In 2021, Auckland in New Zealand was voted the most liveable city in the world, but it has struggled with traffic chaos for years. But now, it is close to opening the country’s largest ever transport infrastructure project.
City Rail Link, the £4.5billion twin tunnel rail line, has been contemplated since the 1920s and its funding was confirmed in 2016. The 2.2 mile-long tunnel is scheduled to open next year and will run from the heart of the central business district to the southern suburb of Mt Eden. More frequent train services will double the network’s capacity, serving 54,000 passengers an hour at peak – the same as 16 lanes of rush hour traffic.
In February, a test train completed its first trip through the full length of the City Rail Link from Britomart Station to Mt Eden.
New Zealand’s Transport Minister Chris Bishop said: “This important test train allowed technical experts to complete their first round of testing relating to tunnel clearance, power supply and signalling.”
Simeon Brown, Minister for Auckland, added: “City Rail Link will be a gamechanger for Auckland’s public transport network, turning Britomart from a dead-end station into a through station, enhancing connections between the central city and the wider rail network.”
Once functional, the City Rail Link will operate four lines, benefitting Auckland passengers at peak times.
In the 1950s, Auckland had some of the highest usage of public transport in the world.
But a strategic review in 1955 switched the city’s infrastructure towards the car, which led to an average resident spending at least 80 hours a year in traffic.
In 2022 Auckland was knocked off the top spot of most liveable cities by the Austrian capital Vienna. If it wants to regain the crown, City Rail Link could well be its secret weapon.
