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Above: The impressive transition from the concourse level to the foyer at Te Waihorotiu Station.
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Kia ora
Spring has brought big shifts above and below ground at both Te Waihorotiu and Karanga-a-Hape stations.
At Te Waihorotiu, street upgrades are nearly complete, with the Wyndham/Albert Street intersection reopened and new paving, planting, and finishes transforming the midtown streetscape. Inside the station, escalators, gatelines, and cladding are now visible as final works progress towards opening in 2026.
At Karanga-a-Hape Station, focus has shifted from Beresford Square to Mercury Lane. Old construction pads and portacabins are being removed, new footpaths and walkways are taking shape, and finishing touches like signage, escalators, lifts, and passenger information displays are being installed.
Read on to see more highlights from both stations. If you have any questions or concerns about our works at Karanga-a-Hape or Te Waihorotiu Stations, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email at karangahape@linkalliance.co.nz or aotea@linkalliance.co.nz. You can also call us on 0800 CRL TALK (275 8255).
Ngā mihi,
The Karanga-a-Hape and Te Waihorotiu Station teams.
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Te Waihorotiu Station update: streetscapes
September marked a significant milestone in completing street upgrades above Te Waihorotiu Station. The reconstruction of the intersection of Wyndham Street and Albert Street was the final piece of disruption to a major intersection. That work is now complete and we are well on our way to fully reopening all streets and spaces around the station.
Along the frontage of Crowne Plaza and the Huawei building, paving is largely complete and seismic joints are being installed, garden beds in the central median along Albert Street are planted, and final asphalt surfaces will be laid at the beginning of October.
Work is now underway on the southern arm of the Albert Street slip lane, continuing the transformation of this service lane into a smart city street.
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Above: The intersection of Wyndham Street and Albert Street has been reconstructed. The final layer of asphalt and line marking will go down in October, ready for the return of buses to Albert Street at the end of November.
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Above: The upgrade of the southern arm of the Albert Street slip lane is underway, including the intersection with Durham Street West. By the end of the year, the slip lane will be complete and ready to greet Doubletree Hilton guests when the hotel opens next year. In the meantime, traffic layouts will change from time to time as we negotiate construction in a small urban lane.
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Te Waihorotiu Station update
As Te Waihorotiu Station gets closer to completion, it’s harder and harder to capture great images to share with you – protective layers cover completed surfaces so they remain untouched until the station opens to passengers in 2026. You’ll see below, escalators are revealed and ready to roll, gatelines are ready to welcome passengers through, and final touches of cladding are complete.
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Above: After arriving at Te Waihorotiu Station, you will transition from train to platform, then up escalators or elevator to the expansive concourse. From the concourse, these escalators will take you up to the Wellesley Street station building, providing nearby access to the entertainment and cultural precinct of midtown, the universities and direct connection to buses.
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Above: At the northern end of the station, you can see how gatelines, wayfinding, the customer service counter and ticket machines have all come together. This is at concourse level, with access to Victoria Street from both the eastern and western sides of the station, connecting into Te Hā Noa, a generous city street and cycle path.
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Above: In July we shared an image of the interior ceiling cladding at the northern end of Te Waihorotiu Station. The aluminium cladding now extends to the façade of the ramp that connects Victoria Street to the eastern side of the station, expressing the mingling of people and paths in this busy location.
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Last month we shared a photo of The Dome, the social heart of our Te Waihorotiu workplace. Over September, The Dome was decommissioned and deconstructed and The Snug was born – a much smaller space at 44 Wellesley Street West – where the remaining workforce gathers for daily briefings and breaks. The Dome site (above) will become a transitional public space managed by Auckland Council, until construction of Symphony Centre commences.
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Te Waihorotiu Station - upcoming works
October sees final layers of asphalt being laid along Albert Street, from Wyndham Street to Wellesley Street. Once the asphalt cures for 20 days, final line marking can be applied. By November, just the southern arm of the Albert Street slip lane will be under construction. Meanwhile in the station, final layers of paint will be applied and the cleaning and polishing continues!
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Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori
In September we celebrated Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori - Māori language week -across site. This provided a timely moment to thank iwi and everyone involved in contributing to the stunning designs of the new CRL stations, which are truly unique and a showcase for our city.
Click here to see the latest video acknowledging the artists, designers, and mana whenua partners whose creativity and guidance have shaped these spaces into places that reflect Auckland’s cultural identity and heritage.
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Karanga-a-Hape Station - Mercury Lane
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Work in Mercury Lane this month has mirrored previous months at Beresford Square with a push on demobilisation activities. As seen in the image below, crews are continuing to break out the concrete pad, most of which served as the floor for the noise shed. The rest of the pad covered the busy outdoor area, helping to keep the ground stable and preventing it from turning into a muddy mess during construction. As well as the removal of concrete, the portacabins will be removed in the coming days, further clearing the site.
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Excellent progress has been made on the new walkway between Mercury Lane and East Street, which will soon be home to a bank of bike racks, as at Beresford Square where they are located behind the entrance building. The image above is looking east towards Mercury Lane, while the image below is looking west towards East Street.
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Footpath work is also underway at the lower end of Mercury Lane, with reinstatement of the footpath that surrounded the old Mercury Plaza site, as seen below.
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It’s a sign of the times as more and more signage is installed throughout the station. Signage can be considered the ‘icing on the cake’, meaning that it’s one of the final things to be installed. The image above shows a newly installed PID (Passenger Information Display) in the foyer of the Mercury Lane entrance. PIDs provide real-time updates on train departures, destinations, and platforms. They also show alerts about delays, changes, or special notices.
The image below - taken from the other side of the lift shaft - shows permanent wayfinding signage, guiding passengers from the station entrance building to Mercury Lane, Karangahape Road, and beyond.
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Below: At platform level, 33 metres underground, the lift connecting street level to the platforms is now fully visible. Once hidden behind scaffolding and protective sheets, the striking glass elevator will offer passengers sweeping views of the underground concourse as they travel up and down.
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Karanga-a-Hape Station - Platforms
Temporary lighting has now been fully removed from platform 2, revealing the station's permanent lighting system.
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Below: A benchmark moment with the first of the platform benches installed.
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Karanga-a-Hape Station - Beresford Square
After nearly six years of continuous activity, the land at the bottom of Beresford Square has now been restored to its original condition.
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Known as the CSA (Construction Service Area), it served as a base for operations, accommodating portacabins, staff facilities, stockpile areas, and the distinctive big red bentonite silos (below) that were used in constructing our diaphragm walls.
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To the front of the station, work on the bench seat and pavers is practically complete, with some tie-ins to Auckland Transport's precinct integration project remaining. The images below show the newly completed plaza that will provide an excellent meeting point and will serve as a focal point for the community. The different shades on the tiles represent dappled light shining through a forest canopy onto the forest floor, adding a sense of depth and character to the space.
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Architectural finishes and fit-outs are the dominant activity underground. The image below shows finishing touches to the customer service centre, which is directly beneath the escalator that takes passengers from street level to the second underground level.
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