A special preview of the CRL Stations

With construction wrapping up and testing well advanced, we’re now likely only a couple of months away from the City Rail Link opening. As such, Auckland Transport is starting to get excited to show off the city’s new treasures, and last Friday invited us along to tour the new stations. Yippee!

We’ve been closely following the details of this project for almost two decades now, so in a way we weren’t expecting any massive surprises – and yet, it’s still extremely impressive to see it all firsthand.

And boy is it fantastic to see this project become a reality. The quality is so good that when you’re down underground, you actually have to remind yourself that this is in Auckland.

I think most people will be absolutely blown away by what has been built and once they pick their jaws up off the floor, they’ll be asking when we can get more like this.

Here are a few first impressions from our Friday tour. Thanks to Auckland Transport for the invitation, and to Kate and Ireland for herding a bunch of very excited cats.

Maungawhau

We started our tour at Maungawhau, the rebuild of the former Mt Eden Station. Of the three stations, it’s the most similar to what we already have on other parts of the network.

Out the front of Maungawhau Station. The new CRL line is under us, in the foreground.

Even so, with its striking weeping basalt feature wall (depicting a maunga) it is still one of the prettiest stations on the network.

Maungawhau station is adorned with atmospheric artworks by Tessa Harris (Waiohua, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāpuhi). Read more about it here.

There are two lines running through this station, and after entering through the ticket gates at the front, most people will be turning right to head to the CRL platforms (which take you towards Karanga-a-hape and onwards into the city).

From those platforms, one thing you might get to see at Maungawhau that you won’t at any other station on the network is some train on train action: one train passing above the main platform.

Looking up from the CRL platforms at Maungawhau. The brown bridge is a pedestrian overbridge, so you might even see people above trains above trains.

One aspect that makes Maungawhau feel a bit odd is that, while it waits for the land around it to be developed, it has a bit of a box-in-the-middle-of-a-field feel to it.

An interesting feature to be spotted at all stations is the drinking fountains – not just for adults and children, but there’s also one for dogs too. And speaking of facilities, we didn’t test them out but there were plenty of excellent-looking bathrooms, including accessible features and handy details for parents with small children.

Drink up! Or, down.

And yes, we did test the bike parking at all three stations. It works, but it’ll fill up fast!

Testing the bike racks outside Maungawhau station. All the stations have a handful of racks right out front.

Karanga-a-Hape

Karanga-a-Hape is easily the best and most impressive of the new stations. It’s fantastic.

The facade of the Mercury Lane entrance shares a lot of stylistic similarities with Maungawhau

Just as well that Cross St upgrade went ahead, eh… (there’s now some fresh art along there).

A beautiful feature of the Mercury Lane entrance is this artwork on the ceiling, evoking kauri snails – which once lived in the area, in kauri trees along the ridge.

Artwork by Reuben Kirkwood, depicting the shells of pūpūrangi, native kauri snails, lights up the ceiling as you enter from Mercury Lane.

The real magic of Karanga-a-Hape is when you head deep underground, 33 metres to be exact. At first, it looks somewhat unassuming, a standard escalator to the next level down.

Heading down from Mercury Lane, on the first of three escalators to the platforms.

You then turn around and go down a second escalator… and  then you do that again and head down a third escalator. And all the while, the space above you opens up, intersected only by a few beams and pillars. Here’s the second and third escalators. (The hissing sound is static coming through the PA system, as a result of some testing they were doing).

By the end of the journey you are six storeys underground. (There’s also elevators, for a quicker, more accessibility-friendly option).

Platform level at Karanga-a-Hape.

Ahead of you is a short tunnel to the southbound platform, or you turn around to access the northbound one.

This is the bit that feels like a true metro. You could be anywhere in the world, and amazingly, you’re in Auckland.

It wasn’t planned as part of our visit, but we were lucky enough to see a few test trains using the tunnels – in this case, testing to see if the passenger displays would update correctly if a train was running on the wrong track.

“E-W Swanson”: a test train running through Karanga-a-Hape station

Here is that train heading back through the tunnel. Those who have used any metro overseas will recognise the telltale sign a train is coming, from the rumble/roar approaching through the tunnels. One thing that pictures and videos can’t capture is the gust of wind you experience as the train approaches and pushes the air through the tunnel.

And some more CRL ASMR as the train departs the station…

Readers will recall that the Beresford Square entrance was added as part of the future-proofing works that CRL’s former CEO Sean Sweeney was recently complaining about.

And honestly, the station wouldn’t have felt right without it. It’s way more accessible for all kinds of passengers, and already delivering a ton of value to the neighbourhood by making Beresford Square a destination in itself.

Space-age spaces at platform level in Karanga-a-hape Station.

The escalators up to Beresford Square from the platform level are the longest in New Zealand. At 44m long, they take just over a minute to ascend. Quite the ride! (Again, there are also elevators if you need or prefer.)

The longest escalator in the country! Up from the platforms towards the Beresford Square entrance of Karanga-a-Hape station.

That long escalator ride brings you up to a concourse level, just below the surface – where the gate line is located – and then a second set of (shorter) escalators provide access up to the surface and out into Beresford Square itself.

Ticket gates below Beresford Square.

