Light rail could put spanner in works for City Rail Link
The $4.4 billion City Rail Link faces the prospect of major delays and extra costs from the latest plans to reboot light rail in Auckland.
The Herald understands the new Aotea station for the City Rail Link is one of two options to start light rail at the city end. The other option is Wynyard Quarter.
Transport Minister Michael Wood last Wednesday announced plans for getting light rail back on track by involving Aucklanders in a six-month process to come up with a new scheme from central Auckland to the airport. The process involves many tough calls for Aucklanders, politicians and officials, including where to begin light rail at the city end and whether the project will be built at street level or underground to Mt Roskill. From there, it is envisaged light rail will straddle SH20 to the airport.
City Rail Link Ltd has welcomed the suggestion from the Government that it could be put in charge of delivering light rail. The other option is a new joint venture between the Government and Auckland Council, Wood said.
CRL’s chief executive Dr Sean Sweeney said it had demonstrated it can progress a challenging multibillion dollar project and believed it has the skills to deliver light rail.
Asked about the prospect of light rail starting at Aotea station, Sweeney said discussions in the public arena about light rail routes were based around speculation.
He said work was well advanced on the Aotea station between Victoria and Wellesley Sts below Albert St, including relocating utilities and building the first walls and foundations. “While that construction continues, there is always the ability to connect light and heavy rail above or below ground,” Sweeney said.
Changing the current work programme at Aotea station for light rail would have a major impact on the project and disruption in the central city.
It would mean either stopping work on the station until the two modes of rail can be connected or pushing ahead with its scheduled 2024 opening and closing it at a later date to add light rail.
The decision on the location of light rail at the city end will be made by a unit comprising of council, transport and housing officials tasked with coming up with options for Cabinet to consider later this year.