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76-480: Waitematā railway station , formerly known as Britomart Transport Centre , is the public transport hub in the central business district of Auckland and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk railway line. It combines a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive modernist architectural elements, with a bus interchange. It is at the foot of Queen Street ,

152-625: A branch on Queen Street in early March. However, the population remains highly focused on ethnically diverse, mostly young and childless residents. According to an in-depth study of security perception in the Auckland CBD undertaken in 2005, most visitors and locals feel safe visiting and living in the CBD. Police and the Council have in part ascribed these positive feelings to over a dozen safety initiatives undertaken by authorities (from alcohol bans in parts of

228-443: A combination of developers uninterested in long-term outcomes and council planning direction being too weak. In an attempt to reverse the decline of aesthetics in the CBD, previous Auckland City Councils and the current unitary Auckland Council have instigated several urban regeneration schemes. These include the recent redevelopment of Aotea Square in 2010 and the upgrade of Saint Patrick's Square in 2009. The area east of

304-567: A former headland at Commercial Bay's eastern end. In the 1870s and 1880s the headland was levelled and used to fill in Commercial Bay in order to extend the railway line to the bottom of Queen Street. Auckland Railway Station moved west from its original 1873 site to Britomart in 1885 and remained there after the Post Office was built on the Queen Street frontage in 1912. The Chief Post Office

380-525: A large area (such as timber yards) or created noise or pollution (such as brick yards or foundries). Up until the middle of the 20th century the centre of town still contained a large number of small factories including clothing manufacturers. The relocation of industries to outlying suburbs became especially pronounced in the 1950s, partly due to incentives made by council planners to create industrial areas in Penrose and Rosebank Road (amongst others) and thus rid

456-631: A large portion of the CBD waterfront with residential or commercial buildings and public spaces. The Auckland CBD is one of the few places in New Zealand that has skyscraper-sized buildings, such as the Vero Centre , Commercial Bay (skyscraper) , ANZ Centre or the Metropolis , with the Sky Tower rising above them. Residential high-density buildings constructed within the last decade have helped to increase

532-569: A significant part of Auckland's education business. The Ministry of Education operates state-operated schools throughout the area. Private secondary schools within the CBD include ACG New Zealand International College , ACG Senior College , and Auckland International College . Many of Auckland's historic Christian churches are located in the CBD, although not all are the original buildings. Heritage New Zealand Category 1 Historic Place registered churches include: St Paul's Anglican Church , founded in 1841, St Patrick's Catholic Cathedral

608-526: A space of only 433 hectares (1,070 acres). The area is made up of the city's largest concentration of skyscrapers and businesses. Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas; it is bounded on the North by Waitematā Harbour , east by Parnell , southeast by Grafton , south by Mount Eden , southwest by Newton , west by Freemans Bay and northwest by Viaduct Harbour . Located on

684-514: A spare AM class EMU (the "hot spare") for service disruptions, he believed that this spare unit could be held further up the line at The Strand Station which would free up a platform for Onehunga line services to continue to operate out of Britomart. In the future, the number of platforms will be permanently reduced from 5 to 4, with Platform 2 permanently closing. Once the CRL is operational, additional works and upgrades to Waitematā station will widen

760-468: A tunnel loop, but that was stopped by the Muldoon National Government , which claimed it was unjustified and too costly. In 1995, Auckland City Council purchased the old Post Office building ( PostBank offices closed in 1988, though some postal services remained open beyond that year) and proposed to redevelop the area as a transit centre. Early designs called for both the bus terminal and

836-627: Is primarily involved in asset development and asset management of infrastructure and built environment assets. As the adviser, manager and partner, Opus develop and maintain assets across the transportation , infrastructure and built environment sectors; amongst such key facilities include intra and inter-urban highways, rail and transit system, maritime and airport, strategic viaduct and bridge linkages, and health care facilities. Opus has over 80 offices in Australia , Canada , India , New Zealand , Malaysia and United Kingdom . Opus Group Berhad

