Auckland’s rail network has reached a major milestone, with the completion of the final large-scale upgrade works needed ahead of the City Rail Link (CRL) opening — a project decades in the making and years in disruption.
Rail Minister Winston Peters, Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown say the completion marks the end of the most disruptive phase of rail works Aucklanders have experienced, clearing the way for a modern metro-style rail system.
While CRL construction began in 2016, the idea itself dates back more than a century. Early planners identified the need for a rail loop through the city centre as far back as the early 1900s. Despite repeated proposals, the project stalled for decades due to cost, politics and shifting transport priorities, before finally gaining momentum in the 2010s.
But building the underground link through central Auckland was only part of the challenge. To actually make CRL work, the rest of the rail network — much of it aging and worn — needed to be rebuilt from the ground up.
“The last few weeks of hard graft represent a major achievement for public transport and freight in Auckland,” Rail Minister Winston Peters said.
“For five years Aucklanders have endured weeks-long closures and major disruption. That work has now strengthened the network so future maintenance can be done through shorter, targeted shutdowns, similar to how modern rail systems operate overseas.”
Peters said the sustained rebuild was essential to allow more frequent services and higher capacity once the City Rail Link opens, building on earlier upgrades such as extending electrification to Pukekohe and adding a third main line through Auckland’s busiest rail junction.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the just-completed works mark the end of the most challenging phase of the five-year Rail Network Rebuild programme.
“This work has rebuilt Auckland’s rail network from the foundations up so it’s ready to support City Rail Link,” Bishop said. “It’s about reliability first — without that, CRL simply wouldn’t deliver on its promise.”
Over the course of the rebuild, more than 80 kilometres of track across Auckland’s 182-kilometre network were replaced, along with thousands of sleepers, new drainage, foundations and key junction upgrades. Two more level crossings were removed, and major station improvements were delivered.
The scale of the work was on full display during the recent four-week summer closure, when more than 1,300 workers operated across more than 300 sites. During that time, Auckland also completed its first full network-wide test of the future CRL timetable, with 84 trains running simultaneously — the most ever operated at once on the city’s rail system.
“The hardest and most disruptive work is now behind us,” Bishop said. “There really is light at the end of the tunnel.”
Mayor Wayne Brown said the milestone should reassure Aucklanders who have endured years of disruption, particularly businesses affected by repeated shutdowns.
“It’s been a long and frustrating process, but this is the most complex infrastructure project New Zealand has ever undertaken,” Brown said. “The payoff is coming.”
Brown said City Rail Link is central to his goal of getting Auckland moving, enabling more frequent services, reducing congestion and better connecting the city as it continues to grow.
Recent works also delivered tangible improvements for passengers. On the Western Line, Henderson Station has returned to full two-track operation, restoring peak services to their usual 10-minute frequency. At Takanini, Glen Innes and Te Mahia, construction is well advanced on new pedestrian bridges that will permanently replace level crossings later this year.
With the heavy rebuild now complete, City Rail Link Limited, Auckland Transport and KiwiRail are focused on testing and commissioning ahead of the line’s opening. While some further closures are planned, officials say they are expected to be shorter and largely limited to weekends and public holidays.
For Aucklanders weary of rail shutdowns, the message is clear: the painful groundwork is done, and the long-promised benefits of City Rail Link are finally in sight.
About The Author
