Bringing Auckland's Newest City Rail Link Stations to Life
Published: Friday 2 October 2026
As Aucklanders embrace the City Rail Link, Auckland Live is bringing free arts and cultural experiences to the areas surrounding the stations.
This is part of the team’s work taking Auckland Live experiences beyond its venues and into spaces across the city centre.
The opening of Karanga-a-Hape Station and Te Waihorotiu Station has created new opportunities for this work, turning spaces around the stations into stages, galleries and places to play.
These activations complement the opening of the City Rail Link and Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland's broader city centre regeneration programme, transforming everyday spaces into places of creativity and discovery.
Tōrua: A dance journey through the city
This year, Tōrua, by Movement of the Human, and part of Tempo Dance Festival, hits the streets and some of Auckland's newest city spaces.
Using Karanga-a-Hape and Te Waihorotiu stations as the backdrop, this unique outdoor performance invites audiences to see the city in a completely different way. After all, how often do you get to watch a dance performance around a train station?
Put on a headset, listen to the music, and follow the dancers through the city streets. Part performance, part city exploration, Tōrua celebrates movement in all its forms, from the journeys we make every day to the new connections created by the City Rail Link.
Windows of Imagination lights up Te Waihorotiu Station
What if Auckland's newest train station became a giant canvas for imagination?
Windows of Imagination designed by Creature Post transforms the exterior of Te Waihorotiu Station into a spectacular picture, inviting visitors to see the station in a completely new light. By day, it's a gateway for thousands of commuters. By night, it becomes a larger-than-life storybook brought to life by Auckland tamariki.
The drawings featured in Windows of Imagination were created in 2018 as part of the City Rail Link project. Auckland children were asked to draw where in the universe they would travel, real or imagined, if the City Rail Link tunnels were magical and could take them anywhere.
Inspired by bedtime stories, night lights and imaginary worlds, the station façade becomes a series of colourful city rooms filled with wonder, brought to life in a captivating seven-minute video loop.
Look closely and you'll spot children's artwork hidden throughout the projection – see if you can find the trains, pets, poi, volcano, lighthouse, kōtare and even a quirky hamburger!
The experience is a reminder that great city spaces can do more than help us get from A to B. They can spark curiosity and create moments of wonder in unexpected places.
After enjoying the projection, step inside Te Waihorotiu Station to see the original collection of children's artwork that inspired the installation, bringing the journey from imagination to reality full circle.
Windows of Imagination is running every evening from 7.30pm until midnight, until to Sunday 25 October, on the southern façade of Te Waihorotiu Station.
Ready, Set, Play at POPS Pinball!
The exterior of Waitematā Station has been transformed into a giant pinball machine in Te Komititanga with POPS Pinball by Vesica.
Step up to a booth in Te Komititanga, control the flippers and play the pinball machine that is projected onto Waitematā Station in real time. Designed for all ages, POPS Pinball invites audiences to reconnect with a sense of play, whether they're five, fifteen, fifty or beyond!
Make a day of it and catch the City Rail Link to Te Waihorotiu Station to see Vesica’s original POPS!, a playful installation of light and colour that inspired POPS Pinball.
Windows of Imagination and POPS Pinball are part of Auckland Live’s We The Young festival. The opening of the new stations presented an exciting opportunity to expand the festival into some of Auckland's newest public spaces. We recommend checking them both out on the same night and catching the City Rail Link from one to the other.
POPS Pinball is running every evening from 7.30pm until 11pm until Saturday 17 October.
Collaboration creating city centre vibrancy
These activations and projections are great examples of collaboration across Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and the wider Auckland Council whānau, bringing together Auckland Live, Auckland Transport and Auckland Council's Auckland Urban Development Office (AUDO) to create memorable experiences that celebrate the transformation of Auckland’s city centre.