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912-642: The Auckland metropolitan area . It is the area in which Auckland was established in 1840, by William Hobson on land gifted by mana whenua hapū Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei . It is New Zealand's leading financial hub, and the centre of the country's economy ; the GDP of the Auckland Region was NZD$ 139 billion in the year ending September 2023. The CBD is one of the most densely developed places in New Zealand, with many commercial and some residential developments packed into

988-590: The City Rail Link . Once completed, it will connect the Waitematā railway station more directly to the Western Line in the vicinity of Maungawhau railway station by way of a tunnel running under the CBD. Two new stations are being constructed, one named Karanga-a-Hape railway station near Karangahape Road and another named Te Waihorotiu railway station near Aotea Square , and the existing stations at each end of

1064-755: The Commercial Bay (PwC tower) skyscraper and the Commercial Bay Shopping Centre . Auckland Council and proprietors Precinct Properties struck a deal to include tunnels for the City Rail Link directly underneath the premises. In late 2020, the former Queen Elizabeth II Square adjacent to the Old Post Office building was reopened as Te Komititanga, a new civic square that incorporates whāriki (woven mat) patterns, developed in partnership with Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki weaver Tessa Harris, who developed

1140-606: The Karangahape Road / Pitt Street area, and one near Upper Symonds Street in Newton . At the southern end, the line would link to a redeveloped station at Mt Eden. Original estimates for the cost of the CRL were at around $ 1 billion, taking 5–7 years to plan and build. In August 2014 it was announced that the station at Newton had been dropped in favour of an upgraded station at Mt Eden. In 2015, enabling works for CRL construction began. Main works began in 2018. Following completion of

1216-692: The Ngāti Whātua Māori iwi (tribe) of Auckland Apihai Te Kawau , signed the Treaty of Waitangi . Ngāti Whātua sought British protection from Ngāpuhi as well as a reciprocal relationship with the Crown and the Church . Soon after signing the treaty, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei made a strategic gift of 3,500 acres (1,400 ha) of land on the Waitematā Harbour to the new Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson , for

1292-459: The Waitematā railway station (rail and buses) and the nearby Auckland Ferry Terminal , both near the Auckland waterfront . Many bus services travel the length of the CBD along the main streets, in particular via the bus lanes on Albert Street and the Central Connector bus priority route. In 2010, around 33,000 people entered the CBD via public transport every day. Historically, much of

1368-492: The Waitematā railway station is currently undergoing major changes, with the development of new commercial buildings, the restoration of several heritage buildings and development of public spaces, including a new public square named Te Komititanga which opened in 2020. The downtown ferry precinct called Te Wanaga opened in 2021. Another major regeneration scheme currently underway is the redevelopment of Wynyard Quarter , which involves replacing industrial facilities covering

1444-495: The Wynyard Quarter . In September 2003 Air New Zealand was the only one of the very largest corporations in New Zealand to have its headquarters within the Auckland CBD. The CBD's main shopping mall, Commercial Bay , opened in 2020. It features 18,000 m of lettable real estate space, made up of 120 shops including H&M . The Atrium on Elliott has 736 carparks and 23 stores, including The Warehouse , Rebel Sport and

1520-555: The 'luxury' shops of the mid 19th century. The 1850s onwards saw an increasing number of businesses, and especially retail, locating further south along Queen Street , which still to this day forms the 'spine' of the area. In 1841, one year after the European founding, the census counted approximately 2,000 people, with "mechanics" the largest group at 250, and other groups of note being 150 agricultural labourers, 100 shopkeepers, 100 domestic servants, and 125 "upper class members". During

1596-458: The CBD to CCTV surveillance and street lighting measures). However, in spite of the general perception of the CBD being safe, there was a feeling that crime had risen somewhat in the last five years (whereas in fact numbers had declined). This was considered to be mostly due to a media-driven public image. With 8,500 businesses, the CBD accounts for 18% of all businesses in Auckland City, with

