City Rail Link

Small products. Significant responsibility.
Tactile indicators and stair nosings occupy a comparatively small area within a project of this scale.

Their function is anything but small.

A passenger moving through a station may rely on tactile indicators to identify a hazard, follow a route or recognise a change in level. Stair nosings need to provide clear visual contrast and dependable slip resistance through constant use.

That makes product selection only one part of the equation.

Material performance, layout, contrast, substrate, detailing and installation all influence the finished result.

City Rail Link demanded solutions capable of working across public stairways, escalator approaches, circulation areas, platform environments, entrances, bridges and back-of-house spaces.

Rather than forcing one product into every application, the Freedom Works package drew from several tactile and stair-nosing systems selected to suit the particular conditions - and installed by our own team as part of an integrated accessibility and stair-safety package.

Developing a better tactile
One of the most recognisable parts of the Freedom Works package is our Carborundum tactile range.

Freedom Works was the first tactile indicator supplier in New Zealand to experiment with Carborundum, and we have continued refining the system with our suppliers as our understanding of demanding public environments has developed.

On City Rail Link, the tactile package included our GMSSC30 warning tactile, combining 316 marine-grade stainless steel with highly abrasive yellow Carborundum across both the centre and outer face, alongside our corresponding GMSSD30 directional tactile system.

It is a deliberate material choice.

Carborundum offers very high slip resistance and durability, making it particularly suited to heavily trafficked environments where accessibility products are expected to continue performing rather than simply satisfy a requirement at handover.

Concrete and polyurethane tactile solutions were also supplied and installed where different conditions called for them.

The result is not one tactile product repeated everywhere.

It is a considered system selected around application, environment and performance - then carried through to the finished installation.

The same thinking applies to the stairs
Freedom Works supplied and installed a range of stair-nosing profiles throughout the project, including Carborundum and Santoprene systems for different stair finishes and applications.

At the three stations in our scope, the package included SMN121 Carborundum stair nosings and SMN312 Santoprene stair nosings, with additional profiles used where carpet, bridge, plant and other specialist stair conditions required a different solution.

Again, the important point isn't the number of product codes.

It is knowing which detail belongs where - and how it needs to be installed once it gets there.

Public infrastructure contains everything from highly finished architectural spaces to functional back-of-house stairs.

Products need to satisfy the demands of each environment without compromising the wider accessibility and performance requirements of the project.

From the specification to the site

Complex projects are rarely resolved entirely on paper.

Freedom Works didn't simply supply the tactile indicators and stair nosings used across our City Rail Link scope.

Our team installed them.

That matters.

During the project, Freedom Works worked directly with the wider delivery team to resolve practical set-out and installation questions, including the positioning of directional tactiles where site conditions required judgement around spacing, alignment and the relationship with surrounding finishes.

Our involvement continued from product selection and technical support through to the detail physically installed on site.

That gives us a different perspective from a supplier whose involvement ends when the product leaves the warehouse.

We understand how these systems behave on actual substrates. We understand the tolerances and interfaces that become apparent during installation. And when site conditions don't correspond perfectly with a diagram, we have the specialist experience to work with architects,

contractors and adjoining trades to resolve the detail properly.

On City Rail Link, that included working directly with Link Alliance and coordinating with The Tile People where our installed tactile package interfaced with their hard-flooring works.

The specification matters. But ultimately, what passengers rely on is what gets installed.

Experience, at another level
City Rail Link isn't Freedom Works' first rail project.

That experience matters.

Rail environments place unusual demands on accessibility products: high passenger volumes, public safety requirements, substantial wear, complex substrates and an expectation that details continue performing long after construction teams have left site.

But City Rail Link takes that experience to another level.

Three major stations. Numerous different environments. An extraordinary wider project team. And infrastructure designed to become part of everyday life for generations of Aucklanders.

For us, involvement in CRL is less about attaching Freedom Works to a landmark project and more about what the project demonstrates.

It demonstrates the value of combining the right products, technical knowledge, project collaboration and specialist installation capability rather than treating each as a separate part of the process.

Because the right products matter.

Technical knowledge matters.

Installation knowledge matters.

And having the right people involved early enough to solve the detail matters.

That's the capability we intend to keep bringing to the next generation of public infrastructure in Aotearoa.

Project details
Location: Tamaki Makaurau Auckland
Project: City Rail Link - Te Waihorotiu, Karanga-a-Hape & Maungawhau Stations
Client: City Rail Link Ltd
Delivery: Link Alliance
Architectural teams: Grimshaw, Jasmax, WSP
Hard flooring: The Tile People NZ
Freedom Works scope: Supply and specialist installation of tactile indicators and stair nosings
Key systems: Carborundum, stainless steel, Santoprene, polyurethane and concrete tactile and stair-safety solutions
Photography: Jono Parker