Auckland City Centre Rail Link Business Case Review
Last updated on
23/03/2012 12:45 p.m.
Officials from the Ministry of Transport and Treasury have worked with the NZ Transport Agency, KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, Auckland Council and other agencies to review the Business Case for the proposed Auckland City Centre Rail Link.
The proposed City Centre Rail Link is a 3.5 km double track underground rail line running beneath the central business district from Britomart to the Western (North Auckland) Line near the existing Mount Eden Station, with underground stations proposed at Symonds Street/Khyber Pass Road, Karangahape Road/Pitt Street and on Albert Street between Victoria and Wellesley Streets.
Following the Review, central government agencies concluded that:
- the case for investigating funding and construction of the rail link has not yet been made, but Auckland Council could undertake a range of actions to provide greater confidence about the growth projections needed to make the project viable
- the wider mix of options for meeting transport needs in the Auckland CBD have not been sufficiently explored
- there is a strategic case for lodging a Notice of Requirement to protect the rail link route and it would make sense for Auckland Council to proceed with this
- the estimated construction costs for the City Centre Rail Link are largely sound – a total cost of $2.4 billion
- the project has an overall BCR of 0.4, when wider economic benefits currently not included in the NZ Transport Agency’s assessment manual are added
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Further information
Purpose of the review
The Minister of Transport emphasised that he wanted a review of the CBD Rail Link (now called the City Centre Rail Link) Business Case which is free and frank, thorough and robust. The Minister agreed that the purpose of the work is to review the Business Case for the City Centre Rail Link and provide advice to government on:
- the merits of the City Centre Rail Link as a transport and economic investment
- when the project might be required
Background on the Working Group
The Minister of Transport asked the Ministry of Transport to lead a review of the Business Case with the Treasury. The Minister agreed that the Ministry of Transport should convene a working group comprising the Treasury, the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, Auckland Council and Auckland Transport.
Further information available on the Ministry of Transport website
A considerable amount of information was prepared in the course of the Review. Information can be found on the following webpages and is grouped as follows.
Background information from the Business Case consultants and peer reviewers that pre-dates the decision to formally review the Auckland City Centre Rail Link Business Case.
General information relating to the Review of the Auckland City Centre Rail Link Business Case, including agendas, minutes, the Project Plan and the Terms of Reference.
The Working Group set up 10 workstreams to consider different aspects of the Business Case, including strategic assessment, benefits, costs and alternatives. The outline of workstreams gives a broad overview of these workstreams.
The workstreams were:
- W1 – Strategic Assessment
- W2 – Transport Technical Aspects
- W3 – Review of Standard Transport Economics
- W4 – Review of Operating Costs
- W5 – Review of Additional Network Infrastructure
- W6 – Review of Construction Costs
- W7 – Assessing Wider Economic Benefits
- W8 – Assessment of Alternatives
- W9 – Timing of the CBD Rail Tunnel
- W10 – Revise Benefit Cost Ratios
Over the course of the review Workstream 10 (Revised Benefit Cost Ratios) was combined with Workstream 3 (Review of Standard Transport Economics).
Each workstream reported at the Working Group meetings and produced a report of their findings. In some cases, a considerable number of background memos were also produced. These are included on the relevant workstream pages.
Advice provided to the Minister of Transport immediately before and during the Review.