Tender documents have been distributed for candidates looking to design, procure, install and commission all tunnel track work and rail systems for the City Rail Link project in Auckland.
Two new stations will be built as part of the new underground line linking Britomart with the existing rail line near Mt Eden.
Auckland Transport last week announced it had recently opened the Expressions of Interest phase and sent out tender document for the CRL.
The tunnels and stations contract will be procured using a design and construct model with a lump sum price based on a bespoke contract, the authority said.
The documents detail the requirements for twin-bored tunnels of roughly 7-metre diameter.
The contract will also include the cut and cover construction of the new Aotea Station, and the mined construction of the new Karangahape Road Station.
Aotea will be a 15-metre-deep, 300-metre-long underground station, and construction will cover a plant room box, platforms, lifts and escalators to street level, as well as station and tunnel equipment, full station fit-out and entrances.
Construction of Karangahape Road Station will include platform tubes and 150-metre-long platforms, lifts and escalator to street level, plant rooms housing station and tunnel equipment within two shafts. It will also cover full station fit-out and the construction of entrances.
Chris Meale, Auckland Transport’s CRL project director, said the announcement showed the considerable progress being made.
He said the tender’s release came as work was already underway to pave the way for future construction, with a two metre tunnel boring machine already excavating and installing a new stormwater pipe under Albert Street.
A nine-storey-high piling rig working in Albert Street has already dug more than 140 of the 376 piles required for the project, Meale added.
“What will be a highly efficient and reliable transport choice for Auckland is now visibly taking shape,” he said.