From London to Auckland

The curved GRC tunnel linings for Auckland's new City Rail Link underground train platforms borrowed successfully from the design of the award winning Elizabeth line in London, UK.

With the additional challenges presented by a global pandemic, the Linked Alliance team selected Liquidstone as their preferred supplier based on price and attributes from a range of international manufacturers.

Working closely with the installation team, Liquidstone carried out significant detailed design and engineering that ultimately resulted in the design team building a complete digital twin of the tunnel linings for the K Rd project.

In order to solve the many challenges presented by the complex geometry including many unique two-way parabolic curves, Liquidstone developed a number of innovations unique to this project.

Proudly, Liquidstone were the first in the southern hemisphere to utilise 3-D adaptive mould technology, effectively eliminating the need for single use polystyrene moulds significantly reducing amount of waste sent to landfill.

Extensive testing and validation of the cast in fixing points to meet the specific project demands, along with detailed coordination between the GRC and aluminium sub frames also led to the development of custom flex anchors which allowed for fine adjustment of panels all unique to this project.

Architect: Grimshaw
Main contractor: Link Alliance/Thermosash
Project value: 1 million