NZ InfraWatch
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TRANSPORT
City Rail Link (CRL)
City Rail Link Ltd / Auckland Council / Crown · Auckland
3.45km twin-bore rail tunnel connecting Britomart to Mt Eden, with new stations at Aotea (Queen St) and Karangahape. Creates a continuous underground loop. Opening phased 2025–2026. Cost has grown from $2.5B (2013) to $5.45B+.
A
86/100 · Very likely to proceed
Completion Probability — likelihood this proceeds on roughly its stated timeline.
Funding statusweight 30%
Delivery stageweight 25%
Election / policy riskweight 20%
Govt priority alignmentweight 12%
Project scaleweight 8%
Delivery agencyweight 5%
Key facts
- Region
- Auckland
- Sector
- Transport
- Status
- Under Construction
- 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
Under construction, fully funded, bipartisan support. Cost overruns acknowledged but project will complete.
Government priority alignment
MEDIUM — Committed PT rail completing in 2026; public transport is not a GPS priority but CRL is funded through to completion.
Chronology
- 2008Auckland Regional Council commissions first formal CRL feasibility study
- 2013Business case finalised; cost estimated at $2.5B. Crown and Auckland Council agree to co-fund
- 2016City Rail Link Ltd established as joint Crown/Council entity. Resource consent granted
- 2019Main construction contracts awarded; tunnelling equipment arrives
- 2021Tunnelling complete beneath Queen St. Cost revised upward to $4.4B
- 2022All five tunnel sections connected. Station construction underway at Aotea and Karangahape
- 2024Cost estimate reaches $5.45B+. Opening target revised to 2025–26
- 2025Karangahape and Maungawhau stations open. Aotea station construction continues
- 2026Full CRL loop operations begin with Aotea station opening