“Remarkable” City Rail Link wins trans-Tasman praise  

(Link to City Rail Link sustainability video https://f.io/F8YRqAUl)

14 September 2023

Auckland’s ambitious City Rail Link (CRL) project has been recognised by the rail industries on both sides of the Tasman for its “remarkable” efforts to protect the environment.

CRL’s main contractor, Link Alliance, won the Australasian Rail Industry (ARI) Sustainability & Environmental Excellence Award at an event attended by 800 people in Melbourne.

Australasian Railway Association (ARA) Chief Executive, Caroline Wilkie, congratulated Link Alliance for what she describes as a “significant” achievement.

“City Rail Link has successfully embraced several sustainability initiatives at all levels of this major project, leading to a significantly reduced carbon footprint. It is a remarkable project and Link Alliance has set new benchmarks for incorporating environmental, social and cultural benefits into infrastructure projects,” Ms Wilkie says.

CRL’s Principal Sustainability Advisor, Nick Braxton, says the award is a proud honour.

“From procurement, through design and now construction the whole Link Alliance team has been focused on reducing our carbon footprint, avoiding waste and leaving a positive social and cultural legacy for Auckland, and we’ve had great support for this mahi from our mana whenua partners,” says Mr Braxton.

City Rail Link’s Chief Executive, Dr Sean Sweeney, awards at this level are keenly contested by some very big industry players.

“Recognition like this does not come easily.  It’s a fantastic outcome for a lot of hard work and sustained commitment over the years by people determined to deliver a project that’s world class in many, many different ways.”

Earlier this month a CRL manager – Berenize Peita (Kaiwhakahaere Hua a Hapori) – won the ‘Enduring Impact’ Award from the Australian-based Infrastructure Sustainability Council for the impact her sustainability leadership was having on CRL and the wider infrastructure industry.

 

What impressed ARI’s judges in numbers

 

  • Reduction in mined tunnelling by up to 45 per cent
  • Replaced 21 per cent of cement with fly ash in concrete mix designs
  • More than $135 million spend since 2019 on Māori and Pasifika-owned businesses
  • Successful 16-week internship programme for Māori and Pasifika youth with 33 interns graduating – over 73 per cent have since been employed
  • Use of advanced 3D BIM computer technology to track CRL’s carbon footprint – a high-tech first for New Zealand

 

 

For more information please contact:

Ewart Barnsley

City Rail Link Ltd | Level 2, 25 Teed Street, Newmarket, Auckland 1023 PO Box 9681, Newmarket, Auckland 1149, New Zealand

M +64 21 567 862 | E ewart.barnsley@cityraillink.govt.nz

About the City Rail Link

The 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 and Karanga-a-Hape 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. When complete and fully operational, the CRL will carry up to 54,000 people per hour, an equivalent capacity to three Harbour Bridges or 16 extra traffic lanes in the city at peak travel times.