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Inside the first City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel. Track is now installed from the portal at Maungawhau Station to Karanga-a-Hape Station.
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Kia ora,
The Maungawhau Station site is weathering through the cold and constructing at top speed with many reasons to celebrate over the past month. On the main site, work is progressing well on our four tunnel structures that will emerge at the portal. Crews are installing steel, pouring concrete, and now laying new track! This year we’ll start to backfill these tunnels up to street level, with the teams hard mahi disappearing underground.
We have two upcoming Blocks of Line (BOLs). These will result in the handover of the new Western Line track to KiwiRail and the removal of the Temporary Services Bridge (TSB) on Normanby Road.
In breaking news, our Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) has resurfaced in Germany. Travelling months by sea, the TBM is now preparing for its next journey, keep reading to find out more. In other news from Europe, we were delighted to host Monsieur Olivier Becht, France’s Minister Delegate of Foreign Trade on the Maungawhau site while showcasing the work of all the companies that make the Alliance.
CRL Ltd. recently submitted a formal funding request to its Sponsors reviewing costs and timeframes to complete the project, due to impacts of the pandemic. The cost of the project is now estimated to be $5.493bn and is expected to be completed by November 2025. Details below.
If you have any questions about our work activities, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at mteden@linkalliance.co.nz or 0800 CRL TALK press 5 for Maungawhau Station.
You can also follow Link Alliance’s progress by clicking the social media buttons below:
Ngā mihi,
The Maungawhau Station team
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CRL submits funding request to Government and Council
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CRL Ltd. confirms it has submitted a formal funding request to its Sponsors – the Crown and Auckland Council – reflecting revised costs and time required to complete the project as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, lockdowns and associated impacts.
The cost of the project is now estimated to be $5.493bn a $1.074bn increase on the previous estimate of $4.419 billion, which was approved by the Sponsors in May 2019.
As part of the request, CRL Ltd. has also provided the Sponsors with a revised completion date, with construction of the stations and supporting rail infrastructure now expected to be completed by the Link Alliance by November 2025.
Following the end of the construction programme, CRL Ltd. will hand over the completed infrastructure to KiwiRail and Auckland Transport, who will then carry out the additional work required to open the CRL to its first passengers.
Chief executive Dr Sean Sweeney says the extra funding and additional time for completion is primarily due to Covid impacts – time lost on-site and the knock-on effect on the supply chain, resourcing, materials, and labour costs.
“People need to remember that in Auckland we endured two level four lockdowns, a further 280 days of restricted working conditions (Covid traffic light system) and we lost 3.2 million hours through illness among staff, with 800-plus workers infected.”
“The request for extra funding has not and will not delay continuing work on the project, which is progressing well,” he says. “Together with our contractors Link Alliance, we have got through Covid and surmounted its impacts and are now well advanced in our work to build New Zealand’s first underground metro rail network.”
The funding request will now be considered through established governance processes and CRL Ltd. will be informed of the outcome in due course.
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Single Line running will swap to the new track after the Easter BOL.
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There are two important upcoming Blocks of Line the first two weekends of April, to prepare for the commissioning and handover of the new Western Line track and also to undertake key activities while no trains are running on the live track. These weekend works will take place on 1st – 2nd April, and then over Easter weekend from 7th April until 4am on the 11th April. We will be busy over this time during the day and night; and there may be noise, lights and people operating in the rail corridor throughout the weekend.
The work will culminate in two big wins over the Easter weekend BOL; a new piece of track for the Western Line handed over to KiwiRail, and the removal of the Temporary Services Bridge (TSB) at Normanby Road.
The new track signifies the project nearing completion of the Western Line rebuild at Maungawhau. Activities over the weekend to achieve this include final repairs, individual tests of the signals, power for the line, a run through for the connection of the pantograph (connector from the train to the lines) and a full test train along the new line overnight, before running public trains on the track.
Initially, the trains will be swapped over to the new train line on the morning of Tuesday, 11th April and will remain a single line running until the dual tracks can be integrated into the network timetable in a few months’ time. Once public trains have swapped to the new line, we will use this time, when trains are not running on the existing line, to continue momentum of construction activities previously restricted by live trains, such as work on the North Auckland Line platform and further track work.
The TSB removal will signify the end of a job well done for this impressive temporary equipment. The 28m long bridge spanning the rail corridor between Normanby Road and Boston Road will be removed using a crane to lift the bridge off in one piece from the road, and then load it onto an oversized transport vehicle. The TSB was an important piece of equipment during the excavations and construction of the base for the new CRL lines in the rail corridor to carry pedestrians and important utilities such as water pipes, power, and internet. It is no longer needed since the new Normanby Road Bridge was opened in December where services now run.