The artworks at Karanga-a-hape – produced by a team led by Reuben Kirkwood (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki) – are understated and elegant throughout, and bring a much needed localism to the design. As Patrick notes:

Architecturally, Karanga-a-Hape Station wears its London influences very strongly. The circulation levels are reminiscent of Norman Foster’s Jubilee Line Extension stations, and the platform level is very Elizabeth Line, with hints of Clockwork Orange.

Spectacular artwork at the Beresford Square entrance of Karanga-a-Hape station, depicting the phases of the moon.

If there’s one small gripe about this otherwise gorgeous station, it’s that it’s a shame we couldn’t have one more cross-platform passage in the middle of the platform, to make transfers even easier for passengers.

Te Waihorotiu

All three new CRL stations (four really, when you include Waitematā, formerly known as Britomart) have their own very distinctive feel. Moving from Karanga-a-Hape to Te Waihorotiu is like switching from standing up to lying down. It’s soooo long and horizontal, in contrast to the verticality of Karanga-a-Hape.

Karanga-a-Hape sure does bring the full glamour, while Te Waihorotiu feels – appropriately for midtown – much more business-like.

Of course, this is also the difference between our one and only true mined underground station, and the merely subsurface cut-and-cover ones.

Looking down onto the platforms at Te Waihorotiu Station. (The glass-fronted spaces on the upper level will be for posters and art.)

The concourse level of Te Waihorotiu is a bit relentless, with an airport feel to it. But down on platform level, it’s both intimate and more dramatic, a fairly narrow island platform with the great horizontal X-shaped structural elements above:

Straight lines and curving fronds as seen from the concourse at Te Waihorotiu Station.

Each entrance has its own vibe, with nature joining in at the moment with the gold theme at Wellesley St. The hanging rods are by artist Graham Tipene, and evoke the raupo reeds that would have lined the original Te Waihorotiu, the stream that once enlivened what we now call the Queen St valley.

Ticket gates at the Wellesley St entrance to Te Waihorotiu, looking towards Queen St.

In the middle of the entrance roof is a spectacular kauri carving depicting Horotiu, the guardian of the stream, made by Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Haua, Ngāti Manu) and Paraone Luiten-Apirana (Ngāti Hikairo, Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Arawa).

Patrick getting an angle on the artworks at Te Waihorotiu.

The ceiling of Te Waihorotiu station sparkles and delights, in a way that lets you know you could be nowhere else but here.

Meanwhile, at the Victoria St end, there’s a colourful wall of art created by children from all over the city, on the loose theme of “my dream train journey”. It’s adorable.

A wall of art by the children of Auckland, on the theme of dream train journeys.

Quite a few junior intercity rail fans out there. Maybe by the time they’re able to independently travel, we’ll have a proper passenger rail system across the motu?

Aotearoa’s children dream of catching the train all over the country. Make it so.

This is the exit that takes you towards Queen Street, and onwards to Albert Park. In other words, it’s the downhill entrance, but… first you go uphill to get to street level.

Te Waihorotiu station exit onto Victoria St, towards Queen St.

You do have to wonder how long it’ll be before we get a roof over this entrance – even in light rain, it will be a dampening experience.

Victoria St entrance, looking towards Queen St and Albert Park. A canopy will surely be needed soon.

An interesting difference between the two ends of the station is that the Wellesley St entrance is one big box, and once you enter it, you’re immediately going through the ticket gates – whether you’re coming from the lower gateway (just opposite Elliott St), or via Mayoral Drive. (Alas there’s no entrance further uphill, which is a bit of a bummer for those going to and from the Council building.)

Whereas at the Victoria St end, the gate line is off to one side at the entrance to the concourse. This means you can walk from the downhill entrance to the one closer to Sky Tower, without passing the ticket gates.

From the eastern Victoria St entrance with the gate line to the left and the escalators up to the western exit on the right.

In other words, pedestrians using the south side of Victoria St will be able to use the station as a covered shortcut to avoid having to wait at the Albert St intersection.

Victoria St entrance to Te Waihorotiu. If you’re just walking uphill and you don’t want to wait at the next intersection, you can cut through the station and pop out between Albert and Federal Sts.

And the question on everyone’s lips is…

So when will we all be able to ride the trains and enjoy these stations??

It appears that testing is largely going well, and Auckland Transport has said that once everything is signed off, there’ll be a 6-8 week lead time to change staff timetables, etc.

The common theme seems to be that it will be “within the next few months” – and one thing we do know is the first day will be a Sunday. So, when do you think the CRL will open?

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We had a fantastic time on the tour. We’re sorry Connor couldn’t make it, although he had a great excuse as he’s off in Tokyo, train nirvana, getting his mind blown… hopefully he’ll be back!

And huge thanks to Auckland Transport for hosting us. It’s really looking fabulous, and we cannot wait to ride the actual trains through these beautiful stations.

Matt, Jolisa and Patrick, very happy campers.

Bonus footage: Also along for the tour with us were the clever minds behind Auckland Urban Diary, who make beautiful visual introductions to cool corners of our city:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DZUGiTqTJxa/

And the hilarious BarberKona:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZWUS4lCslW/

And the gals from Crushes department store (on Karangahape Road), who absolutely understood the assignment!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZMr3aiqfWZ/

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