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1672-417: The CRL, some trains will no longer terminate at Britomart. Platforms 5 and 1 will be the through platforms, while platforms 2–4 will remain terminating platforms. A proposed alternative to the City Rail Link (CRL) to increase capacity was the duplication of the existing eastern Britomart approach tunnel. This would have required a new twin track tunnel approximately 500 metres long to be constructed parallel to

1748-460: The Downtown and Waterfront areas of the CBD. In 2004 Auckland CBD had 72,540 employees and 9125 businesses. 2006 Auckland CBD had 78,444 employees and 9,461 businesses. Air New Zealand was formerly headquartered in Auckland CBD. In 2006, from late September to early October, the airline moved employees out of the four buildings it occupied in Auckland CBD and relocated them to the new headquarters in

1824-647: The Elliott Stables Foodcourt. The Victoria Park Market was established as a shopping centre in an unused heritage building in 1983. It was extensively renovated between 2008 and 2013. The centre currently features 74 stores, and 194 carparks. Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki has been operating in Auckland CBD in 1888. Since then, several other galleries have also opened in the CBD. Artspace Aotearoa opened in 1987. Gus Fisher Gallery opened in 2001. St Paul St Gallery opened in 2004. The Dalmatian Archives and Museum, opened in 1989, features

1900-500: The InnerLink bus services stop at Britomart. Other buses depart from stops on surrounding streets, some of which are up to a block away from the station. Until early 2016, buses arrived at and departed from Queen Street in front of the station building, but that portion of Queen Street is now permanently closed to vehicular traffic and is now a public plaza after an initial temporary closure for CRL tunneling works. Across Quay Street from

1976-529: The Western Line is under construction as part of the City Rail Link project. In March 2023, following a joint submission to the New Zealand Geographic Board by Auckland Transport and Auckland Council, the station was officially re-named to Waitematā railway station . The station is on reclaimed land in the middle of what was once Commercial Bay . Its original name came from Point Britomart ,

2052-499: The appearance of Big Box retailers in places such as Botany and the North Shore. Residential numbers in the inner city (including the inner suburbs) were also declining in the 20th century. In the two-mile zone surrounding the CBD, there were approximately 70,000 people in 1926, with only around 50,000 in 1966 – a change made even more marked by the development of the remainder of Auckland's population, which grew more than fourfold in

2128-472: The design often being described as a large hole in the ground, both literally and figuratively. Despite this and a NZ$ 204 million price tag, it has won numerous design awards and is internationally recognised for its innovative but heritage-sympathetic architecture. The main source of contention was the relatively great expense of this public transport development in the Auckland Region, where for many decades

2204-518: The diesel trains. The project was expected to be completed in 2013. Britomart was officially electrified on 31 March 2014, with New Zealand's Prime Minister, John Key , flipping the switch in a commemorative ceremony. The first electric passenger services began running four weeks later, between Britomart and Onehunga on the Onehunga Line on 28 April 2014. From July 2015, all suburban trains serving Britomart were operated by AM Class EMUs , leaving

2280-555: The east of the CBD. Plans for a tunnel southward underneath the CBD to Mt Eden and even to Morningside were debated for nearly a century. With Britomart in operation since 2003, the tunnel would allow trains to run through the station rather than having to reverse out over the same set of tracks. On 5 March 2008, ARTA said that it had begun preliminary planning for a 3.5 km tunnel which would most likely be travelling under Albert Street and serving three underground stations: one near Wellesley Street (linking to Aotea Square ), one in

2356-405: The east. In its early days, Britomart was criticised because it was built on a scale and level of grandeur that was well in excess of the capacity and patronage of the rail network. Auckland Regional Council transport committee chairwoman Catherine Harland acknowledged that "Britomart opened ahead of its time", raising public expectations that could not be fulfilled at the time due to the state of

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2432-561: The eastern boundary. The CBD has an area of 433 hectares (1,070 acres), similar to the Sydney CBD , and twice as large as the CBDs of Wellington and Christchurch . The CBD is to a substantial part located on reclaimed land of the Waitematā Harbour. For a closer discussion of this aspect, see the Commercial Bay and Auckland waterfront articles. On 20 March 1840, paramount chief of

