NEW ZEALAND’S NEW METRO

Auckland’s City Rail Link is the largest infrastructure development project ever undertaken in New Zealand’s history. We take a look at Link Alliance, the consortium of companies involved, and speak to Project Director Francois Dudouit about large-scale boring, and an update on the megaproject’s progress

Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Joshua Mann

Transport is constantly evolving to become greener, smarter and more efficient, and therefore requires the infrastructure to match.

In Auckland, New Zealand, City Rail Link (CRL) stands as the largest project of its kind ever to have been undertaken in the country and is set to reshape public transport and interconnect the Auckland region. Link Alliance is a consortium of seven New Zealand-based and international companies, including the client City Rail Link Ltd (CRL Ltd), which is delivering the main stations and tunnels for the CRL project.

The consortium also comprises construction partners Vinci Construction Grands Projects, Downer NZ and Soletanche Bachy International, and design partners WSP, AECOM and Tonkin + Taylor, to which the future owners and operators Auckland Transport and Kiwi Rail are associated.

City Rail Link

Transport in New Zealand currently relies heavily on roads and to a much lesser extent on air transport. Therefore, there are a lot of opportunities to develop rail infrastructure in a large city like Auckland and across the country, with rail infrastructure seen as one way to decarbonise the economy.

“The CRL is the first underground metro project in New Zealand and can be considered as a pioneer, which is definitely exciting and motivating,” begins Francois Dudouit, Project Director of Link Alliance.

CRL’s world-class rail system will better connect Auckland’s entire rail network; there will be more trains and journeys will be easier and quicker. The twin 3.45-kilometre (km) tunnels, which have been built up to 42 metres (m) below the Auckland city centre, will connect downtown at Waitematā Station (Britomart) with a re-developed Maungawhau/Mount Eden Station on the Western Line. Two new underground stations will open up central city access: Karangaa-Hape (Karanghape) with entrances at Mercury Lane and Beresford Square, and Te Waihorotiu (Aotea) at Victoria and Wellesley Streets, midtown.

The work will transform the downtown Waitematā Station into a two-way through-station, and once complete, the project will allow the network to run at double rail capacity.

“The CRL is a metro project which will be a game changer for Auckland’s transport network when it opens,” Dudouit continues. “It is a turnkey project which includes the delivery of three stations (two of them being underground), the associated running tunnels, all electrical and mechanical equipment and rail systems, as well as testing and commissioning. It is the first metro project and the largestever transport infrastructure project in New Zealand.”

Honeywell

Honeywell has worked in New Zealand for more than 45 years, supporting key commercial buildings and justice and corrections projects. The company is experienced in critical infrastructure projects such as airports, transport and smart cities.

As a major supplier to Link Alliance, Honeywell will design, supply, test and commission both an Integrated Control System (ICS) and communication system across four CRL stations and tunnels. Honeywell will install its Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI) and Building Management System (BMS) solution across the stations to integrate more than 20,000 sensor points in a highly available configuration to provide the CRL operations team with a unified view across all the sub-systems installed in the tunnels and stations.

“We are pleased to expand our work with the CRL team to support this monumental infrastructure project, which will help to transform transportation in New Zealand,” said Michelle Bunting, General Manager, New Zealand Honeywell Building Technologies. “Our team is focused on creating a more seamless control experience for the CRL operations team while also creating a safer passenger experience with more comprehensive communications protocols. We are proud to help Link Alliance deliver New Zealand’s largest transport infrastructure project ever.” Honeywell previously supported upgrades and expansion work at the Britomart Station and has experience with complex subsystem integration projects in New Zealand and across the world.

www.buildings.honeywell.com