Walk the tunnels event a great success
Thousands turned out to walk the newly-constructed City Rail Link tunnels under downtown Auckland on Sunday, 17 November.
The route saw people enter the tunnels from the current Britomart train platform, walk about 300 metres under lower Queen Street and up to Albert Street, before crossing into the other tunnel and returning to the station.
“It was a tremendously successful and positive day and it was very clear everyone enjoyed themselves,” said CRL Chief Executive Sean Sweeney.
“The City Rail Link is Auckland’s project, after all, and it was great opportunity to open the door a wee bit and give them a sneak inside of what they can expect when the project finishes in five years.”
With all ten thousand tickets to the event being snapped up in just 15 minutes, Sweeney said there was obvious appetite for more of these kind of events in the near future.
“We will have a lot more to show people in the years ahead, and we know from the feedback we received for the tunnel walk-through that there is tremendous enthusiasm to visit us again.”
Sweeney described the large turnout as a big plus for the project.
“I want to thank everyone who came along – it was a great demonstration of support for our work and the engineering skills behind it.”
Sweeney thanked Auckland Transport for being so helpful in accommodating the event in the Britomart Station.
“AT’s co-operation was a key part of a successful day. They helped us make sure people got the best from the walk, while keeping the city’s train services running smoothly.”
With the construction of the CRL set to be complete by 2024, Sweeney said there will be other opportunities to welcome Aucklanders on site.