Britomart Transport Centre
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Britomart Transport Centre is the Auckland CBD transport hub, combining a bus interchange, railway station, and Edwardian former post office building in an expansive post-modernist architectural melange. The centre was built to boost use of public transport - Auckland spreads a suburban population of 1.2 million over an area rather larger than London, making bus and rail services more expensive to implement. (While the Auckland region covers an area larger than London, the developed urban area of Auckland is far smaller.) Cost over-runs and differing tastes made Britomart politically controversial, the design often being described as a large hole in the ground, both literally and figuratively. Despite this, 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 a city that is traditionally very focused on the private car. For the last 50 years the vast majority of transport spending in Auckland has gone into highways and motorway expansion at the expense of any significant public transport development. This has created a city populated by car-focused and road-dependent citizens, many of whom are largely oblivious of other forms of transport and often hostile toward funding anything except more roads.
Capacity Issues
In its early days Britomart received a lot of criticism due its being built on a scale that was well in excess of the capacity and patronage of the dilapidated diesel rail network in Auckland at the time.However in recent years patronage has increased by leaps and bounds. More frequent services have been introduced to accommodate the increased number of passengers, and this has lead to concerns that the station will soon be at maximum capacity. At present during the peak only 18 suburban trains an hour can enter and exit, limiting the number of paths available for train services.
It is planned, although no funding yet exists, for an underground loop to be built from Britomart to Mt Eden via Albert Street. This would allow trains to run through the station, rather than having to reverse, thus increasing the capacity. There have been discussions and proposals for an underground loop since the early 1970s, but the Government will not provide the funding for this to happen so it seems unlikely to happen over the next decade.
Influence on Auckland's Railway System
The foresight of council planners in constructing such an iconic investment in Auckland's public transport has spurred further development. Current proposals recommend electrifying and upgrading the rail network and constructing a new line to Manukau City in the south.These proposals are dependent on funding being obtained, so only some of the proposals are likely to be realised in the next decade. Auckland has ordered its next batch of diesel-hauled carriage trains, so it is likely that electrification is a long way off, despite the recent increases in oil prices.
Underground Link to QEII Square
Initial plans included an underground pedestrian walkway connecting Britomart 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 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.Train Services
Suburban services are provided by Veolia on behalf of ARTA. Most services either commence from Britomart or terminate at Britomart.The Overlander, the daily train between Britomart and Wellington via the North Island Main Trunk, is operated by Tranz Scenic.
Bus and Ferry Services
Britomart is a major interchange station, where passengers can transfer to/from other train, bus and ferry services. It is the terminus for many bus routes, and the free City Circuit and Stagecoach The Link buses go past Britomart on their loop services around the city.Just across Quay St from Britomart is the ferry terminal, serving destinations such as Devonport and Waiheke Island.
The Overlander passenger train stops: (North Island Main Trunk Railway) |
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