2508-543: The existing corridor was reached. Moreover, while seen as an alternative to the CRL through connection tunnel, the duplicate eastern tunnel would not have precluded it from being built. A feature that came into operation in 2011 in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and allowed an increase in capacity of the existing tunnel is 'bi-directional signalling', which allows a train to leave on the same track on which it entered – freeing it from having to cross over other tracks which may not be safely clear of other trains. In 2019, funding

2584-414: The existing twin-track tunnel, resulting in four tracks from Quay Park Junction and retaining Britomart as a terminus. Estimated costs were $ 150 million to $ 200 million, with 4–5 years to plan and build. Such a project would have allowed the same capacity increase as the CRL at approximately one sixth to one fifth the cost, but without any of the additional benefits that the two new CRL underground stations or

2660-558: The ferry terminal and southward toward the Queen Street- Customs Street intersection. The underground walkway was closed to pedestrians from 29 March 2016 in order to facilitate preliminary works for the City Rail Link. In April and May 2016, the canopy was dismantled and removed from the site, and on 28 May 2016 the Downtown Shopping Centre was closed and fenced off for demolition. A major commercial building

2736-444: The focus had been on private vehicle ownership and travel. Initial plans included underground pedestrian walkways to Queen Elizabeth II Square, the nearby downtown ferry terminal and the main shopping street of Queen St. Due to cost over-runs only the short walkway under Queen Street to the square was built, the other two being dropped in favour of a sizeable rain-proof canopy that ran from the square's above-ground exit northward toward

2812-410: The highest concentration of arts, culture and higher education institutions and venues in the country. Some commentators have noted that the recent decades have not been kind to the aesthetics and the community values of the inner city. The demolishing of many older buildings, often the prerequisite for low-quality or uninspired new office and residential developments, is considered by them to be due to

2888-576: The history of Croatian New Zealanders . The New Zealand Maritime Museum , opened in 1993, features the maritime history of the Waitematā Harbour . There are significant educational institutions located in the Auckland CBD, notably the University of Auckland and the Auckland University of Technology . The CBD also has many of the English language schools for non-native English speakers which form

2964-441: The inner city area of noise, pollution and heavy traffic. This was mirrored by the development of suburban shopping malls which enticed retailers to vacate the inner city as well. Attempts by the council to halt this pattern by constructing numerous public car parking buildings met with varying success. The rise of suburban supermarket and mall shopping that was created in places such as Pakuranga from 1965 onwards has been added to by

3040-399: The largest being Ports of Auckland , and the largest employment sectors being financial services, business and ICT services. The CBD is also the largest employment centre in New Zealand, with around 65,000 jobs, representing 13% of the regional workforce, and 25% of the Auckland City workforce. Around 73,000 people enter the CBD every morning between 7 am and 9 am, 60% of these by car, while

3116-438: The leading centre of New Zealand's business and economic development for nearly two centuries. The area of today's CBD was the site of the original European settlement of Auckland, oriented along the coastline and then Queen Street, in a southward direction. From those origins, it has grown progressively, and become much more densely built-up, now being an area of high-rise buildings mainly used for commercial and retail uses. It has

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3192-436: The link, Waitematā and Maungawhau, are receiving substantial upgrades. The main street of the CBD is Queen Street , which was upgraded between 2006 and 2008 to modernise it and make it more pedestrian friendly. In 2009, the former Auckland City Council proposed the redevelopment of several CBD streets into shared spaces , with the goal of improving pedestrian and cyclist amenity by slowing down vehicle traffic while retaining

3268-404: The main commercial thoroughfare of the CBD, with the main ferry terminal just across Quay Street . The station was the result of many design iterations, some of them being substantially larger and including an underground bus terminal and a large underground car park. Political concerns and cost implications meant that those concepts did not proceed. At the time of its inception in the early 2000s

3344-522: The many institutes), making up 27% of all residents (2001 Census) and contributing to the relative youth of the city residents. With increasing population, available services have also changed – from only about one superette in the early 2000s, this has ballooned to one supermarket and 38 superettes by 2011. In early 2012, two major supermarket chains opened a branch in the city centre, with Countdown opening on Victoria Street in January and New World opening

