City Rail Link: No plans for another open day despite one hour ticket sell out

Thursday, 7 November 2019

10,000 free tickets to walk through the City Rail Link tunnel from Britomart to Albert St were snatched up in only one hour on Wednesday.

Angry Aucklanders have taken to social media to share their disappointment over the handling of the City Rail Link open day free ticket ballot.

Ten thousand tickets to walk 600m through the tunnel from Britomart Station to Albert St beneath Queen St on November 17 became available from midday on Wednesday, with a maximum of six per person.

City Rail Link CEO Sean Sweeney, left, acknowledged the many people who had missed out on tickets, and said the project would explore other public events.

The free tickets proved a hot commodity, with all 10,000 snatched up in just one hour, CRL spokesman Ewart Barnsley confirmed.

However, Aucklanders were disappointed with the number of tickets available and called for more open days.

* Sold out! 10,000 City Rail Link open day tickets snapped up in just one hour

CRL spokesman Ewart Barnsley said the tunnel was still a construction site, for which work had been suspended for the open day.

* Auckland City Rail Link: Hardship fund for disrupted businesses**

'10,000? Really? They couldn't spread out the open days over two days or so to a larger number than 10,000?' one woman said on Neighbourly.

Aucklanders took to social media to share their frustration caused by a demand glitch with the ticket website, hosted by iTicket.

Another woman said those living nearby should have had 'first dibs'.

'They would have had more disruption to their daily lives than anyone else.'

On Thursday, Barnsley told Stuff there were 'no immediate plans' for a second tunnel walk through, as the site was still a construction site.

Work had been suspended for the open day, he said.

'Our priority is to get the tunnels built to benefit all Aucklanders.'

City Rail Link's Chief Executive, Dr Sean Sweeney previously said more options for public events were being considered, but Barnsley said it was 'too early to say' what these may be.

'The project has four years to run and in that time it is certain that there will be construction milestones we will want to celebrate with Aucklanders where it is both safe and practical to do so,' Barnsley said.

While the tickets were available, many were unable to proceed with their order as the website struggled to manage demand.

'Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again,' a pop-up window said.

Another pop-up said the website had restricted the number of people who could book at one time.

Barnsley said there had been 'unprecedented demand' for the tickets, but said there wouldn't be a second open day for those who missed out.

Those who decided not to go could return their tickets, which would be made available to the public.

Auckland's City Rail Link is the $4.4 billion project consisting of two tunnels and two new stations to connect the existing train networks and speed up journeys.

City Rail Link Ltd chief executive Dr Sean Sweeney previously said it would be a rare opportunity for people to enjoy a 'brief snapshot' of the project.

'It's a great chance for us to say, 'thank you' to people for the support they are giving the project, and for us to show off some of the outstanding engineering behind a project that will re-shape the way Aucklanders travel,' he said.