Karanga-a-Hape railway station

Karanga-a-Hape
Mercury Lane entrance of Karanga-a-Hape railway station, nearing completion in December 2025
General information
LocationKarangahape Road, Auckland
New Zealand
Coordinates36°51′32″S 174°45′33″E / 36.8589513°S 174.7592431°E / -36.8589513; 174.7592431
SystemAuckland Transport Urban rail
OwnerAuckland Transport
OperatorAuckland One Rail
LineNorth Island Main Trunk
Distance683.75 km (424.86 mi) from Wellington[1]
PlatformsSide platforms (P1 & P2)[2]
Tracks2
Construction
Structure type
Underground
Depth33 m (108 ft)
ParkingNo (planned)
Cycle facilities
Yes (planned)
AccessibleYes; Lifts
Other information
Station codeKRD[2]
Fare zoneCity
History
Opening13 September 2026 (planned)
Route map
Bold stations are City Rail Link stations
Western Line to Kingsland
Maungawhau
 Karanga-a-Hape
 Te Waihorotiu
 Waitematā
 Grafton
Eastern Line to Ōrākei
 Parnell
Western Line
Newmarket
Southern & Onehunga Lines
to Remuera
Location

Karanga-a-Hape railway station,[3] also known as Karangahape station or K Road station, is an underground railway station in Auckland, New Zealand. It is scheduled to open on 13 September 2026 as part of the City Rail Link (CRL) project.

It will serve the Karangahape Road area with entrances in Beresford Square, and on Mercury Lane.[4][5][6] When it opens, Karanga-a-Hape will be the deepest train station in New Zealand,[7] reaching 33 metres down[8] and featuring 203 metre long platforms.[9]

History

Proposals for a link between downtown Auckland and central suburb train routes have been around since the 1920s, but the first proposal involving a station on Karangahape Road came in 2003.[10] Auckland Council proposed an underground line running between Britomart and Maungawhau-Mount Eden station, including two new stations at Aotea Square and Karangahape Road.

After consultation on a tunnelled rail line through the Auckland CBD, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) and KiwiRail announced their preferred route in 2010 featuring three stations.[11] Starting in Britomart, the route would go up to "Aotea" station underneath Albert Street, then "K Road" station, then a station on Upper Symonds Street.[11]

In September 2015 Auckland Council announced that the entrance to the station would be on Mercury Lane, with future proofing for a second entrance at Beresford Square.[12] In 2018 the plans were expanded to include building the second entrance, along with lengthening the platforms to accommodate 9-car trains.[13]

Demolition work for the Mercury Lane site began on 4 November 2019, taking out the prominent Mercury Plaza foodcourt and some surrounding buildings. Tunneling from Mount Eden station to Karanga-a-Hape station began on 26 April 2022, with the Dame Whina Cooper Herrenknecht TBM breaking through on 15 July 2022.[14]

In March 2023, the station was officially renamed from Karangahape station to Karanga-a-Hape station, after the four City Rail Link stations were gifted te reo Maori names by the project's Mana Whenua Forum.[15]

In November 2023, Auckland Transport announced it would be pedestrianising the upper portion of Mercury Lane in order to improve accessibility.[16]

Artwork

The station features Māori artwork depicting rays of sunlight and the phases of the moon.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Railway Infrastructure Information (PDF) (Report). KiwiRail. 26 May 2026. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Te Waihorotiu – Karanga-a-Hape Signalling & Interlocking Arrangements" (PDF). KiwiRail. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 December 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
  3. ↑ "Place name detail: Karanga-a-Hape Railway Station". New Zealand Gazetteer. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 5 July 2026.
  4. ↑ Karangahape Archived 23 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine City Rail Link
  5. ↑ Rail is coming uptown to Karangahape Road Archived 7 February 2020 at the Wayback Machine City Rail Link
  6. ↑ "City Rail Link deadline not guaranteed – project boss". Radio New Zealand. 4 December 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  7. ↑ "Mining starts on country's deepest railway station". City Rail Link. 30 September 2020. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Lowrie, Matt (26 October 2022). "A visit to Karanga-a-hape". Greater Auckland. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "Karanga-a-hape Station". City Rail Link. Retrieved 20 March 2025.
  10. ↑ "Underground rail link feasible, says study". The New Zealand Herald. 8 December 2023. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  11. 1 2 Dearnaley, Mathew (11 March 2010). "Experts pinpoint best tunnel route". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  12. ↑ Orsman, Bernard (30 September 2015). "Mercury Lane entrance for Karangahape station". New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 20 August 2025.
  13. ↑ Lowrie, Matt (29 October 2019). "Big projects change". Greater Auckland. Retrieved 6 July 2026. The final change came about just last year when it was agreed to future-proof the stations by allowing for 9-car trains. This primarily only impacted on the Karangahape Rd station but positively also meant they would build a station entrance in Beresford Square.
  14. ↑ Journal, Tunnelling (15 July 2022). "CRL's second Tunnel breakthrough at Karanga a Hape Station". The Tunnelling Journal. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  15. ↑ Harris, Sophie (16 March 2023). "Britomart officially renamed along with three other Tāmaki Makaurau railway stations". Stuff. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  16. ↑ Transport, Auckland. "Karanga-a-Hape Station neighbourhood and bus improvements project". Auckland Transport. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  17. ↑ McDonald, Kelvin (3 May 2025). "'Incredible' Māori designs revealed at Karanga-a-Hape Station". Te Ao Māori News. Māori Television Service. Retrieved 28 July 2026.

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