Maungawhau Station
Community Liaison Group (CLG)
Minutes
Meeting
Maungawhau Station CLG
Date Wednesday 13 March 2024
Time 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Location
Presenters
The City Rail Link (CRL) Visitor Centre- Te Manawa at 1 New North Road
Link Alliance: Helga Sonier, Laurent Illoz, Thibaut L’Hopital, Tom Renhart
5 Maungawhau Station construction update Thibaut L’Hopital
6 Maungawhau Station fit-out and architecture update Tom Renhart
7 Q&A session ALL
8 Meeting close Helga Sonier
1. Welcome and overview:
• Helga Sonier, the Community Manager welcomed attendees to the meeting and opened with the Link Alliance karakia. Helga introduced the agenda and the presenters for the evening who were present to answer relevant stakeholder queries.
2. Communications and Engagement (C&E) update:
• Helga shared recent activity and highlights from the C&E team, introducing the new station brochure which reflects the journey to completion.
• Upcoming communications will focus on urban realm and utilities work taking place on site and in the station’s surrounding streets
• Successful community pop-ups took place over the summer, including ice cream giveaways Pop-up events were useful during the Christmas Block of Line (BOL), allowing the team to inform the wider community about upcoming works.
• The latest Maungawhau drone footage is live on YouTube and was taken in January 2024. It shows the amazing changes that have taken place on site.
• On 2 April, the first Information Hub for 2024 will take place at the City Rail Link (CRL) Visitor Centre at Te Manawa. The new brochure will be launched, and information will be shared on urban realm works.
• The Maungawhau viewing platform at the corner of Nikau and Flower Streets will soon be dismantled as the backfill works progress Nearly 1000 people have stood on the platform to watch construction of the station, tunnels, and tracks.
• A rail clean-up will be taking place on Anzac weekend during a BOL. Sustainability students from St. Peter’s School will accompany our teams into the rail corridor to help clean-up litter along the tracks. New neighbour packs will be delivered to new apartment blocks that have joined the neighbourhood recently.
3. Systems and track building update:
• Laurent Illoz, Systems - Linear Asset Installation Manager, provided an update on systems and track building progress.
• During the Christmas BOL teams were able to focus on increasing and adjusting the catenary overhead lines. Progress was also made working on the maintenance of remaining snags with Kiwirail.
• Upcoming BOL’s will take place in March and over Easter & Anzac weekends. Works will take place during the day and night, along the rail corridor and on the Western Line platform. More information will be provided in upcoming works notifications.
• Track work in both tunnels is completed, with tracks fully connected from Maungawhau Station to Waitematā Station Works will now focus on fit-out, and cabling, as well as installing containers, wall assets, lighting, and cabinets
• Crews are currently fitting the tunnels with equipment for better communications between the stations, including radio and signaling systems. Concrete works are being completed in the second tunnel.
• Squeal from the rail is being generated by friction between the train wheel and metal rail, as well as the curve of the track. Rail grinding and lubrication will be used over the next few weeks to alleviate some noise.
4. Maungawhau Station construction update:
• Thibaut L’Hopital the Maungawhau Station Project Manager provided an update on the construction progress from the main station site.
• Urban realm and utilities works are commencing on site and within surrounding streets of the station
o Mt Eden Road Bridge- Work is currently taking place on the western side of Mt Eden Road Bridge and will move to the eastern side in April. This involves installing utilities, footpaths, kerbs, traffic signals, and pram crossing on both sides of Mt Eden Road Bridge.
o Ruru Lane and Korari Street- This work is located within the construction site; the team have now started the utilities stage of constructing the new connection for new Ruru Lane and Korari Street.
o Nikau Street- Utilities and streetscape activity will soon commence on Nikau Street, which includes utilities, reinstating the footpath and kerb, and connecting Ruru Street and Korari Street to the station precinct.
• Backfilling of the portal is progressing, with all four tunnels now covered. In the coming months, teams will remove the capping beams and hoardings as the backfill reaches Flower Street.
• On Fenton Street Bridge, there are ongoing glass glazing works as well as painting for the stairs and bridge deck. Next month, the lifts will be installed.
5 Maungawhau Station architecture update:
• Tom Renhart the Maungawhau Station Fit-Out Manager provided an update on architecture and fit-out works.
• The site is starting to resemble the Maungawhau Station render images, as the installation of the feature sky element façade was completed this month.
• All escalators for the station are installed, with lifts being installed in April for Fenton Street Bridge and station building front of house.
• All canopy soffit panels have been installed on the Western Line platform, with work on the platform coping stone shortly commencing.
• The temporary tunnel ventilation systems have been installed in the ventilation building along with main switchboards and cabling equipment.
• The demarcation room under the Fenton Street footbridge is the start of all power sources that go from the high voltage systems to the tunnels towards Waitematā Station. It is the first stage of power coming from our site down and will be energized over the next few days.
6. Questions and Answers:
• When will the fans in the Ventilation building start running and how much noise will it create? What are the noise and vibration mitigations when the Ventilation building will be running full time?
o Testing will take place in July; the ventilation system will generate some noise, but it will be maintained and operated in a way that does not cause unacceptable noise and vibration for neighbours. The fans sit on the vibration bed and the attenuators should absorb this sound. Tom agreed to contact Megan when testing begins.
• The view of Porters Avenue Bridge looking from Wynyard Road, there is a garden area, will walls be built?
o This tree pit will have a Puriri planted and will not have a wall built around it. In addition, some areas on Fenton Street will have boulders installed and planting, including plants from Maungawhau.
• What is timeframe for the removal of water treatment plant tanks and silos?
o The silos will be removed this month, with areas of the water treatment plan remaining on site temporarily to help dewater the ground during utilities work.
• Previous diagrams have shown Shaddock Street going right through the station entrance, are there still plans for this?
o This is part of the Eke Panuku work package and has been modified, Shaddock Street connects to the station now, any additional road connections to the station will be part of Eke Panuku’s plans.
• Is there any chance the North Auckland Line (NAL)/Western Line platform will be accessible this year?
o Auckland Transport notes that it is currently not safe to open early as there is no suitable emergency egress. The NAL/Western Line platform will be opened at the same time as the CRL platform and station building, this is because the NAL/Western Line platform will continue to sit within a working construction site.
• When will the Fenton Street Bridge open?
o It will open at the same time as the station. There are no plans to open earlier at this point because it is an active worksite, but it won’t remain closed unless necessary.
• What is the projected finish time for Fenton Street?
o There are still landscaping, and lift install works to do. The expected urban realm planting is at the end of April.
• What are the future developments in the area of Ruru, Nikau and Shaddock Streets?
o Eke Panuku’s website has more detailed information and provides a timeline of when surrounding areas will be developed.
• The glass panels on the Fenton Street Bridge are supposed to be opaque. However, you can see into resident’s apartments from the glass reflection. What is being done to address this issue?
o We are working on this and will come back with a proposal. We are currently looking at options to address privacy concerns.
• What is being done to reduce the screeching on the NAL/Western Line tracks?
o Destressing and rail grinding will take place over upcoming BOL’s to help reduce noise from the tracks. Lubricant will also be applied to the rail as another mitigation.
This CLG Presentation is available on the CRL website with all the other Maungawhau CLG presentations and minutes. The next CLG meeting date is to be confirmed for June 2024.