‘This is where it started’: K'Road community takes over new CRL station

<p>Before Auckland's new Karanga-a-Hape Station <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/08/06/official-city-rail-link-opening-date-all-you-need-to-know/" target="_blank">carries its first passengers</a>, the community above it has been given the chance to make the underground space its own.</p> <p>Around 33 metres beneath Karangahape Road, performers have helped bring the new City Rail Link station to life as part of celebrations marking another milestone before the $5.5 billion rail project opens next month.</p> <p>Among them were performers Kween Kong and Jaycee from the Kiki House of Iman.</p> <p>For Kween Kong, the opportunity to perform in a space at the heart of one of Auckland's most distinctive neighbourhoods was particularly significant.</p> <h2>'We're doing what we do best' – Kween Kong</h2> <p>"Oh my darling, it's everything," she said.