Auckland Railway Station

For the current commuter hub of Auckland's railway system, see Britomart Transport Centre.

The Strand Station
File:Strand Station - Current State.JPG The Strand Station & Stabling Facility
Coordinates
Platforms	2 operational (originally 7)
Construction
Parking	Yes
History
Opened	1930
Closed	July 2003
Rebuilt	August 2011
Electrified	Yes
Services
Northern Explorer + Charters & Excursions
Heritage New Zealand - Category I
Designated	29-Nov-1985
Reference no.	93

The Strand Station (formerly Auckland Railway Station) is the current main long-distance railway station of Auckland, New Zealand, and is located on the eastern edge of the Auckland CBD near Mechanics BayIon the street (and namesake), the Strand. The station currently serves the long-distance KiwiRail Scenic Journeys service, the Auckland-Wellington Northern Explorer passenger service. This service moved from the Britomart Transport Centre on the 21st of December, 2015. The station also serves as the backup station for Britomart.

Prior to this current role, the station served as Auckland's primary commuter station, a title held from 1930 to 2003 when it was replaced with the closer to the CBD Britomart. The station closed in late July 2003 when services were moved to the new Britomart Transport Centre. The former Platform 4 (Platform 7 at time of opening and now Platform 1) of the station was retained for excursion use as The Strand, named after the nearby street; it continued to be used by a limited number of peak-hour suburban trains for a few months following the opening of Britomart.

Rather than being demolished, the station remained abandoned until August 2011 when two platforms were re-developed to prepare the station for possible emergency use during Rugby World Cup 2011. The platforms were not utilised for this purpose.

The station also serves as the location of the Strand Distributed Stabling Facility which was erected on the non-operational section of the station past the two current operational platforms. This stabling facility is designed to hold commuter EMU's not used during peak service times.

The now-severed station building has been a city landmark from the time it was opened in 1930, and is a grand architectural statement in beaux-arts brick and mortar, having been called "one of the most self-consciously monumental public buildings erected in early twentieth-century New Zealand". The building was designed by William Henry Gummer (1884–1966), a student of Sir Edward Lutyens and architect of various notable New Zealand buildings such as the Dilworth Building in Queen Street.

History

File:Rail Yards Parnell Auckland Ca 1880s.jpg

Railway yards at Mechanics Bay, 1880s; the bay would be reclaimed for Auckland Railway Station and yards over the next 40 years

Railway use

File:Aukland (sic) - railway station LCCN2004707456.jpg

Auckland railway station, 1895

The station was built by the New Zealand Public Works Department between 1928 and 1930 and sits on reclaimed land close to the wharves. It replaced a smaller terminal on the site of Britomart. The grand and ornate building was intended to serve as a gateway to the city, and its construction cost of £320,000. The station was designed by Gummer and Ford, who were New Zealand's premier architects in the early twentieth century. It has great historical importance for its associations with the public building programme of the 1920s, and with the central role played by the railways in national transport.

The symmetrical facade of the three storey-high building was constructed of reinforced concrete, faced with brick and granite. It is approached by a sweeping ramp on either side of the building, enclosing a landscaped garden immediately to the front. The building's design echoed American models, such as Union Station in Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania Station in New York City, considered the most striking and luxurious examples of the time. It has also been favourably compared with Grand Central Terminal, in New York City as well, and the National Theatre in Melbourne.

The station was given ornate public spaces and a wide variety of amenities, from waiting and dining rooms to shops and a first aid station. Of particular interest is the magnificent metal ceiling in the main lobby, this item was manufactured in Germany and the parts shipped out and reassembled to create one of the most remarkable structures in the country. The looming threat of German aggression meant that its origins were quickly downplayed and obscured. The rest of the lobby is a showpiece of expensive imported marble and fine bronze detailing with a beautiful terazzo floor. The fine detailing extended to the restrooms with imported panelling, light fittings, period-style furniture and porcelain sanitaryware.

Underpasses and ramps linked the station building with an extended platform network to the rear, built with elegant concrete canopies and other elements as integral parts of the original design and function. With modifications, the building was used, as the main point of arrival for rail passengers in Auckland for most of the century. It was sold during the privatisation of part of the New Zealand Railways Corporation during the 1990s, partly because a new railway station was to be moved closer to the Auckland CBD again.

Campus use

File:Auckland Railway Denis Wilford.jpg

The Station Around 1960.

File:TheStrandStationAuckland.jpg

The abandoned platforms at The Strand in 2008.

In 1999 the station was partly converted for use by Auckland University and named The Railway Campus. It was the largest of the university's residences, and had 426 bedrooms, in a total of 230 apartments. The residence was awarded four stars by Qualmark in the Student Accommodation category, which evaluated the facilities as well as the level of pastoral care and support for students, and has been accredited by the New Zealand Association of Tertiary Education Accommodation Professionals. However, in November 2008, the university announced that they would not be returning to using the building for dormitory use, due to weathertightness issues and associated works (see below for more details).

Due to the large number of American students who resided in The Railway Campus each semester, it was given by some the nickname 'The American Embassy'.

The station has also featured in the 1984 film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, starring David Bowie, as the central railway station in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In 2007, major weather-tightness problems appeared. A multi-million dollar restoration programme was undertaken to help resolve the issue. The tenants were required to leave to permit work to be undertaken. The effect of the water leaks on the prices of the apartments in the complex was marked - while the high price in the early 1990s was $160,000, apartments sold for a nominal sale price as low as $12,800 (with most going around $20,000) as owners extricated themselves from the problem investment. Values had by early 2010 recovered to an average sale price of $55,000.

Present day

File:Refurbished Strand Platform.JPG

The station in its refurbished state

File:Strand Station - December 2015.JPG

The station following electrification

Before 2011 The Strand was in a decrepit state. All platforms were shortened for the Britomart Curve. For many years, tracks were stacked up on top of each other to make way for the tracks from Britomart, and grass and weeds grew on the tracks and platforms.

In 2011, two platforms were upgraded by Auckland Transport to prepare them for use as an alternative to Britomart for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. In a $1.7 million project, the canopies were removed from two platforms, with a small section left behind for historic purposes. The stabling facility section has also retained the canopies for similar reasons. The platforms were resurfaced, and amenities such as lighting and a public address system were installed. The platforms were not used during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but remain a backup station to Britomart.

The station became Auckland's long-distance railway station following the shift of the Northern Explorer in December 2015. The station could be utilised for future long-distance routes such as a restarted Waikato Connection to Hamilton.

In 2014, the station was fully electrified as part of Auckland's railway electrification project. During this period, the stabling facility was erected.

See also

• List of Auckland railway stations

External links

• Auckland's new Railway Station (1927 article in NZR magazine)