3420-421: The more direct route to the Western Line will provide. Initially seen as an inferior, but cheaper and more politically acceptable alternative to the CRL tunnel, the duplicate eastern approach also gained favour as a stop gap implementation due to the comparatively short build time. Even if planning had commenced immediately, the CRL might not have become operational until several years after the maximum capacity of

3496-416: The move and alleged that 60% of Onehunga line passengers wanted to travel to Britomart. Former Auckland councillor Mike Lee also criticised the change and claimed that rail staff had told him that the change was unnecessary as only one platform would be closed at a time, which still left four platforms for four lines to be operated out of Britomart. Lee explained that one platform was being used to accommodate

3572-408: The new capital , which Hobson named for George Eden, Earl of Auckland , then Viceroy of India . Auckland was founded on 18 September 1840 and was officially declared New Zealand's capital in 1841. The town of Auckland was created in 1840 with the first European colonisation of the area, marked by an official ceremony on the now non-existent Point Britomart . The initial centre of the new town

3648-415: The northern shore of a narrow isthmus , the CBD extends from the Auckland waterfront on the Waitematā Harbour southwards along Queen Street and a number of other parallel-running streets. The CBD is generally considered to be bounded by the main motorways that surround all non-harbour sides, with State Highway 1 forming the southern and western boundaries, and State Highway 16 / Grafton Gully forming

3724-455: The official opening on 25 July 2003 by Sir Edmund Hillary and government ministers. Services to the Beach Road terminus ceased, except for some peak-time commuter services and excursion trains using the former Platform 4 (originally Platform 7), renamed ' The Strand '. The commuter services ceased after a few months. Cost over-runs and differing tastes made the centre politically controversial,

3800-787: The old bus terminal were diverted to other locations in June 2001. The project name, with the station intended to facilitate transfers between buses, trains, ferries and potential future light rail, was officially coined the Waitemata Waterfront Interchange. The station itself later opened as Britomart Transport Centre. Designed by California architect Mario Madayag in collaboration with local Auckland architects Jasmax, construction of Britomart commenced in October 2001, with structural design having been provided by OPUS . It involved 14 km of piling , some being 40 m long and driven 16 m into

3876-479: The patterns in collaboration with weavers from Te Ākitai Waiohua , Ngāi Tai ki Tamaki, Ngāti Te Ata and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei . On 6 April 2021 at 1pm the surface building (also known as the Central Post Office) was reopened. The opening was attended by Phil Goff and members of the public. The surface building was ceremonially opened by a ribbon cutting . In June 2022, the number of serviceable platforms

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3952-534: The population living in the CBD to around 54,620 (2018 estimate) from an earlier 21,390 (2006 estimate), all being growth from only 1,400 in 1991. Much of this growth has been driven by immigration to New Zealand , particularly from Asia, and the CBD is the area in New Zealand with the highest percentage share (32%) of the Asian ethnic group in New Zealand. Also striking is the high number of students (both tertiary education and overseas students studying English in one of

4028-584: The possibility for car access – compared to a pedestrian mall which allows no motor vehicles. Auckland Council is continuing this project. Darby Street, Lorne Street, Fort Street, Jean Batten Place, and Fort Lane have been converted into shared spaces since 2011. The portion of Federal Street between Wellesley Street West and Victoria Street West has also been made shared space. 36°50′49″S 174°45′54″E  /  36.847°S 174.765°E  / -36.847; 174.765 Opus International Group Opus Group Berhad (Opus) through its subsidiaries

4104-463: The rail network. Patronage on Auckland's rail network increased from 2.5 million journeys in 2003 to just over 14.2 million in July 2015, and by April 2017 had reached 19 million journeys. It was announced on 17 May 2007 that electrification of Auckland's rail network would proceed. Installation of overhead wires began later, with Auckland Transport (initially ARTA) purchasing new electric units to replace