Check out our construction calendar for the latest updates about out-of-regular hours or extraordinary work, or the website notifications page for updates on the ongoing work programme.
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New track in service on the Western Line
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The Western Line needed to be rebuilt to make room for the new CRL lines.
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From 11th April, you will experience a whole new view if you are travelling along the Western Line because you will be travelling on a brand-new track! This is the second track to be built by the Link Alliance and handed over to KiwiRail as part of the CRL project.
As part of the CRL project, the Western Line needed to be rebuilt to make room for the new CRL lines that will split from the Western Line and take passengers down into the new tunnels toward Britomart.
In the Link Alliance project office, there is a certain bustle leading up to the new track becoming operational and in service. The construction teams have daily and weekly look ahead meetings to make sure everyone knows what final works need to be done, who is working on the new track and where. And this isn’t just the construction teams, there is an entire commissioning and quality assurance team dedicated to the handover going smoothly – It is quite a process with quality reviews, testing, and registration of the new asset with Auckland Council and Auckland Rail Network asset owner KiwiRail.
Commissioning teams integrate with representatives from our partners at KiwiRail, Auckland One Rail (train operators) and Auckland Transport (public operator of the Auckland Rail Network).
Before public trains can run on the new track, train operators are trained using a simulation training module, the maintenance needs of the new track are considered, and then the new line is integrated into the rail network. This culminates in a final run of the track using a test train, before running passenger trains first thing at 5:35am Tuesday 11th April morning. It is really a team effort!
This new piece of the Western Line tracks form part of the overall CRL project to provide faster commutes, more services, and a more seamless travel experience. The Western Line remains a single line running until mid 2023.
You can read more about the activities taking place in the rail corridor over Easter weekend here.
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Tunnels of Maungawhau Station
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As we head towards the cooler months, the Maungawhau Station team show no signs of slowing down the construction of the four tunnels! These tunnels will connect to the existing Western Line, transporting passengers to the Maungawhau Station concourse two platforms.
Crews have started constructing the first western tunnel and have installed reinforcing steel and poured concrete for the floor base. The next step is to construct the six-metre-high steel walls.
Below this tunnel sits the second eastern tunnel which is nearing completion. All steel and concreting works are finished for the base and walls, with teams moving on to the roofing section. Inside this tunnel, teams have poured a total of 4000m3 in concrete and have installed 1000 tonnes of steel.
The structure for the second eastern tunnel was completed earlier this year and handed over for track installation. This tunnel is 190 metres in length from the tunnel portal to Mount Eden Road Bridge.
Mid this year, the team will start to fill in the tunnel portal, and all four tunnels will soon disappear 26 metres underground.
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One of our crane operators snapped this pic of the first western tunnel. Reinforcing steel installed for the base, with concrete recently poured. Look closely to see the second eastern tunnel excavated underneath.
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Reinforcing steel and concreting works are complete for the base and walls inside the second eastern tunnel.
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The roof structure for the first eastern tunnel completed earlier this year.
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Systems and Fit-out teams are now working inside the first eastern tunnel to complete track installation.
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Dame Whina Cooper TBM takes on Germany
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Travelling over 18,000 kilometres by sea, pieces of our Dame Whina Cooper TBM have made its journey back to the designer Herrenknecht in Kehl, Germany. Key pieces include the main drive motor, segment erector, refuge and air lock chambers.
Following the TBM’s final break through at Te Waihorotiu Station in September 2022, the 130-metre-long machine was pulled back through the tunnel to Maungawhau Station to be dismantled. Functional and valuable parts of the TBM were placed on a ship at Ports of Auckland, beginning their return to Herrenknecht.
With their site expanding over 100,000 square metres, Herrenknecht Rebuild Services (HRS) stores and repurposes components of used TBMs. Experts at Herrenknecht will undergo a remanufacturing process and rebuilding process to expand the components’ life cycle – or even to establish a full new life cycle for the product. This includes disassembly, cleaning, evaluation, reconditioning, reassembly and final quality testing.
The legacy of our Dame Whina Cooper TBM will continue to live on, with individual pieces being used to build new machines, that will build tunnels across the world.
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The TBM is an earth pressure balance machine, meaning that pressure at the tunnel face is higher than atmospheric pressure. This air lock chamber returned to Herrenknecht, helped workers inspect the cutterhead in compressed air conditions.
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Late night delivery of our segment erector which once helped install the concrete segment rings inside of both CRL tunnels. This segment erector lifted the rings and rotated them into the correct position, forming a ring inside the tunnel.
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Our refuge chamber hiding in storage, this was used as a safe space for our underground workers. In the event of an emergency, this chamber could hold up to 20 people and was equipped with first aid, fire extinguisher, food, water, and air conditioning.
