The City Rail Link has been Aotearoa’s biggest infrastructure project. Aucklanders have got used to the city centre being a mess of dug-up streets, barriers and road cones for what seems like decades. But over recent months, excitement has been building as the hoardings have disappeared from new and refreshed stations, new signage has popped up and television advertisements have begun to extol the virtues of our new underground railway. Finally, on Sunday September 13, the City Rail Link will open to an expectant public.
As a public transport geek myself, I’ve been looking forward to this moment. And as a beer lover I’m excited about the possibilities that CRL will open. So I thought it would be a good idea to give people a guide on how to build a pub crawl around this new rail link. A day of zipping around some of our best bars, all within easy walking distance of a world-class railway system — what could be better?
We’ll start our journey in downtown Tāmaki Makaurau, at Waitematā (formerly Britomart) station. This station, centred around the glorious old Central Post Office building, used to be the only railway station in downtown Auckland, with all trains starting and stopping here. It has been completely overhauled and now sees trains whizzing through in both directions.
Before getting on the train, let’s grab a beer. Sadly, we’ve lost a few of the craft beer bars that were in place prior to the CRL construction, but there are a couple of options within easy walking distance. Andrew Andrew is just a few minutes’ away along Quay Street and down onto Princes Wharf. This hidden gem has one of the biggest tap selections in central Auckland, with a great happy hour. A similar distance away is Cornerbar, on the corner of Shortland Street and High Street. This cosy little bar, tucked away under the Hotel DeBrett, has four taps and is a great spot for a bit of people-watching before heading for the train.
Descending into Waitematā station we board a train on the newly-named East-West line, heading for Swanson in Auckland’s west. The train runs through tunnels deep under Albert Street until it arrives at Te Waihorotiu, Auckland’s new midtown station. This spectacular new building, with entrances on Victoria Street and Wellesley Street, is expected to become New Zealand’s busiest train station.
Emerging from the station and in need of a beer we have a couple of options, depending on the time of day. We can take the Victoria Street exit and head east towards Queen Street, before ending up at My Bar, tucked away on Durham Street East. This long-standing Auckland haunt comes alive in the late evenings, and offers a small selection of well-curated taps, as well as excellent cocktails.
Alternatively, we can head west up Victoria Street to the corner of Nelson Street where, in the shadow of the Sky Tower, we find The Brewers Cooperative, another freehouse with a wide selection of taps. A good place to bump into off-duty TVNZ staff!
Returning to Te Waihorotiu we board another train, still heading west. A short journey through the tunnels brings us to Karanga-a-Hape station, nestled in one of Auckland’s busiest shopping and entertainment precincts. A trip up the longest continuous escalator in the country brings us out into Beresford Square, where we couldn’t be closer to a beer!
The Northern Line Bar & Social greets us as we emerge. This excellent community bar has done it tough over the period of construction of the CRL, with patrons having regular difficulty finding a way into the bar past all the hoardings and safety barriers. Now it’s poised to reap the rewards of being the nearest bar to one of Auckland’s busiest railway stations. Another free house, it has a wide variety of taps, excellent staff and great music. Well worth a visit even if you aren’t bar-crawling your way around the CRL.
Descending back into the underworld we board a train towards the final stop on today’s jaunt — the refreshed Maungawhau (formerly Mt Eden) station. This is where the train emerges from the tunnels into the overground world, and where many passengers will transfer onto other lines. Once again we have multiple beverage options, although we need to stretch our legs a little more than we did on the last stop.
Leaving the station via the Shaddock Street exit, our closest venue is the Small Gods Taproom, another bar which suffered during the CRL construction. Tucked away on Shaddock Street and only open on certain days, it’s a fun urban freehouse with an eclectic tap and fridge selection. Heading up the alleyway from there we find ourselves almost directly opposite Galbraith’s Alehouse, the bastion of English-style ales still going strong after more than 30 years. Finally, on the other side of the railway line and also within easy reach is Brothers Beer taproom on Akiraho Street, featuring a selection of Brothers’ beers and some excellent pinball machines.
That’s as far as today’s beer adventures take us vi.a the new stations, but there are plenty more excellent venues within easy range of other railway stations. One further stop west from Maungawhau takes you to Kingsland, where the delights of the Auckland Beer Mile await you. Catching an Onehunga-bound train from there takes you to Grafton, where there’s a short walk to The Lumsden. Catching a Southern line train back into town and around the loop through Waitematā gets you to Parnell, where a short walk brings you to Twofold Bar & Bistro. And that’s not to mention many of the other great bars further out into the suburbs.
Building the City Rail Link has been hard on Auckland businesses, but I really think that now that it’s open, better times are ahead. I’ll catch you on the trail.
To help you further navigate Auckland beer by rail, the team behind Small Gods have created a website to the new City Ale LinK.