4180-462: The railway to be underground, but these plans were scrapped as consultation showed that buses were preferred above ground by both users and operators, and projected costs soared, partly due to the difficulties with potential water ingress. The developer eventually defaulted on contractual deadlines, and the project failed. In 1998, a cheaper option was decided on, partly after a consultation process with stakeholders and citizens. The architectural design

4256-640: The remainder of the 19th century, Commercial Bay was progressively filled in, allowing a northward extension of Queen Street and the creation of Fort Street, Customs Street , and Quay Street . The part of Queen Street north of Customs Street is today referred to informally as Lower Queen Street. As well as being the location of a great many multi-storey warehouses, initially the Lower Queen Street area also contained many manufacturing businesses, though many of these started to move to other areas such as Freeman's Bay, Newton and Parnell, especially if they took up

4332-407: The remaining 4 platforms to accommodate larger passenger volumes in conjunction with improving station access from the eastern entrance. The station is designed to serve up to 10,500 passengers during the peak hour as a terminus . The station has five platforms and is constrained by the 9.3 m width of the 426 m long double-track access tunnel. Early forecasts predicted that while double-tracking of

4408-410: The same timeframe. In the 1990s, only a token population of around 1,400 was still residing within the CBD, though this was to grow substantially with a boom of new apartment buildings around the turn of the millennium. More recently, in the early 21st century the CBD has seen a resurgence with strong population growth. As at 2010 there were around 24,000 apartment units. The CBD of Auckland has been

4484-401: The station has received: [REDACTED] Media related to Britomart Transport Centre at Wikimedia Commons 36°50′38″S 174°46′01″E  /  36.844014°S 174.767010°E  / -36.844014; 174.767010 Auckland Central Business District The Auckland Central Business District ( CBD ), or Auckland city centre , is the geographical and economic heart of

4560-561: The station is the Auckland Ferry Terminal , which is the main hub for Auckland's ferry system. There are ferry services to suburbs including Devonport , Birkenhead and Half Moon Bay , as well as to islands in the Hauraki Gulf such as Waiheke Island and Rangitoto Island . The Chief Post Office was registered as a Category I heritage building by Heritage New Zealand on 11 July 1986, with registration number 101. Awards that

4636-400: The station was still Auckland's largest transport project ever, built to move rail access closer to the city's CBD and help boost Auckland's low usage of public transport . It is one of the few underground railway stations in the world designed for use by diesel trains, although their use is now prohibited. Diesel trains from Hamilton and Wellington terminate at The Strand station. A tunnel to

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4712-437: The surrounding rail network would improve peak time train congestion, the capacity of the corridor would not be reached until about 2020. Growth in train patronage and increased services resulted in the tunnel being at maximum capacity from 2011, almost 10 years earlier than predicted. Because of the capacity restrictions, a proposed Hamilton-Auckland commuter train service would have gone to The Strand Station some 1.5 km to

4788-558: The thrice-weekly Northern Explorer as the only diesel service using the station. By December 2015, the station required a $ 600,000 upgrade to its diesel extraction fans and Auckland Transport requested that KiwiRail , the operator of the Northern Explorer, fund the upgrade if they wished to continue serving the station. KiwiRail decided that the cost was not justifiable and from 21 December 2015 they ceased serving Britomart and relocated their Auckland terminus to The Strand Station , in

4864-556: The total 'turnover' is around 270,000 people per day. In 2003 many large corporations were housed in the Auckland CBD. During the same year, an Auckland City report stated that the Auckland CBD, compared to several central business districts in Australia, had "a broader and more dominant role in its regional economy" compared to the economies of the Australian central business districts. The CBD remains attractive to shops, partially due to

4940-472: The transport to and around the CBD post-1950s was by private vehicles, partly because the CBD provides numerous parking buildings and parking spaces associated with office buildings, and is almost totally surrounded (and easily accessible) by motorways, administered by Waka Kotahi . Auckland Council , the New Zealand Government, Auckland Transport and KiwiRail have begun the construction phase of

