City Rail Link work accelerated

Auckland Council decided today to bring forward spending on the City Rail Link (CRL).

Money previously earmarked for the 2012-2013 CRL budget will now be spent in the current financial year. It will come from public transport and travel demand management projects that cannot be progressed in the 2011-12 year due to external factors such as delays in securing necessary resource consents.

"This is money that council had planned to spend anyway on the CRL in the following financial year. It is being brought forward to assist in achieving important project milestones, such as making surveys of the land likely to be used in the project," said the chair of the Strategy and Finance Committee. Councillor Penny Webster says it will have no impact on the overall cost of the project."

$6.3 million will be spent on work including geotechnical surveys, utility and building assessments, contaminated site reports and rail operations modelling.

$1.7m will go towards providing the Government with a revised business case, requested by the government.

The CRL, a project managed by Auckland Transport, will be a new 3.5-kilometre underground electrified rail line allowing Britomart to become a through station and providing up to three new stations near Aotea Centre, Karangahape Road and Newton.