CRL Set To Dazzle Tāmaki Makaurau Matariki Night Sky

The City Rail Link (CRL) project is celebrating the arrival of Matariki with the simple flick of a switch tonight to pierce the long winter nights of Tāmaki Makaurau with walls of light.

At five o’clock lights will be switched on at CRL’s striking new stations at Te Waihorotiu in the city centre and at Maungawhau on the North Auckland/Western Line.

“Aucklanders already know we are delivering a world class railway and now they can see first-hand it is one unique to their city as well,” says City Rail Link Ltd’s Chief Executive, Dr Sean Sweeney. “The Matariki lighting highlights the stunning influence the project’s Mana Whenua Forum and mana whenua artists have had on our designs.”

At Te Waihorotiu, thousands of aluminium fins wrap three sides of the impressive Wellesley Street entrance building, which forms the cornerstone of midtown’s transformation and regeneration.

At Maungawhau, 80 fins and triangles designed to show the tears of Ranginui, Sky Father, part of the station’s overall telling of the Māori story of creation will be floodlit.

Floodlighting at both stations will be temporary and will become permanent later this year.

The rise of the Matariki stars marks the start of the Māori new year. Artist for Te Waihorotiu, Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Kahu, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Haua, Ngāti Manu) says that the normalisation of traditional knowledge used in the CRL project has been impressive and a step in the right direction for Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa.

“All work in the initial pre-planning stages has paid off and now we see the fruits of that early work as we begin to unveil the stories of Te Waihorotiu, Poutama (and the pursuit of knowledge) and through the various design thinking that has gone into the last 10 years,” Mr Tipene says. “This station and this project are a testament to the nationhood we must strive for, and the excellence the Poutama facade design recognises brings to the fore a narrative that all of Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa can be proud of.”

Seven ultra-thick glass skylights have been installed to let light into Te Waihorotiu Station, 15-metres below ground. The skylights represent the seven stars in the Matariki constellation, also known as the Pleiades cluster.

Representatives of CRL’s Mana Whenua Forum will perform karakia later this month at Te Waihorotiu to mark the successful installation and completion of its facades.

Completion of the sky element facades signals progress as fit-outs continue across CRL’s three new stations, including Karanga-a-Hape, with a goal to largely complete this work by the end of the year.

About City Rail Link:

CRL is New Zealand’s largest ever transport infrastructure project, involving construction of a 3.45km twin-tunnel underground rail link up to 42m below the Auckland city centre. It will transform the downtown Waitematā Station (Britomart) into a two-way through-station that better connects the city’s rail network and more than doubles rail capacity across Tāmaki Makaurau. Two new stations Te Waihorotiu Station – to become New Zealand’s busiest station when CRL is fully operational - and Karanga-a-Hape Station – the country deepest station - are being constructed as part of the new modern urban railway link, while Mt Eden Station is being rebuilt and renamed as Maungawhau Station. CRL works closely with Auckland iwi through its Manu Whenua Forum to develop a new railway that is not only world class, but one whose award-winning design reflects New Zealand/Aotearoa’s unique cultural heritage. The project is funded jointly by the Government and Auckland Council.

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