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As Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland enters a new era of public transport with the opening of the City Rail Link, MOTAT is inviting Aucklanders to step inside the story of how the city moves.
Developed in partnership with Auckland Transport (AT) and opening September 26 2026 at MOTAT Great North Road, All Aboard – How Tāmaki Moves will explore public transport across Tāmaki Makaurau, from acknowledging the significance of the Waitematā across time, to the connected bus, ferry and rail network Aucklanders use today. The exhibition places the City Rail Link within a much longer transport story – one exploring the technology, engineering and innovation behind Auckland’s public transport network.
The City Rail Link is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest transport infrastructure project, with twin 3.45-kilometre rail tunnels, two new underground stations at Te Waihorotiu and Karanga-a-Hape, and major redevelopments at Waitematā and Maungawhau Stations. MOTAT’s exhibition will help visitors understand the technology, engineering and design behind these changes, while also connecting them to the transport systems Aucklanders have used for generations.
At the centre of All Aboard is an immersive projection experience that places visitors inside a shifting environment of movement: journeys on the harbour, horse-drawn trams climbing Queen Street, trolley buses travelling through the city, and the pulse of today’s public transport network. Hundreds of images and footage from MOTAT’s Walsh Memorial Library, alongside AT archives and imagery are incorporated within the projection.
The exhibition supports hands-on learning about public transport, urban planning, engineering, technology, place, identity and how communities shape the places they live. The exhibition has something for everyone across all ages, with a deeper dive supported through rich content from the MOTAT collection. Significant MOTAT collection objects, archival material, a digital interactive game and deep-dive audiovisual kiosks will invite visitors to explore how public transport has been controlled, signalled, planned and experienced over time.
One section, ‘Switched on Systems,’ looks at the physical and mechanical methods historically used to operate public transport, from rail tablets and flags to tickets, whistles and manual points. A second section, ‘A connected network,’ explores the digital, data-driven and integrated transport systems shaping Tāmaki Makaurau now, including the four City Rail Link stations and their connections across buses, ferries and trains.
MOTAT’s exhibition also highlights the extraordinary toi Māori and cultural narratives of Tāmaki iwi and hapū, woven through the new station designs of the City Rail Link and wider transport network experiences.
MOTAT chief executive/museum director Craig Hickman Goodall says the exhibition arrives at a defining moment for Auckland. “The City Rail Link marks a major shift in how Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland moves, but it is also part of a much longer story. MOTAT is uniquely placed to bring that story to life – connecting the earliest journeys across the Waitematā with the technology, engineering and public transport choices shaping Tāmaki Makaurau today.”
Auckland Transport interim ceo Stacey van der Putten says Auckland Transport is proud to partner with MOTAT on the exhibition. “The opening of the City Rail Link delivers the promise our city’s visionaries have been dreaming of for more than a century – a rail network that ties our city together and puts our wonderful city centre squarely back on the map.
“Over the decades we have seen huge changes to how people get around our city and the City Rail Link coincides with a real revitalisation of our public transport network. We’re excited to support MOTAT with bringing this exhibition to life.”
