Britomart Transport Centre

Britomart Transport Centre is the CBD public transport hub of Auckland, New Zealand, and the northern terminus of the North Island Main Trunk line. It combines a bus interchange with a railway station in a former Edwardian post office, extended with expansive post-modernist architectural elements. It is located at the foot of Queen Street, the main commercial thoroughfare of Auckland CBD, with the main ferry terminal just across Quay Street.

The centre 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 these concepts did not proceed. However, at the time of its inception in the early 2000s, the centre 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 of diesel locomotives.

Initially seen as underused and too costly, it is now considered a great success, though also heading for capacity with the growing uptake of rail commuting in the Auckland Region. Limitations on further patronage are primarily due to the access tunnel from the east which provides only two rail tracks, and the lack of a through connection (via a rail link to North Shore City or to the Western line via a city tunnel) which would change the station from a terminus to a through station.

Read more about Britomart Transport Centre:  History, Capacity and Rail Connections, Heritage Registration, Awards

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