It’s finally here. Almost a century of thinking and making, delivering the City Rail Link (CRL) to Auckland — from the 1923 Morningside Deviation, through Robbie’s Rapid Rail in the 1970s, to today. I feel privileged and proud to have been involved in this world-class project in two periods, the formative years of the project during early design stages and then again in shaper end of delivery. Whilst I am proud of the work, I am also excited as an Aucklander for the transformation it will bring.

Dramatically increasing rail connectivity in Auckland as well as adding world-class new stations at Te Waihorotiu and Karanga-a-Hape and a transformed Maungawhau, CRL benefits western and southern commuters most, bringing Henderson and southern towns closer (in travel time terms) to the city centre. That was often misconstrued in the early days — CRL was read as a city-centre project, when the biggest gains land further out. In short, “it’s not a bloody loop”. As we often found ourselves saying.

More than the documented benefits, Auckland, as an international city, deserves the CRL. Working on the project at an early stage, we heard the amusing (and sadly true) story of “A Canadian student, with backpack, who approached a security guard at Britomart asking where the subway was. The security guard keenly directed him. The Canadian arrived and was confused to find a sandwich shop.”

Vitruvius has had a long and proud involvement in the project, dating as far back as the origin of the project, with a Vitruvian, Bryce Hourigan, sketching out the original alignment — which hasn’t changed much since. Alongside direct involvement, Vitruvius has played an important role in almost all the broader Auckland network readiness projects that support the CRL timetable, including Wiri to Quay Park (W2QP), Pukekohe to Papakura (P2P) & Rail Network Growth Impact Management (RNGIM) and Wiri Depot extension. Participating in a number of ways (Design, Survey, Engineer to Contract, Project Controls etc.).

My personal journey with CRL started when I arrived in New Zealand back in 2012, immigrating here from London and landing at Auckland Transport and joining the small project team managing City Rail Link. This was during the concept design stage, the notice of requirement, property acquisition, and then progressing, following the tender for a Principal Technical Advisor, to reference design and resource consenting, finally culminating in releasing early works packages. My role was leading the project controls and central project management function — heavily focused on budget management, procurement, and the commercial management of our contracts.

This three and a half year period was fraught with challenges, but it was great being part of a small team working with industry partners to progress the project during these uncertain times. From 2012-2016 the project was only partially funded (Auckland Council’s 50% committed in the long-term plan with drive from then mayor Len Brown). I say uncertain as we did not have a lot of confidence that central government would back the project, but we progressed on with our staged expenditure. For those who have not experienced this early-stage environment, the key lesson from my experience is that it is critical to progress with confidence, planning ahead as if the project is certain and funding will materialise (hiring international experts and resources, building systems and processes etc.). That said, the reality is often far more unsettling and tenuous than that.

I was fortunate to work under great leaders such as Clare Stewart, my first manager in New Zealand, Steve Hawkins, Chris Meale, and ultimately under Dave Warburton as then CEO of Auckland Transport. All of whom were working with Stephen Town, Len Brown and others, doing their best to drive the project forward and release this mega project. Speaking of lessons, this brings to mind just how important it is for major projects to have visionary, aligned and unrelentingly committed leadership to get these sorts of projects in motion,

The small project team, based above the new ferry building, grew as it needed to, ultimately moving back into Auckland Transport premises and then later into a dedicated project office where we worked with the Principal Technical Advisor to really drive the project forward to the Early Works Packages, as I mentioned before. The project really started to take off around the time we co-located into a dedicated project office, which certainly had a strong and positive impact on the team. These were good times and I enjoyed my time immensely. I gained considerable experience but more importantly it gave me a tremendous insight into the New Zealand engineering and construction industry.

I then took a role at Auckland Airport, a return to aviation industry for me, taking on an opportunity, I couldn’t look past. After 5 years or so (not long after Covid had put a significant dampener on our airport programme) I returned to the world of consulting and ultimately joined Vitruvius as Auckland Business Leader. I reconnected with a few friends and colleagues which lead me to support another great leader, Bevan Assink, in KiwiRail’s readiness for CRL (the CRL Be Ready and Be Involved programmes). Again, joining a small team, we began scoping and planning for all of the areas that KiwiRail would need to update, enhance and demonstrate to support the CRL Tunnel asset and the enhanced timetable as access provider. We ran this like a change programme, with 9 or 10 workstreams that supported its Safety Case Variation submission and testing programme. My role was again central project management and controls, trying to keep all the components integrated and heading in the right direction to hit the right deadlines required by Link Alliance, CRLL, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail. This sort of programme was not quite linear, and scope emerged and shrank in parallel to the shift that the rest of the KiwiRail business was making as it matured and changed in several areas. The task remained keeping our focus on primary outcomes and objectives, being flexible and driving hard in the right areas.