5016-507: The underlying bedrock, mainly to provide good earthquake protection, and to futureproof the area for potential later construction of buildings on top of the station. 200,000 cubic metres were excavated for the station, and 40,000 cubic metres of concrete poured. Approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of new rail track was built, of which half was in a cut and cover tunnel. The station has a site area of 5.2 ha and includes 236 m² retail area. The station opened to passengers on 7 July 2003, with

5092-555: The very high pedestrian numbers on the main shopping streets like Queen Street, where footfalls are estimated to be up to 10 times as high as on Broadway in Newmarket , seen as Queen Street's closest rival. Auckland CBD has a higher share of employment in large firms than other areas in Auckland. Over half of the large firms in Auckland CBD are in office-based sectors (such as property and business services and finance and insurance) and are in

5168-582: Was 20 per hour. On a typical weekday inter-peak, nine trains leave Britomart per hour, comprising: Britomart is a major interchange between trains, buses and ferries. It is the terminus for many bus routes, including the Northern Express NX1 route along the Northern Busway to and from Albany and the Hibiscus Coast . The frequent CityLink bus service passes nearby on Queen and Customs Streets and

5244-436: Was agreed to restore a five-year commuter train trial between Papakura and Hamilton , with a one-seat journey to Britomart being the eventual aim. Auckland One Rail operates the Auckland suburban rail network on behalf of Auckland Transport . This includes the electrified lines west to Swanson and south to Manukau and Papakura . In July 2015, it was reported that the number of trains able to enter and leave Britomart

5320-471: Was built over the eastern approach tunnel in the late 2000s, at the eastern edge of the plaza behind the station. On 17 January 2017, the Britomart station building was closed and access between it and platforms was blocked off. A new, temporary Britomart station building was opened at the rear of the building, with new stairways and the retention of elevator and escalator access to the platforms. This building

5396-440: Was chosen via a competition. It used part of Queen Elizabeth II Square and surrounding streets as a bus interchange, with the existing dilapidated bus terminal redeveloped to incorporate both bus services and a pedestrianised area, also known as a Transit Oriented Development (TOD). When nearby Quay Street was realigned in the late 1990s, a tunnel was built (completed in 2000) to provide the underground railway link. Bus services using

5472-541: Was designed by architect John Campbell in an Edwardian baroque style, using Oamaru stone on a base of Coromandel granite. In 1930 the station was relocated 1.2 km east to Beach Road and the former station site became a bus terminal in 1937 and a car park in 1958. Many proposals were made to locate the station back in the CBD, most notably in 1973 and 1987, with the 1970s proposal of the Mayor of Auckland, Dove-Myer Robinson , envisaging an underground station at Britomart and

5548-439: Was focused on what is now the corner of Shortland and Queen Street, which was at the shoreline of Commercial Bay. From approximately their junction, the main wharf ran north off the end of Queen Street, with Shortland Street leading up to St Paul's Church , Fort Britomart and Government House, around which many of the richer people built houses. Shortland Street tended to be the location of the more important businesses and most of

5624-513: Was in use for three years. The former building is refurbished and strengthened in preparation for tunnelling under it for City Rail Link services. To enable the digging of the trench works required for the CRL, the Downtown Shopping Centre was closed on 28 May 2016 and by 23 November had been demolished. It has been replaced with 'Commercial Bay' named after Commercial Bay which was below the modern day site. Commercial Bay consists of

5700-461: Was originally built in 1843, St Stephen's Anglican Chapel was originally built in 1844, St Andrew's First Presbyterian Church was built in 1850, Auckland Baptist Tabernacle , founded 1855 and St Matthew's Anglican Church was founded in 1902. The CBD, with its substantial employment, and increasing number of residents, contains the main public transport hubs of the city, administered by Auckland Transport . These services are concentrated around

5776-412: Was reduced to enable the two outermost platforms (1 and 5) to be connected to the tunnels for the CRL and become through platforms. As a result of this, Onehunga line services were shortened to terminate at Newmarket instead of Britomart. Auckland Transport claimed that removing Onehunga line services from Britomart would be the least disruptive option. The Public Transport Users Association criticised

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