New Zealand Prime Minister Cuts the Ribbon | Absen’s MIP Large-Screen Displays Light Up the Country’s Largest Public Transportation Project to Date

At nearly 5 a.m. on September 13, the first passenger trains entered the newly opened Auckland City Rail Link (CRL). At the same time, more than twenty Unilumin UslimIII MIP displays lit up simultaneously in the two newly built underground stations, Te Waihorotiu and Karanga-a-Hape, officially commencing operations.

The CRL is New Zealand’s largest public transport infrastructure project, with a total cost of approximately RMB 21.2 billion. It transforms the city center’s rail network from a “terminus‑style” system to a “loop‑line” configuration, thereby doubling the passenger capacity of Auckland’s rail network.

At the opening ceremony, central government officials and local representatives—including New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown—were in attendance.

Inside the two new underground stations, Unilumin MIP large‑screen displays are strategically placed in key areas along passenger flow paths—such as the station concourse, escalators, and transfer corridors—providing functions like real-time train information, public announcements, and digital advertising.

“The CRL will revolutionize how people travel in Auckland, and we’re thrilled to create a modern, passenger‑centric environment through our high‑quality media placements,” said Simon Soulsby, Head of Outdoor Media and Partnerships at Auckland Transport.

With the new stations now operational, an estimated tens of thousands of commuters and tourists will pass through daily, directly accessing the city’s core commercial districts and boosting dining, retail, and service industries. On one hand, diverse content displayed on Unilumin MIP screens offers passengers cutting‑edge wayfinding; on the other hand, revenue generated from commercial advertising ultimately supports the public transport network itself.

Currently, the media inventory associated with Unilumin MIP displays has been fully booked by leading brands, including ANZ—the largest bank in New Zealand by assets—Spark—the country’s biggest telecommunications provider—and The Warehouse Group—the nation’s largest domestic retail chain, among others.

The inaugural round of media slots has been entirely snapped up by top-tier brands

In Closing

WHAT'S NEXT

The UslimIII MIP 1.9 series used in this project is Unilumin’s flagship product. Paired with its proprietary EBL+ optical processing technology, it delivers exceptionally accurate color reproduction and enables deep, true blacks alongside soft, textured imagery. Unilumin Technology is currently one of only a handful of companies worldwide that has achieved full coverage of the MIP product line—from P0.4 to P4. These two state‑of‑the‑art stations in Auckland represent a comprehensive real‑world validation of this solution, and we look forward to collaborating with even more partners to bring MIP solutions into additional industries.

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