Waitematā Station (Britomart) newsletter - September 2022

Waitematā Station (Britomart) Works Newsletter

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28 September 2022

Waitematā Station (Britomart) Newsletter

Kia ora koutou,

This month's newsletter features:

Happy CPO day!
Link Alliance works around the station
Special guests on site this month
Britomart Place works
Meet the team - Pumi
Platform changes in the station
Survey results
CLG minutes

Happy CPO day!

Auckland’s Chief Post Office (CPO) building has now been returned to her former glory as the scaffolding and "shrink wrap" has been dismantled - meaning the historic façade of the downtown landmark is once again fully visible.

The CPO, a Category 1 listed historic building, reopened the ground floor ticket hall in April 2021 as the new main entrance to Waitematā Station (Britomart). This followed four-and-a-half years of construction during which time the station was converted to a through station as part of Contract 1 for City Rail Link.

The building then received a ‘facelift’ from Auckland Transport - during which time its historic façade was meticulously restored. This included repair and refurbishment of the original steel framed windows; repair and cleaning of the Oamaru stone façade and domes (Lower Queen Street frontage); replastering and colouring of the exterior facades along Tyler Street and Galway Street and replacement of external feature-lighting.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff (pictured below) joined the Auckland Transport project team today to celebrate the completion of the exterior with a formal unveiling of the original, refurbished historic clock overlooking Te Komititanga Square.

Link Alliance works around the station

At Waitematā Station (Britomart) teams are keeping busy installing rail tracks in the tunnels. On the weekend of 17 - 18 September, a block of line (BOL) allowed crews to work uninterrupted in the CRL tunnel by platform 1. This is the platform that will eventually see trains come into the station from Te Waihorotiu Station (Aotea).

As part of these works, concrete was poured, cleaned, wet and smoothed. With the low vibration track (LVT) now aligned into place the team continue to pour concrete and set the rail track into place. Formwork and other required material for this was delivered through the existing station tunnels from Quay Park.

Signalling teams were also able to carry out work during this time, testing and installing the first of many signs required to ensure trains run safely.

Elsewhere in the station, teams made good progress on the smoke curtain installation above the lower level of escalators. The smoke curtain (pictured below) will capture smoke in the event of a fire and is a health and safety requirement of the station ahead of CRL completion - which will bring larger numbers of people into the station.

Special guests on site this month

This month, Link Alliance hosted multiple tours on site; Britomart Group, the Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) team and two school groups.

Students came from Waitakere College and Pukekohe High School to see the civil construction work that is happening behind the scenes. One student remarked on the change since he first walked the tunnel years ago at the CRL Walk the Tunnels event. Enabling students to visit helps tamariki (children) and rangatahi (youth) see construction work first-hand and get a glimpse of the scope and diversity of roles within large infrastructure projects.

LINZ and the General Survey Office team (left) and Britomart Group team (right)

Waitakere College students on site.

Neighbours and schools interested in visiting the site are welcome to email britomart@linkalliance.co.nz.

Britomart Place works

Surface Works

Excavation of the first stage is complete, and the formation of the new beam and wall construction is well underway.

All of the propping is now in place, to ensure integrity of the surrounding elements. Waterproofing of the enclosure has commenced and will continue with the next stages.

Tunnel works - South wall construction

During the last period, the main focus has been on the formation of the new south wall. All of the main pours have now been completed for the concrete wall, with approximately 200m3 of concrete pumped down from street level.

Further preparation works have continued during the recent BOL, in readiness for the demolition of the old south wall.

Scaffold in front of newly formed south wall

Upcoming works in Britomart Place:

Surface works

Completion of new beam and wall extension
Complete excavation down to lower level
Install new sewer line

Tunnel works

Remove formwork and scaffold to new wall
Install engineered propping in readiness for Christmas BOL
Install working platforms

Project update - Tunneling complete

This month our Dame Whina Cooper tunnel boring machine (TBM) had her final breakthrough, marking the end of the tunnel-boring phase of the project and the completion of two 3.45km tunnels. A special event was held onsite to mark the occasion (watch video above).

Our TBM was named after a truly ground-breaking New Zealander and has been the star of this project. Her hard work will forever alter how people travel around Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland).

The TBM is now being dismantled and lifted out of the underground area where the machine broke through. It will then be transported to the Auckland port and shipped back to its manufacturer, Herrenknecht, in China.

Can it be used again? The TBM was custom built for central Auckland soil conditions by the German tunnel machine company. However, parts of the TBM are intended to be reused for future projects.

What's next for the project? Now that we have built both tunnels, CRL will now move into the rail system stage - while construction of the CRL stations continues. The complex work involves the railway systems, signals and tracks and other infrastructure so that it can all hook up to the existing Auckland rail network.

Meet the team - Pumi Dematahettige

Delivering the country’s largest infrastructure project takes some seriously talented people, so in this section “Faces of the CRL” we talk to some of City Rail Link’s best and brightest. This month we turn the spotlight on Pumi Dematahettige, the Project Quantity Surveyor for MMS Group working in Waitematā Station (Britomart).

Platform changes in the station

From Sunday 2 October, there will be platform changes at Waitematā Station (Britomart) for all Western Line and Southern Line train services.

Western Line services will move from platform 5 to platform 4
Southern Line services will move from platform 2 to platform 1
Eastern Line services will remain at platform 3.

Station staff and friendly AT ambassadors will be on the platforms to help you get to your train. Please check the information displays to make sure you are at the right platform.

These changes will be in place until further notice, to allow work to be completed to get the station ready for the opening of CRL.

Survey results

Thank you to all who completed the recent Link Alliance Q3 stakeholder survey. It’s always good to hear from our neighbours and see what’s front and centre of people’s minds.

Congratulations to Roger for winning the $100 Britomart Black Card!

Waitematā Station (Britomart) work is really picking up, so we are especially proud to have an overall stakeholder satisfaction rating of 83%. Across all City Rail Link sites the satisfaction rating is 69%.

Following are some key takeaways from the survey:

Tyler Street loading bay (ensure access for members of the public) – enforcement from mid-October.
Provide hard copies of work notifications and newsletters for neighbouring residents.
Provide customer contact numbers for Auckland Transport and Auckland Council work nearby.

We appreciate there are a lot of different pieces of work going on around Waitematā Station (Britomart). Link Alliance is committed to being a good neighbour, addressing concerns promptly and working with other contractors proactively to minimise overall disruption in the neighbourhood.

While the survey is a great way to hear people’s thoughts on what is working well and what can be improved, you are also able to email Link Alliances' michelle.parish@linkalliance.co.nz directly at any time.

CLG minutes

Thanks to all those who attended our August CLG - please find a link to the minutes below.

August 2022 minutes

Find out more
For information about Britomart and Quay Park Yard work click here.

How to contact the wider Waitematā Station (Britomart) team:
If you have any questions or concerns about our works, please email the Waitematā Station (Britomart) team at info@cityraillink.govt.nz or phone us on
0800 CRL TALK (275 8255) and press option 1 for Waitematā Station (Britomart) work.

Official use of gifted City Rail Link station names, including Waitematā Station (Britomart), is subject to a New Zealand Geographic Board decision. Visit www.cityraillink.co.nz/meet-your-stations to find out more about the naming process.

Ngā mihi nui
The Waitematā Station (Britomart) Team