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Pieces of the Dame Whina Cooper TBM are stored at this Herrenknecht Rebuild Services (HRS) site in Kehl, Germany. This site expands over 100,000 square metres.
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Living next to the railway lines
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Trains travelling from Waitematā Station will use this track to connect to the existing Western Line, heading towards Grafton Station.
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With the imminent switch from one track to another on the Western Line, it is a great time to reflect on what to expect when you live next to a rail line. While living near the train line is convenient, it is important to remember that the tracks need on-going maintenance, which can often only happen safely at night when there are no services operating.
As part of the Western Line rebuild, the tracks have been moved slightly to make way for the new City Rail Link tracks. In some locations, the track is slightly closer to buildings on the southern side of the Maungawhau Station site. This means when the new line comes into service, it may sound slightly different than it did before because it is a new track and in a different location.
Indeed, you may notice that as each train travels along the tracks, whether the track is old or new, or it’s a passenger or freight train, it makes a sound. This sound is caused by the friction of wheels on rails and it’s what keeps the trains safely on the track. However, sound from trains, ongoing maintenance and operations in the rail corridor is to be expected when living next to the rail corridor.
The Link Alliance is responsible for the construction of the new train lines being built at Maungawhau Station. Once in service, the train lines are handed over to KiwiRail as the asset holder for ongoing maintenance and management. KiwiRail also operates freight trains. The passenger train services are managed by Auckland Transport and operated by Auckland One Rail.
For more information about living next to the rail network, our partners at KiwiRail work with neighbours to help them know with what to expect. You can visit their website Living by the rail network | KiwiRail and you can sign up for their neighbours' emails and see future planned works Where we are working | KiwiRail
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Mayor of Auckland, Wayne Brown with the French Minister, Monsieur Olivier Becht and French Ambassador Mme Laurence Beau at the CRL Visitor Centre, Te Manawa.
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Our big infrastructure project has a French connection!
We were delighted to share the project’s progress with France’s visiting Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, Monsieur Olivier Becht. Monsieur Becht was here to promote and support commercial partnerships between New Zealand and French companies, in a range of diplomatic and business-related meetings and events.
The Minister was joined by Madame Laurence Beau, French Ambassador to New Zealand and the Mayor of Auckland, Wayne Brown.
The CRL is the first underground metro project in New Zealand, and it was an honour to show the Minister Delegate around our construction site as some of the major technologies used are French in origin. Our teams assured the French delegation that VINCI and Soletanche Bachy’s (our partners) work on the project was integral to its success.
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French delegates on the Maungawhau construction site.
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Each month we translate technical terms into easy-to-understand language. This month we’ll look at 'snags' and what this means on our site.
Also called remedial works, snagging refers to the process for remaining minor repairs to be done after the initial construction of the structure. It is a process to quality check, identify any imperfections or repairs that need to be made, and undertake the work before final completion.
Time allowances are included in the programme to undertake snagging prior to practical completion of a project.
On the Link Alliance project, there is a dedicated snagging team for each expertise that will do a final sweep of the construction work and complete the repairs.
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Survey equipment used to conduct remedial works.
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Walk the block and hear Piet talk
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Artist’s impression of the new Maungawhau Station building.
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Envision with us, the future urban layout of Maungawhau Station on a one-hour perimeter tour of the Maungawhau Station construction site.
Maybe you are an Architecture buff and are keen to understand the design of the new Station building? Or is it that you love the public art around our site and would like to hear about it from one of the mural artists themselves?
We cover all that and so much more on our regular, free guided perimeter tours of Uptown and the Maungawhau Station site! Our guide will take you exploring through the neighbourhood on a journey over the present state and future of the station and Uptown.
Quotes from previous attendees include:
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Tours take approximately 1 hour and will depart from the CRL Visitor Centre at Te Manawa, 1 New North Road. A reasonable level of fitness is required.
Tours run:
First Tuesday every month at 4:30 pm
Last Saturday every month at 10 am
To sign up for next Tuesday’s tour, or any of our other tours please send an email to mteden@linkalliance.co.nz to book your space now!
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Attendees at our Info Hub last evening at the CRL Visitor Centre, Te Manawa.
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We hosted our first Info Hub session for 2023 last evening and we’re still buzzing with the great response we had!
Our Architecture experts not only shared the project’s progress but delved deep into the design features with samples from site while delivering a visually pleasing presentation. We had some interesting conversations with nibbles to accompany us.
If you missed yesterday’s Info Hub, we have a couple more coming up this year with fascinating technical topics. Watch this space for more details and to sign up for our upcoming Info Hubs. We look forward to seeing you soon!
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