Power On For CRL’s Steel And Concrete ‘Christmas Tree’

Twenty-two thousand volts of mains power is now surging into City Rail Link’s Te Waihorotiu Station, marking a significant development towards the completion of New Zealand’s largest transport infrastructure project in November 2025.

“Energising Te Waihorotiu is a hugely important and big step for us,” says Wayne Cooney, City Rail Link Ltd’s Systems Director. “Until now we have relied on temporary power sources for lighting and tools. Introducing a permanent power source gives us the electricity resilience and independence needed to plan ahead for another critical milestone - testing trains and the station’s facilities later next year.”

“What begins from here is complex staging and progressive energization of our new stations, tunnel systems and permanent equipment - it’s an early Christmas bonus for us,” Mr Cooney says.

The permanent power source will fuel every single aspect of the station during the remainder of construction and will power all of the needs of the station once it is operating, from speakers, lights to lifts to escalators.

“Twenty-two thousand volts is a lot of juice to handle. It’s not as simple as flicking on a switch at home. While there is a big focus on engineering, safety is our first priority. Being our first major energization event, we are uplifting on-site regulations and processes to reduce risk and keep people safe.”

Link Alliance’s one team approach has been key to achieving this milestone. It has led the testing and commissioning of energization as construction and fit-out continues and working closely with stakeholders like electricity distributor Vector.

The power-on sequence continues next year when mains electricity is connected to CRL’s Karanga-a-Hape and Maungawhau stations.

© Scoop Media