Bernard Orsman: A transport centre to treasure

By BERNARD ORSMAN

The long-suffering rail commuter celebrates a historic milestone this morning with the first trains returning to Britomart in the central city after an absence of 73 years.

After half a century of motorway-dominated transport policy, New Zealand's largest city has a world-class transport centre to be proud of. Not the kind of rail station from when train was king. Modern, state-of-the-art architecture with a strong Auckland flavour. Trains, buses and ferries in one location.

And the best is still to come.

The old Chief Post Office, a regal lady, her grimy face of Oamaru stone and Coromandel granite cleaned and gleaming in the winter sun, will re-open later this month as the grand entrance to the underground rail station. So, too, will QEII Square with its forest of kauris, new pavers, covered walkway and a new road dedicated to buses.

This will be followed by 20 or so dilapidated heritage buildings with their origins in the once-thriving waterfront being renovated into 21st-century apartments, offices, cafes and restaurants in the biggest downtown urban development since the highly successful Viaduct Harbour.

I'm told the three consortiums bidding for the makeover have brilliant ideas to turn this area into a funky waterfront community.

Auckland has former Mayor Christine Fletcher to thank for Britomart. Her leadership, courage and skill at unpicking the scheme devised by her predecessor, Les Mills, and then involving the community drove the people-friendly project.

Then there is American-born architect Mario Madayag, whose initial vision produced the stunning result in conjunction with local firm Jasmax.

Today, though, is all about trains. And what a sad tale it is. Auckland not only has the worst train system of any comparable Western city I can think of, it has a train system at the bottom end of Third World status.

Imagine having to walk through a muddy container depot and seek cover under a narrow iron roof held up with a few rods of steel. This is Tamaki station and it's a disgrace.

Another disgrace is continuing political bickering over fixing the other 40 stations and 92km of track down the line from Britomart. Glen Innes, Ranui and Papatoetoe stations were due for a $6 million spruce-up in time for Britomart, but local politicians have failed commuters miserably. Work hasn't even started.

No wonder rail patronage has barely grown from 2.1 million passengers in 1996 to the current 2.25 million. Looking back, Auckland's longest-serving mayor, Sir Dove-Myer Robinson, devised a rapid rail network as the backbone of public transport, including an underground station at Britomart, only to be thwarted by Sir Robert Muldoon's Government in 1976.

The present scheme had its beginnings in a modest plan to refurbish the tatty and rundown Britomart Place Bus Station. Under Les Mills, Britomart grew from a $27 million bus and rail station into a huge underground project with several levels of parking and above-ground sites for 11 skyscrapers.

The $1.5 billion scheme was seen as a monster. Aucklanders hated it, and the secretive behaviour by elected councillors.

Now Auckland has a scheme it can call its own, thanks to Fletcher, Madayag & Co.

Here's some flavour. You are standing 12m below ground directly under a giant glasshouse at the rear of the old Central Post Office. Natural light is pouring through 1664 special-coated, easy-clean louvre windows. It feels like daylight.

Turn around and running down the centre of the station are 11 volcanic cones, each weighing 25 tonnes - letting in more natural light.

Go and have a look. Mr Madayag wants the old CPO to become the "city's living room", with people sitting at a cafe in the refurbished banking chamber and looking down to the underground station saying, "wow, what's that, I want to go down".

Just like people-watching at Grand Central Station in New York. Only this is Auckland.