Why Auckland Needs This $3.2BN Railway

New Zealand is building its biggest ever transport infrastructure project.

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[ynerrad]

As an Aucklander who watches this channel religiously, who has seen videos, especially from across the ditch, (Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne and Sydney I think to date) it’s nice to see Auckland profiled. It has many challenges like any other growing city, BUT it also has A LOT of potential. Cheers to The B1M for showing off AKL to the world.

[abydos]

Been waiting ages for you to cover something from New Zealand. Finally it seems we had an infrastructure project big enough to get noticed. Awesome vid as always.

[marklatheam]

I'm from Australia and I travel to Auckland all the time and I can assure you that the only thing I don't miss in Auckland is the traffic.

[ayindestevens]

Fred’s audible reaction to Auckland’s traffic after listing the good bits of the city is proof that there’s almost always a catch. But man that set up sounded sweet.

[ALxdCrftPlays]

Auckland needs a rail network that connects the airport to the city and northern suburbs across the harbour.

[Hollandstation]

As a Dutch person that loves making videos about transport infrastructure, I really like it when your videos are about infrastructure and subways! Good job!

[DonaldMovies]

Fellow kiwi here. 🥝 🇳🇿
Great to see you cover a New Zealand project!!! This is potentially the greatest day of the year!

[SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Meanwhile, the traffic in our city is at a minimum and that's thanks to having superb transit. Pyongyang not only has a beautiful metro with two lines, but it also has a tram system with three lines and a shuttle line (between Samhung on the Metro and Kumsusan Palace of the Sun), and that's on top of trolleybuses as well. Pyongyang used to have a tram system before the war (one of three systems in the whole peninsula; Seoul and Busan were the other two) but as a result of the war's destruction, the whole city had to be rebuilt from scratch which my grandpa managed to achieve. Kim Il-sung is a role model for so many. Where there was darkness because of warfare, my grandpa showed the light.

[adamberry]

As an American who lived in Aucklands CBD, I can’t imagine paying that rent again! I saw the construction for this project often because the opening was a block away. If I was to move back, definitely to the suburbs! But knowing the traffic problems, I was not willing to do that. I’m so thankful that they are still on track to open the railway because I REALLY want to move back!

[isaakvandaalen]

Live in South Auckland and can say personally that driving into the city at any reasonable hour is a nightmare. Just yesterday I drove from Manukau to Westgate (on other sides of the city) which took about two hours. On the way back once traffic had died down it was barely over 30 minutes. Really makes a big impact on what you can get done during the day. If I want to go into the city to shop, taking the train is by FAR the preferable choice.

[cheef]

As a Seattle native I'd love to see you cover the world's first railway on a floating bridge!

[alfredkwok]

Metro or Underground Rail is a must for big city and Auckland is really far behind from the rest of the world.

[SakowskiStudios]

I lived in Auckland for 15 years and this CRL project ain’t gonna fix anything. By the time this project is ready to be used, it will be like a band aid on a broken leg. Aucklands traffic issue stem from much deeper issues which include the it’s poorly designed public transport system, aged harbor bridge, and lack of commuter infrastructure for bikes and PEV’s; that’s just the start of it. I used to live one block away from the Eden Terrace construction site, and loved watching it progress. Don’t get me wrong it’s great that they are doing it, and maybe some more people will use it instead of their cars, but it will %100 not fix the traffic jams I can tell you that much.

[ethandutoit]

I also live in Auckland and the CRL (City Rail Link) development has been fascinating. It will make commuting in the city much easier when it opens. That combined with the latest extension of the Northern Busway makes public transport a very viable option

[jonpata]

"The train can carry 54k/hr, the same as 16 lanes of highway. More on that in a minute"

I'm is it just me or did that discussion not get returned to

[sacha]

It's so interesting watching the place I grew up in, live, and work, narrated by an outsider. It's very cool having our little corner of the world shared. The Karangahape Road (more affectionately nicknamed 'K Rd') and Aotea stations are going to be incredibly helpful in pushing more business and tourists up to that end of the CBD and not just by the water. All the major transport hubs are at the bottom of the city
1. Lower Albert Street which caters to the buses, most notably the "NX1" or "Northern Express"
2. Britomart Train Station, which was covered in this video
3. The Downtown Ferry Terminal, which has the furthest reach of the three transport hubs.
And while the City Link bus stops at the bottom of Queen St and commutes people up to the top, there are so many issues with it.
- Like how it's incredibly confusing for tourists who don't understand the AT Hop Card system
- It's extremely inaccessible to families with small kids and prams and disabled people
- They are constantly canceled and can never run to full capacity
- Buses can only take around 50 people if not less
This is why the CRL is going to be incredibly useful in spreading people all across town and making the bottom less congested with people.

[willyd-adv]

New Zealand, the only 1st world country that's actually a 3rd world country. Infrastructure is appalling, houses are over a million $ for a 1st home, pathetic speed limits and no train or motorway network.
We really are 20-30 years behind the rest of the world

[jadoei]

Nice that they're moving in the right direction but it definitely won't be enough. It needs to be a well connected network that gets someone from their front door to their office, not just through the busy section halfway between.

[johnnybounsall]

Woh! I was so excited to see our little country and our beautiful congested little city represented ! Thank you ! PS: No one calls it Wine Island, in fact I'd never even hard that name before lol. haha

[Samuel_J]

Always great to see public transport videos, especially when the schemes are likely to have a huge impact on the cities they're in. I'm surprised NZ doesn't already have a subway, but I'm also surprised there was no mention of earthquake impact, what with NZ being on a plate boundary and being very earthquake prone. My assumption is earthquakes would be a big consideration in underground construction.