QMS and Auckland Transport unveil City Rail Link with sold-out foundation partners
Coinciding with the City Rail Network going live, out of home media company QMS NZ has officially turned on its City Rail Link network.
The network has a fully subscribed roster of foundation partners, including 2degrees, ANZ, BNZ, Spark, The Warehouse Group and Tower.
QMS’ new CRL digital out of home network unlocks a unified, continuous audience ecosystem across the most critical transit veins in Auckland as part of its long-term Auckland Transport partnership.
The launch follows the completion of New Zealand’s largest infrastructure project in history – a $5.5 billion transformation that doubles the potential capacity of the rail network and brings twice as many Aucklanders within a 30-minute commute to the city centre.
Physical, cultural storytelling
The CRL network spans three new underground stations architecturally designed to honour Māori culture and heritage, weaving cultural storytelling into the physical commuter experience:
Te Waihorotiu Station: Set to become one Aotearoa’s busiest stations, featuring dual entrances on Victoria and Wellesley Streets serving both corporate workers and evening entertainment crowds.
Karanga-a-Hape Station: Reaching 33 metres underground, this vibrant hub serves daytime creatives and nightlife goers via Mercury Lane and Beresford Square.
Maungawhau Station: A high-growth junction connecting the CRL and Western Lines, serving daily suburban commuters and the growing Uptown neighbourhood with its mix of businesses and venues.
An unbeatable environment to engage commuters
All three environments feature state-of-the-art, 100% digital assets that are full-motion and 3DOOH enabled, offering brands a connected canvas for immersive storytelling at scale.
QMS NZ managing director Ben Gibb says: “The CRL represents a once in a generation shift for Auckland’s urban landscape. Demand to be part of this launch has been unprecedented, and we are thrilled to offer our foundation partners an exclusive, digital first environment inside Aotearoa’s most modern transport infrastructure.
“This isn’t just about new screens. It’s about establishing a continuous, day-in-day-out audience solution. With surface hoardings coming down, foot traffic returning to Queen Street and midtown corridors and CBD economic activity surging, the CRL provides brands with an unbeatable environment to engage high-value commuters at critical decision making moments.”
High-quality media placements
Auckland Transport head of out of home media and partnerships Simon Soulsby says: “The CRL will transform how people move through Tāmaki Makaurau, and through our ongoing partnership with QMS, we are excited to deliver a modern transit environment that enhances the passenger experience through high quality media placements.”
Gibb adds: “Securing the heart of Auckland’s transit network via the CRL allows brands to build their foundation in New Zealand’s primary economic hub. From there, QMS empowers advertisers to seamlessly extend that exact audience journey across our broader network – spanning over 2,000 street furniture panels in Auckland, 4,000 mass transit formats and 280+ high-impact billboards across Aotearoa.”