Alongside supporting the Britomart works programme with Stefan Jermy, I more recently became involved in the CRL testing and snagging programme — closer to the physical works. Both were great, and a fitting transition to the end of this major project.

All in all, it’s been a 14-year involvement in this project, probably my longest on single project, despite my experience on some major projects overseas, and one I am very proud of.

As of writing we are days away from public launch — CRL opens to passengers on Sunday 13 September 2026. I am very confident in the benefits of the CRL and the effect it will have in driving Auckland forward. As an Aucklander, I can’t wait.

See you on the train.

The post Not a Loop: My Fourteen Years on the City Rail Link appeared first on Vitruvius.

KiwiRail is in the process of rolling out a new Track Evaluation Car (TEC) into New Zealand. A TEC is a specialised rail vehicle that runs over the network to continuously measure and assess the condition of the track while in motion. It uses onboard sensors to capture key geometry parameters such as alignment, level, gauge, and curvature, building a detailed profile of track condition over long distances. This data is then analysed to identify defects, monitor track quality, and prioritise maintenance, helping ensure the railway remains safe, reliable, and fit for purpose.

While the TEC itself is a powerful tool, the real value lies in what happens next, turning vast amounts of raw data into something meaningful and actionable.
As part of the rollout, KiwiRail is working towards creating a digital baseline for every curve across the network — estimated at around 7,000 curves. This baseline will provide a consistent, data-driven reference point for how the track should perform, and how it changes over time.

To support this, the entire network has been surveyed using mobile laser scanning (MLS) technology, generating detailed datasets across each section of track.

But collecting the data is only the beginning.

Vitruvius has been engaged to assist KiwiRail in analysing this data and comparing it to the current baseline geometry held within KiwiRail’s Maximo database. This process involves reviewing the MLS raw data in direct comparison with Maximo, checking for alignment, consistency and compliance, checking whether the new data is suitable to adopt, and then recommending updates for approval by KiwiRail Engineering before establishing the new baseline.

Once verified, this work will help establish a new, more accurate baseline for managing track performance across the network.

One of the biggest challenges in this work is the scale. With thousands of curves and large volumes of raw data, a significant amount of effort goes into preparing and organising the data before meaningful comparisons can even begin. With support from Nathaniel South, AI-based automation methods have been introduced to help organise and structure the datasets more efficiently. This has significantly reduced data processing time, allowing more focus to be placed on analysis and interpretation, where the real value lies.

While much of this work happens behind the scenes, its impact is far-reaching. By combining advanced measurement technology with improved data analysis, KiwiRail is building a more accurate and reliable understanding of its network. In turn, this supports smarter maintenance decisions, better long-term planning, and improved resilience across the rail system.

For me, the most interesting part of this work is seeing how technology, data, and engineering come together to provide a clearer picture of the network and how that insight can drive better outcomes over time. As the TEC rollout continues, it’s not just about measuring the railway more accurately, it’s about building the foundations for how it will be managed into the future.

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I joined Vitruvius in 2022, bringing with me a background in rail engineering from the UK. What started as a move halfway across the world has evolved into a rewarding journey growing from delivering project engineering on small, sometimes single discipline projects, into a broader role leading and coordinating multidisciplinary rail design across the business. Today, I’m proud to be leading a fantastic rail team in Wellington, working alongside a talented team throughout the business that has allowed me to grow and deliver high quality solutions in what are often constrained and complex environments.

My journey into rail began in 2014, when I joined Network Rail in London as a graduate engineer. Like many people fresh out of university, I wasn’t entirely sure what direction I wanted to take, but the opportunity to work in London (and stay close to friends from University) made it an easy decision to give it a go. What I didn’t realise then was that it would turn into a long-term career.

Those early years were invaluable. I was out on the front line in a safety-critical environment, working across track maintenance, signalling installations, drainage assessments, and bridge inspections. That hands-on experience gave me a solid, practical understanding of how the railway works as a complete system — something that’s stuck with me ever since and shaped how I approach projects today.

