Photo by Glutnix, April 15, 2005. CC License
http://www.flickr.com/photos/glutnix/9536216/
Britomart Transport Centre is the Auckland CBD transport hub, combining a bus stop, train station, and Edwardian post office building. The Britomart Transport Centre has received a lot of criticism due to the fact that it was constructed on a scale that is well in excess of the capacity of the existing dilapidated diesel rail network in Auckland and the needs of current patronage. Currently it is significantly underused and appears empty in all but the morning and evening peaks.
The foresight of council planners though in constructing such an iconic investment in Auckland's public transport has spurred further development. Current proposals recommend electrifying and upgrading the existing rail lines and stations and constructing two new lines to Auckland International Airport and the city's south-west. Furthermore it is recommended that an underground loop line be built through the CBD linking the western rail line south of the city to Britomart, via two new underground stations. This would upgrade Britomart station from a terminal to a through station (something it was designed to allow) allowing a doubling of train capacity and realising the full potential of the building.
Initial plans for the project included an underground pedestrian walkway connecting the station to Queen Elizabeth II square, the nearby Downtown FerryTerminal and the main shopping street of QueenStreet. Due to cost over-runs only the short link to the square was built, the remainder replaced with a sizeable but less effective canopy over the footpath outside the station. Due to Auckland's variable climate and often torrential rainfall, patrons hope that the remaining links will be built in the future.
adapted from Britomart_Transport_Centre
see also: http://www.getmoving.org.nz/
