Photo: Supplied
Auckland Transport (AT) is reassuring the public that the City Rail Link stations will be easy to get to.
The underground rail network with three new stations; Te Waihorotiu, Karanga-a-Hape, and Maungawhau was expected to open in late 2026.
At Auckland Council’s latest Transport, Infrastructure, and Resilience Committee meeting, Mayor Wayne Brown said it was “ridiculous” bus passengers would have to walk 250 metres, particularly when it was raining, to get to Maungawhau Station.
During the meeting, he said it was unclear whether vehicles like ambulances and Ubers could pull up close enough to the station.
AT rail infrastructure manager Jane Small told RNZ the mayor was wrong.
She said ensuring access for emergency services was a mandatory safety requirement and they had been conducting drills of different types of emergencies that could occur in the stations and tunnels.
She said AT was in the early stages of investigating options with the council to allow buses to travel closer to Maungawhau Station.
Under current plans, she confirmed it was roughly a 200-250m walk from the entrance of Maungawhau Station to the 25 and 27 bus routes on Mt Eden Road or the 22 and 24 routes on New North Road.
She said the closest car pick-up and drop-off areas for Maungawhau Station were 50m from the station’s entrance.
Along with the council and the City Rail Link group, Small said AT were working on improving links between the stations and bus stops and walking and cycling access, and ensuring there were enough parking and loading spaces nearby.
Depending on which bus route people used, Small said people would not have to walk more 200 metres to get from the bus to the Karanga-a-Hape or Te Waihorotiu stations.
She said there would be pick-up and drop-off areas for taxi, rideshare, and private vehicles at all of the new stations.
Mayoral candidate Auckland councillor Kerrin Leoni said it was concerning issues with Maungawhau were not identified by AT earlier.
“This is another example of these designs being made without it coming to elected officials.
“I don’t know whether it went to the Auckland Transport board and there are councillors on that board or where the advice is going prior to it being presented to councillors.
“You’d think that would’ve been picked up way before.”
She said with AT set to be brought “in-house” under council control, hopefully concerns could be addressed earlier in design processes.
A spokesperson for Wayne Brown told RNZ that AT staff were considering options after the mayor spoke to them about improvements to Maungawhau Station including an option with direct access to the station.
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