Working in partnership

From the very early stages of the project, Beca worked alongside its clients Auckland Transport and Auckland Council to provide key information that helped inform those decisions.

“We were involved in strategic and master planning, cost and risk management, engineering and urban design and provided other technical support – all of which helped inform the decisions that were made about station locations, the wider rail network and Auckland’s future growth,” Beca Technical Fellow Bryce Julyan says. 

Route protection, planning and consenting

Back in 2009-2010, Beca was involved in the CRL Options study, which helped determine the preferred alignment, the station locations, the form, footprint and envelope that would be required to accommodate the new infrastructure. We also provided supporting technical assessments for social and environmental impacts and facilitated the multicriteria analysis exercise to inform the business case for the preferred option.

“This involved Beca providing a range of services including statutory planning, social and environmental assessments,” Bryce says.

Beca then provided Auckland Transport with planning expertise and technical assessments for the Notices of Requirement and Assessment of Environmental Effects documentation for the CRL, which designated space for the route and stations. 

This approved the works and protected the land (above and below ground), ready for future implementation.  Remarkably, the process only resulted in a single appeal to the Environment Court. Beca provided evidence to help resolve the appeal.  

Modelling for enabling works

Beca contributed to CRL enabling works by providing 3D modelling services.

“We modelled the proposed design for the area around Waitematā Station. We also created a full 3D civil BIM model of Albert Street, including all the existing services and utilities and the proposed CRL trench works in Albert Street,” Senior Associate – Civil Engineering Fraser Brotherstone says.

“Modelling the proposed trench down Albert Street allowed the team and contractor to visualise which services would potentially need to be relocated or accommodated during the works,” Fraser says.  

Improving the Karanga-a-Hape neighbourhood

With the opening of the new Karanga-a-Hape station, Auckland Transport wanted to improve the flow of passengers, pedestrians and cyclists in the area.

Beca partnered with LandLAB to deliver the detailed design, which includes upgraded cycleways and pedestrian crossings, traffic calming measures, improved lighting, new planting, bus stop upgrades, stormwater and utility improvements, and a shared space on Mercury Lane.

“The project demonstrates an integrated approach to urban design, balancing movement and place outcomes around a major rail hub, using human-centred design to create an environment that prioritises pedestrians. What has been created is a much more attractive area that contributes to a vibrant city centre,” Associate – Civil Engineering Umer Malik says.

Level crossing removals

The Auckland Transport Pedestrian Level Crossing Removal Programme has been a critical part of preparing Auckland's rail network for the increased train frequencies enabled by the City Rail Link (CRL). As train movements increase across the network, removing at-grade pedestrian crossings improves safety, reduces conflicts between rail and pedestrian movements, and helps unlock additional network capacity. 

Beca led the planning, design, consenting and construction phase services to remove 11 pedestrian level crossings, coordinating a multidisciplinary team across civil, structural, rail, geotechnical, transport, planning and consenting disciplines. 

Key locations included Homai Station, where accessible station access improvements and level crossing replacements were delivered, as well as stations at Glen Innes, Te Mahia and Takaanini, where pedestrian level crossings were removed and replaced with new accessible pedestrian overbridges designed to meet CRL readiness requirements. These projects were delivered within live rail environments and operational stations, requiring close collaboration with Auckland Transport and KiwiRail while maintaining safe passenger and rail operations throughout design and construction.

Beca is supporting further level crossing removals on the Western Line as a technical advisor.

Shaping Auckland’s future

“Seeing the CRL open was a proud moment for all of us who have had a part to play in its creation. It marks a new stage of maturity for our public transport network in Auckland – and the opportunities for development that will occur as a result will play a big part in shaping Auckland in the years ahead,” Bryce says.