Before moving fully into project delivery, I spent some time working in structural design for a small UK consultancy (still within rail). It was a great way to challenge what I’d learned at university and build a stronger technical foundation. When I returned to Network Rail, I moved into a Project Engineer role, delivering multidisciplinary projects to upgrade substations and traction power systems. That was my first real exposure to coordinating across different disciplines, and it quickly became clear the importance of bringing disciplines together – breaking down silos, strengthening communication, and aligning teams to achieve better outcomes.

As my experience grew, so did the scale and complexity of the projects I was involved in. I was given opportunities to take on increasingly challenging roles, eventually leading engineering delivery on the client side on major station upgrades, including the Gatwick Station Upgrade. These projects reinforced the importance of balancing technical design with programme pressures, stakeholder expectations, and constructability, all while striving to maintain a safe working environment.

Safety is always my number one priority. Everyone home safe every day is something that I have taken with me throughout my career, reinforced by a tragic event during which I received the devastating phone call that someone had lost their life in an incident on a site during night works. An incident that with the right planning could have been avoided and will remain with me for the rest of my life.

After several years in the UK (and a brief two-year stint working outside rail in Switzerland), I decided it was time for a change. That led me to New Zealand and to Vitruvius, where I’ve now been for almost four years.

Since then, I’ve been fortunate to work on a range of interesting projects. One highlight was seeing my very first project come full circle, undertaking construction monitoring for Elles Road Level Crossing, two years after we had delivered the design.

Whilst I spent the first 2.5 years working to deliver a high volume of projects with some fantastic people doing most of the hard work in the background, a more recent highlight has been my involvement in the Lower North Island Integrated Mobility (LNIRIM) programme, working on new rail yards that support new rolling stock and future network growth throughout the Wellington region. A project where balancing operational constraints, stakeholder needs, programme constraints, and technical design, whilst managing budgets and resources becomes business as usual! I have been lucky to have an awesome team with me delivering exceptional work throughout!

I enjoyed spending time supporting projects like iREX and the more recent Ferry Replacement Programme (FRP). These kinds of projects really highlight what rail engineering is all about — working in constrained environments, solving challenging problems, and keeping everything aligned across multiple disciplines.

One of the biggest learnings along the way is that rail projects are entirely a team sport. Good outcomes rely on multiple disciplines working together effectively — track, civil, signalling, electrical, and operations all need to align. Building strong relationships with clients and partners, and maintaining open communication, is just as important as getting the technical design right.

Working across both the UK and New Zealand rail environments has also taught me the importance of adaptability. While the fundamentals are similar, the standards, processes, and ways of working can be quite different. Having worked both client-side and now consultancy-side has given me a better understanding of the challenges faced on both sides. Many of the issues are similar — disconnected teams, changing requirements, and constrained programmes — and in my experience, strong relationships are often the key to overcoming them.

I started in rail to be close to friends, I stayed in rail because I believe it is an incredible way to connect people, communities, and provides for a more sustainable future.

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Vitruvius is proud to be supporting the delivery of the Putauaki Kawerau Container Terminal (PKCT). This is a landmark infrastructure project that will establish a new rail freight hub for the Eastern Bay of Plenty and unlock long‑term economic benefits for the region.

We are currently assisting PKCT by overseeing construction supervision and providing surveying set-out services for a complex and tightly scheduled build. Our role spans end‑to‑end engineering and planning services, including rail design, stormwater assessment, traffic impact assessment, civil and roading design, integrated stormwater management, and working closely with Engeo to undertake the specialist geotechnical investigations and design.

Supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, this initiative represents over five years of planning and serves as a pivotal driver for enhancing regional supply chains and supporting local industry within the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

Once operational, PKCT is expected to remove up to approximately 18,000 heavy truck movements from surrounding roads each year, reducing congestion, improving safety, and delivering meaningful reductions in CO₂ emissions.

The project is now well into its construction phase. Over the Christmas break, Vitruvius worked closely with the Contractor and the Principal to deliver the important first stage of the programme, setting the project up for a strong start. Taking advantage of the Christmas block of line, we reinstated more than 200 metres of existing track.

As the project progresses toward its planned opening in mid‑2026, our team will continue working alongside the contractor and PKCT to deliver:

• a new 750 metre long loading platform
• approximately 1.2 kilometres of new heavy duty rail track
• more than one hectare of new container storage area
• around 100,000 cubic metres of earthworks and imported fill
• new stormwater storage and road access infrastructure.

The PKCT project reflects Vitruvius’ broader capability to deliver complex infrastructure projects that will make a real difference to the region and local community. We are proud of the progress achieved to date and look forward to continuing our contribution as this important project reaches its next milestones.

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