Auckland Railway Station

The Strand Station
The Strand Station and stabling facility
Coordinates	36°50′53″S 174°46′35″E / 36.848123°S 174.776275°E / -36.848123; 174.776275
Platforms	2 (originally 7)
Construction
Parking	Yes
History
Opened	1930
Closed	July 2003
Rebuilt	August 2011
Electrified	Yes
Services
Preceding station   KiwiRail Scenic   Following station Terminus Northern Explorer Papakura toward Wellington
Heritage New Zealand – Category I
Designated	29-Nov-1985
Reference no.	93

The Strand Station
Britomart Eastern Line The Strand Quay Park junction Western Line, Southern Line, Onehunga Line

The Strand Station (formerly Auckland Railway Station and also referred to as Auckland Strand Station) is a railway station located on the eastern edge of Auckland CBD, where it served as the city's main railway station from 1930 to 2003. The station is currently used as the northern terminus of the Northern Explorer long-distance service to Wellington, operated by KiwiRail Scenic Journeys. Suburban services do not pass through the station, but it can serve as a backup for Britomart Transport Centre, the city's main railway station since 2003, during times of disruption.

The station opened in 1930, replacing the previous railway terminus on Queen Street (which was located on the same site where Britomart now exists). It was the third station to serve as the rail terminus for Auckland, and remained the sole station serving the CBD until its closure in July 2003, when Britomart became the new terminus. The former Platform 4 (which was designated as Platform 7 at time of opening, and is now referred to as Platform 1) was retained for excursion use as 'The Strand Station', named after the nearby street, and continued to be used by a limited number of peak-hour suburban trains for a few months following the opening of Britomart. Following this, the platforms remained abandoned until August 2011 when two platforms were re-developed to prepare the station for possible use during Rugby World Cup 2011, although they were never used for that purpose. These platforms have been used for Northern Explorer services from December 2015 onwards.

The 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. Following its sale by the New Zealand Railways Corporation in the 1990s, the building was turned into student accommodation by Auckland University and since 2008 has been occupied by private apartments.