City Rail Link construction

On the surface, there's no indication that there's two rail tunnels underneath, although these are likely to be the busiest tracks in the country

25 April 2021

In the setting sun, the CPO facelift gets under way, with pedestrians enjoying an ANZAC evening in the city. In the background is the Grand Mercure hotel, currently in use as a managed isolation facility

25 April 2021

Situated above the tunnel portal at Mt Eden, a lookout gives the public a look at the work site

24 October 2021

Viewed from the lookout, the TBM's conveyor belt is visible, as well as trenches and overpasses for the future connections from the CRL towards Swanson

24 October 2021

A view of the CRL construction site at Mt Eden

24 October 2021

From further down the hill, the rail trenches are visible, around where the CRL platforms at Mt Eden station will be

24 October 2021

A view of construction at Karangahape Road station

24 October 2021

Although not much is visible from the surface, underground the TBM has broken through into the station site, and is moving through the opening while undergoing maintenance

24 October 2021

City Rail Link construction work has necessitated single track running between Kingsland and Grafton. At the Kingsland end, trains towards Newmarket cross to the Up Main using the existing crossover put in place for Eden Park events, with AM 415 doing so here

13 November 2021

AM 415 crosses from the Down to the Up Main just east of Kingsland on a run to Newmarket and Britomart

13 November 2021

At George Street, although both tracks are still in place, only the Up Main is in use. Signage has been installed warning pedestrians of single track running

13 November 2021

Stop signs placed on the rails near George Street warn any trains that might happen to end up here of work ahead

13 November 2021

Viewed from Dominion Road, the start of junction and trenching works are visible, as well as the end of the (temporarily) lifted Down Main. AM 469 enters the work site en route to Newmarket and Britomart

13 November 2021

At Porters Ave, the first signs of the permanent footbridge to replace the level crossing has appeared, in the form of a support structure

13 November 2021

Viewed from the temporary crossing, the footbridge support rises above the tracks. Porters Ave was closed to road traffic in April 2020 however pedestrian access was maintained. The bridge will eventually fully replace the crossing, with four tracks planned through the area

13 November 2021

From the temporary pedestrian walkway, trenching work is clearly visible. Here, the outer two tracks will be the North Auckland Line heading to Newmarket, with the centre two tracks dropping down and passing underneath the NAL Down Main to head into the CRL

13 November 2021

While currently in use by contruction vehicles, this surface will eventually be the NAL Down Main

13 November 2021

Passing over the temporary pedestrian crossing, AM 225 braves the rain on a run to Swanson

13 November 2021

Viewed from Mt Eden Road, CRL construction works are in full swing. Spoil from the tunnel boring machine is ejected out of the tunnel here and loaded into trucks to be taken away

13 November 2021

On the other side of Mt Eden Road, trenching works for the Newmarket end of the junction are also in full swing. Here, the outer two of four tracks will be the link lines to the CRL tunnels, with the Down East Link (the furtherst to the right in this view) dropping underneath the two NAL tracks to head directly into the tunnel

13 November 2021

At the former Normanby Road crossing, a temporary footbridge has been constructed to provide pedestrian and service access across the tracks. Narrow footpaths mean the bridge gets its own contact tracing QR code for the NZ COVID Tracer app

13 November 2021

Viewed from the temporary bridge, AM 415 returns through the work site passing trenching works for the link tracks

13 November 2021

Trenching works viewed from the temporary footbridge give a suggestion to the locations of the future four tracks

13 November 2021

While the trench is not yet fully excavated, the extend of the works are clearly visible here

13 November 2021

The former Normanby Road crossing is visible here as the start of a bridge to replace it starts to manifest

13 November 2021

AM 319 passes the vast trenching work on its way towards Newmarket and Britomart

13 November 2021

The temporary footbridge standing above the NAL and Normanby Road

13 November 2021

The temporary footbridge stands almost directly above the departure signal for Mt Eden station

13 November 2021

The roundabout on Boston Road does not connect Normanby Road across the tracks for now, however once the CRL is done Normanby Road will have a bridge across the four tracks

13 November 2021

From Nikau Street, the trench for the future North Island Main Trunk tracks into the CRL are clearly visible, as well as the bridge for Ruru Street connecting to the station concourse

13 November 2021

While over 450 metres from the nearest railway, Symonds Street still features some railway-related infrastructure. Monitoring prisms dotted along the route of the CRL are used to make sure that buildings at ground level are not disturbed by the TBM underground

13 November 2021

As New Zealand's deepest station with the TBM passing straight through, not a lot is visible on the surface at Karangahape station

13 November 2021

From East Street, the new cycleway passes the station, which would eventually give a cycling link to the rail network from this area

13 November 2021

A "pocket park" has appeared near the construction site for the Beresford Square entrance to Karangahape station. This space is available for the public to use

13 November 2021

Construction work for the Beresford Square entrance on Pitt Street

13 November 2021

Mayoral Drive has been closed from Vincent Street to Wellesley Street West for construction of the Aotea station

13 November 2021

On the corner of Wellesley Street West and Mayoral Drive, construction of the Aotea station is under way. This is also the area where the TBM will be lifted from the ground; once it arrives here, it will be trucked back to Mt Eden to dig the second tunnel

13 November 2021

Signage explaining what's happening behind the fences is in place at most CRL construction sites, including here at Aotea station

13 November 2021

Aotea station construction viewed from Wellesley Street West

13 November 2021

At the southern end of Albert Street, cut and cover tunnel work is in progress outside Crowne Plaza

13 November 2021

Cut and cover tunnel work on Albert Street, with access to nearly buildings maintained

13 November 2021

The edge of CRL works on Victoria Street West sit right outside the Sky Tower. Aotea station is a block from here, giving the tourist attraction convenient rail access

13 November 2021

Cut and cover tunnel works on this part of Albert Street meant temporarily removing a bluestone wall from the area, the oldest piece of road construction in the city. The wall was removed and pieces labelled so the wall could be reassembled a few metres further east once the tunnel is completed

13 November 2021

Now that the first contract for the CRL has been completed, the northern section of Albert Street has been resurfaced and returned to normality. There's little indication that rail tunnels now run underneath the street

13 November 2021

Underneath the bus interchange on Albert Street, the rail tunnels curve towards Britomart

13 November 2021

As part of the Commercial Bay development, tunnels for the CRL were threaded underneath through its foundations. Additionally, this walkway in the development is open 24/7 for public access, giving a link between Albert Street and Britomart Transport Centre, the end of the CRL

13 November 2021

Now that the CRL work is done on the Chief Post Office, the exterior renovation works are in full swing, this time carried out by Auckland Transport

13 November 2021

Viewed from the Porters Ave crossing, new track for the Down Main has been laid across the former crossing, through the Mt Eden station site

4 December 2021