The higher cost of a “cheaper” CRL
Almost two years after leaving as chief executive of City Rail Link Ltd to deliver Dublin’s MetroLink, Dr Sean Sweeny is back. And back in the news, critiquing the cost of the project he once headed.
While I get the points he’s making, and agree with some of them, his comments suggest he’s perhaps too focused on the individual project, at the expense of the massive benefits it delivers to the wider network.…
87 Comments The Road Toll of the RoNS
How many people have been killed or seriously injured because of a myopic focus on over-scoped highways?
This isn’t a rhetorical question.
The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) – the name of which is a political slogan – are a number of State Highway projects first proposed in 2009, by then National Party Minister of Transport Steven Joyce.…
Help us boost our city even further!
A couple of years ago, we asked for your help to keep Greater Auckland ticking along, and you responded with enthusiasm. We are so grateful to everyone who has chipped in – whether as a one-off, a recurring contribution, or the gift of pro-bono expertise.…
Weekly Roundup 8-May-2026
Another week, another roundup of all things cities and transport. Plus, it’s a busy month in our city – Comedy Festival! Writers Festival! Music Month! And more! Get amongst. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Patrick artfully explained why ART is the best name for the Frequent Transit Network in Auckland
On Tuesday, Connor delved into what is set to be the country’s most expensive road, Warkworth to Te Hana – if it’s built
On Thursday, we threw back to Matt’s post from 2013 scrutinising the so-called benefits of the so-called “Holiday Highway” from Puhoi to Wellsford This roundup, like all our work, is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and fans.…
Throwback Thursday: Holiday Highway Benefits Disputed (by Northland)
Over the last 15+ years, Greater Auckland (and formerly as Transport Blog) have been scrutinising the Roads of National Significance, and specifically the ‘Holiday Highway’ between Puhoi and Wellsford.
We’ve long been proponents of better, cheaper, and quicker-to-deliver solutions (than the proposed Road of National Significance mega-project), importantly for the safety issues on the stretch of State Highway 1 between Puhoi and Wellsford, but also across the wider Northland Region.…
The nation’s most expensive road (so far)?
If built, it will be the most expensive road ever constructed in New Zealand.
$3,500,000,000 to $4,000,000,000.
Over twice the cost per km as Transmission Gully.
And it is not a good project, by any measure.
And it’s currently being rushed towards construction, with a Public-Private Partnership contact set to be signed by July, locking in a generation of New Zealanders who’ll be paying the bill over the next few decades.…
ART for RTN’s sake
What to name the various parts of Auckland’s rapidly evolving transit scene has been a recent topic of discussion.
First was Jon Bridges’ riff on the soon-to-open City Rail Link: “our new beautiful subterranean train set deserves so much better” than the letters C, R, and L, he wrote, provoking a public outpouring of acronyms and nicknames.…
Weekly Roundup 1-May-2026
It’s the first day of May already, how time flies! Here’s a collection of stories about cities for you to enjoy. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday, after the government announcement of plans to increase the weight of trucks on our roads, we had a guest post from Kasey McDonnell about the impact on wear and tear.…
CRL Services getting back on track
After our rising concern about the direction of the City Rail Link and how services would operate through it, it is good to see things are starting to get back on track.
As we highlighted a few months ago, it appeared Auckland Transport were about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory – especially after we saw the hidden details of their first timetable test.…
Will 2026 be the year of the gondola in Queenstown?
This is a guest post by Darren Davis. It originally appeared on his excellent blog, Adventures in Transitland, which we encourage you to check out. It is shared by kind permission. Introduction
Tāhuna/ Queenstown is a year round visitor destination in Aotearoa’s lower South Island, known for its winter skiing and year-round adventure tourism activities.…
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