NZ InfraWatch
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City Rail Link (CRL)
City Rail Link Ltd / Auckland Council / Crown · Auckland
3.45km twin-bore rail tunnel from Waitematā (formerly Britomart) to Maungawhau (formerly Mt Eden), with new stations at Te Waihorotiu and Karanga-a-Hape. Opened to the public on 13 September 2026. Cost has grown from the $3.4b jointly committed in 2017 to $5.493b.
Data current as at 16 Sept 2026, when the pipeline was last checked against its source.
Key facts
- Region
- Auckland
- Sector
- Transport
- Status
- Complete
- 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
Delivered and open to the public. No forward delivery risk: a completed railway cannot be cancelled by a change of government.
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.
Recent changes
- 2026-W38Notable Status: Under Construction → Complete.
Chronology
- 2008Auckland Regional Council commissions first formal CRL feasibility study
- 2013Government commits to a joint business case with Auckland Council. The project was intended to begin in 2017 and start construction in 2020
- 2015Auckland Transport prepares the City Rail Link Business Case 2015. The Council allocates $2.5b to Auckland Transport to start early works. In December, Cabinet authorises negotiations to formalise the Government funding commitment
- 2016Government decides to establish CRL Ltd to deliver the project and fund it equally with the Council, a 50:50 split that still stands. Resource consent granted
- 2017CRL Ltd established on 1 July as a joint Crown and Council entity. The Sponsors jointly commit $3.4b to deliver the project
- 2019Main construction contracts awarded and tunnelling equipment arrives. Sponsors increase their joint committed investment to $4.42b at P50, widening scope to nine-car platforms at Aotea, Karangahape and Mount Eden and covering rising construction costs
- 2021Tunnelling complete beneath Queen St
- 2022All five tunnel sections connected. Station construction underway at Aotea and Karangahape
- 2024Cost estimate reaches $5.45B+. Opening target revised to 2025-26
- 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)
- 2026Opened to the public on Sunday 13 September, the first passenger services through the tunnel. Waitematā and Maungawhau connected via Te Waihorotiu and Karanga-a-Hape, with the four existing lines consolidated into three cross-city routes on a transitional timetable of six trains per hour at peak, building to a full timetable within six months.
Source
City Rail Link ↗ · City Rail Link: Project Overview (the $5.493b total, CRL Ltd) ↗ · Part 2: About the City Rail Link project (Office of the Auditor-General, 2022) ↗ · 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) ↗