Communities can find out more about Auckland’s first light rail line, which is set to transform the way people move around the city over the next 50 years.
The Auckland Light Rail team has provided the Government with recommendations including a short list of three options as well as advice on delivery and cost. A summary of the recommendations is available on the project website.
The route and mode options consider the real need for expanding rapid transit in the future. The City Centre to Māngere line is the backbone of the network and will eventually connect with other lines to the North Shore and North West. Light Rail in a tunnel from Wynyard Quarter to Mt Roskill is recommended by the project team, as it gives the best transport and urban benefit, with the least disruption and the best fit with the network in future.
“It is a critical piece of infrastructure to support more housing, to give people real transport choices, and to build a linked-up transport network for Auckland,” says the Minister of Transport, Hon Michael Wood.
“There was strong support from communities along the proposed route. Aucklanders want more jobs and housing as well as reduced congestion and emissions – we know we have to get on with it.
Mayor Phil Goff welcomes the government’s commitment to the project and listening to the views of the Auckland community. “This area will cater for an additional 66,000 homes housing nearly a quarter of Auckland’s population growth over the next 30 years,” he says.
“The rapid transit connection is vital to enable this growth and address problems of congestion and carbon emissions. It is as much an urban development project as a critical transport connection."
Once the Government makes decisions at the end of the year, detailed planning and design work is expected to start in early 2022 and the project would be delivered as a partnership between the Government, Auckland Council and Mana Whenua.
