated $1.8–3.4B
- 2019Three consortia shortlisted. NZTA and NZ Infra (NZ Super Fund / CDPQ Infra) both develop competing designs
- 2021Labour restarts project after COVID pause; NZTA and HUD develop joint preferred option
- 2022Preferred option confirmed: tunnelled light metro to airport. Cost rises to $14.6B
- 2023National wins election promising to cancel light rail; cancellation committed in the government's 100-day plan (29 November)
- 2024Cancellation formalised by the Transport Minister (14 January), citing a $15b cost, advice that it could reach $29.2b, and $228m already spent
Source
Beehive: Government cancels Auckland Light Rail (Jan 2024) ↗ · Ministry of Transport: Auckland Light Rail project ↗ · Auckland Light Rail Limited (project site) ↗