Ngākōroa Train Station and SH22 Drury Upgrade Begin Construction in South Auckland

Spades are in the ground for the Ngākōroa Train Station and the interim upgrade of the State Highway 22 (SH22)/Jesmond Road intersection as part of the SH22 Drury Upgrade project in South Auckland.

This is an important milestone as the last of a series of major Government funded rail projects in Auckland to get underway, says Mr Peters.

The new Drury railway stations were funded in 2020 when we were previously responsible for Rail, and over recent years the Government has invested $2.3 billion in the city’s rail network.

To help get people out of their cars and trucks and off our congested roads we’re making rail a better option for the people of Auckland and for freight.

The new Drury and Paerātā stations are underway and due to open in 2026, electric trains began travelling to Pukekohe early this year thanks to the extension of overhead cables from Papakura, and the new Third Main line in South Auckland is creating more flexibility and helping better separate rail freight from passenger services – all funded by us in 2020, says Mr Peters.

Ngākōroa Station is expected to open in 2027.

The SH22 Drury upgrade will widen a 2km section of SH22 between Jesmond Road and Mercer Street from two lanes to four to provide better connections to and from Drury Interchange, says Mr Bishop.

The highway upgrade will support housing growth in the area, giving growing communities access to multiple transport options and address existing safety issues on this section of the highway.

Over the next 30 years, an extra 130,000 people are expected to call South Auckland home. The growth and development happening around the Drury area means the role and function of the state highways and transport in this part of Auckland is changing and evolving.

To support the 2027 opening, the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is staging the SH22 Drury Upgrade project, with interim works starting now to provide access to the new Ngākōroa Station being built by KiwiRail before it opens.

The interim upgrade will involve adding a fourth leg to the intersection opposite Jesmond Road and will take six months to complete. The full SH22 Drury upgrade is expected to begin in 2027, once the required land has been purchased and full construction funding has been confirmed.

Notes to editor: Ngākōroa Station is part of the $475 million Government investment in three new stations between Papakura and Pukekohe, announced by Rt Hon Winston Peters in January 2020.

The $2.3 billion does not include City Rail Link or Auckland Transport’s level crossing works.

Key features of the Ngākōroa Station project include: Carparking for 200 vehicles with room for expansion in the future A new bus interchange A covered pedestrian overbridge and train shelters on platforms The station is being future proofed, with capacity for additional rail tracks and longer platforms to accommodate nine car trains.

The full SH22 Drury Upgrade expected cost envelope is $168 million to $197 million. This includes a combination of approved funding from the Major Capital Investment Programme (MCIP) and the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) for pre-implementation, property acquisition and delivery of the interim intersection at Jesmond Road.

Funding (within the total expected cost of $168 million to $197 million) for construction of the wider SH22 Drury project will be sought from the NLTF in 2026 once design is complete.