TRANSPORT

City Rail Link (CRL)

City Rail Link Ltd / Auckland Council / Crown · Auckland

3.45km twin-bore rail tunnel connecting Waitematā (formerly Britomart) to Maungawhau (formerly Mt Eden), with new stations at Te Waihorotiu (Aotea/Queen St) and Karanga-a-Hape. Creates a continuous underground loop. Full public opening confirmed for Sunday 13 September 2026. Cost has grown from $2.5B (2013) to $5.45B+.

Strongest delivery signals Data: High

Delivery Confidence Score, 0 to 100, higher is better: a ranking of how strong this project's delivery signals are, not a probability. It blends eight factors, including the election risk and policy alignment shown below.

Breakdown▾

Data current as at 13 Jun 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.

Key facts

Region: Auckland
Sector: Transport
Status: Under Construction
Estimated value: $5.5b
Indicative completion: 2026
Funding status: Fully Funded
Lead organisation: City Rail Link Ltd / Auckland Council / Crown
Election risk: Low

Election risk assessment

Under construction, fully funded, bipartisan support. Cost overruns acknowledged but project will complete.

Government priority alignment

MEDIUM: Committed PT rail completing in 2026; public transport is not a government transport-policy priority but CRL is funded through to completion.

Chronology

2008Auckland Regional Council commissions first formal CRL feasibility study
2013Business case finalised; cost estimated at $2.5B. Crown and Auckland Council agree to co-fund
2016City Rail Link Ltd established as joint Crown/Council entity. Resource consent granted
2019Main construction contracts awarded; tunnelling equipment arrives
2021Tunnelling complete beneath Queen St. Cost revised upward to $4.4B
2022All five tunnel sections connected. Station construction underway at Aotea and Karangahape
2024Cost estimate reaches $5.45B+. Opening target revised to 2025–26
2025Karangahape and Maungawhau stations open. Aotea station construction continues
2026Tunnels and stations handed over from the Link Alliance to KiwiRail and Auckland Transport (30 Jun); a network-wide dress rehearsal followed on the Matariki weekend. Opening confirmed for a Sunday in late August or early September, to be announced 6 to 8 weeks out, launching on a reduced timetable building to full service within six months
2026Opening date confirmed as Sunday 13 September, announced 6 August by Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown at Karanga-a-Hape Station. Britomart renamed Waitematā Station; the four existing lines consolidate into three cross-city routes (East-West: Swanson–Manukau; South-City: loops via Grafton; Onehunga-West: extended to Henderson). Initial transitional timetable runs six trains per hour at peak (rather than the eight tested), building to a full timetable within six months. Public 'First Look' open days held at the new stations on consecutive Saturdays: Maungawhau (8 Aug), Karanga-a-Hape (15 Aug), Te Waihorotiu (22 Aug)

Source

City Rail Link ↗ · All Aboard: City Rail Link Opens 13 September (Beehive.govt.nz, 6 Aug 2026) ↗ · City Rail Link opening date revealed as 13 September (RNZ, 6 Aug 2026) ↗

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