Two of Auckland's brand-new City Rail Link stations will light up in celebration of the arrival of Matariki tonight.
Lights will be switched on at the new Te Waihorotiu Station and at Maungawhau at 5pm.
City Rail Link chief executive Sean Sweeney said Aucklanders will see the "world-class railway" is "unique to their city".
"The Matariki lighting highlights the stunning influence the project’s Mana Whenua Forum and mana whenua artists have had on our designs."
At Te Waihorotiu station, thousands of aluminium fins wrap three sides of the Wellesley St entrance building.
Seven ultra-thick glass skylights have also been installed to let light into the station, representing the seven stars in the Matariki constellation.
Artist Graham Tipene said the normalisation of traditional knowledge by way of the CRL project has been "impressive".
"This station and this project are a testament to the nationhood we must strive for, and the excellence the Poutama facade design recognises brings to the fore a narrative that all of Tāmaki Makaurau and Aotearoa can be proud of."
At Mt Eden's Maungawhau station, 80 fins and triangles are designed to show the tears of Ranginui as part of the station's overall telling of the Maori creation story.
Floodlighting is temporary at both stations but will become permanent later this year.
The City Rail Link consists of two 3.45km tunnels up to 42m below Auckland's city centre. It involves the transformation of downtown Waitematā (Britomart) Station into a two-way through station, the construction of two new stations in midtown and uptown — Te Waihoritiu and Karanga-a-Hape — and the rebuild of Mt Eden station, now named Maungawhau.
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