Waitematā Station

About the station

Waitematā Station name transition

As part of the City Rail Link project, mana whenua (as part of the CRL’s Mana Whenua Forum) gifted the name Waitematā Station to ‘Britomart Station’.

Auckland Transport started the last stage of the transition to Waitematā Station in September 2025. This followed the first stage in which the dual Waitematā (Britomart) was used. This work includes updating brochures, wayfinding, signage and online platforms including the AT Mobile app. In this way, when the City Rail Link opens in 2026, people will be familiar with the new name for the station.

New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (opens in a new tab) issues the official names for railway stations. They invited the public to make a submission on proposals for the names of the City Rail Link stations. These proposals were open for public submissions until 9 November 2022. The decision was announced on 16 March 2023.

Meaning of Waitematā

The new name reflects the station’s proximity to the nearby Waitematā Harbour, which was named after the resemblance of its flat, glassy waters to matā (obsidian). In a second interpretation, the harbour’s name reflects a visit from a Te Arawa ancestor who placed an obsidian stone as a mauri (talisman) in the northern part of the harbour. 

Opening hours

Waitematā Station is open:

• Monday to Thursday from 5am to 11pm
• Friday from 5am to 1:15am
• Saturday from 5:45am to 1:15am.
• Sunday from 5:45am to 11pm.

There is a customer service centre at Waitematā Station. See customer service centre opening hours.

Accessing the station

Until the opening of the City Rail Link in 2026, Waitematā Station is the only train station for commuter services in the city centre. All train lines, except for the Onehunga Line, arrive and depart from Waitematā Station.

There are two entrances to the station. The main entrance is via the historic Chief Post Office (CPO) building from Te Komititanga (Lower Queen Street). A secondary, eastern entrance is accessed from the atrium on Takutai Square (Britomart Place).

CPO Entrance

Entrances to Waitematā Station through the CPO are found on Te Komititanga (Lower Queen Street) and Commerce Street (currently closed to allow for the upgrade of Britomart Plaza. Side entrances to the CPO building are accessed through Galway Street and Tyler Street.

Ticket offices, ticket machines, AT Customer Service Centre, electronic gates and a manual gate for paper tickets are located on the ground level of the CPO entrance. You will also find retailers, toilets (beyond the gate line, B1 level), lifts, stairs and escalators.

Train platforms are located on B2 level.

View the map of Waitematā Station to see the locations of ticket machines and other facilities, download the map of Waitematā Station (PDF, 436KB).

Takutai Square (Britomart Place) eastern entrance

The eastern entrance to Waitematā Station is accessed via escalator or stairs from the atrium on Takutai Square (near Britomart Place). Use this entrance or exit when travelling to or from Spark Arena.

A ticket office, ticket machines, AT Customer Service Centre, electronic gates and a manual gate for paper tickets are located at the Takutai Square (Britomart Place) entrance.

To see the location of ticket machines and other facilities, download the map of the Takutai Square (Britomart Place) entrance (PDF, 1.7MB). 

Station design 

Waitematā Station is centred around the historic Chief Post Office (CPO), the area’s flagship building that provides an elegant Edwardian-age presence in the heart of the city.

The CPO interior, including distinctive curved skylights and original building materials, has been meticulously reinstated. The CPO’s building columns, old and new, are a feature of the ground floor. A number of clay and glass artifacts were unearthed within the site’s relatively small construction footprint, and the remains of the very first Queen Street Wharf built in the 1800s were part of the final designs for the station.

In one of New Zealand’s most complicated engineering feats, the Category One-listed CPO building originally constructed in 1912, was shifted onto temporary foundations while the CRL tunnels were built underneath. The building was then carefully transferred on to new permanent foundations. At 4000-tonne, the stone building is the heaviest ever lifted in New Zealand.

Transport connections at the station

There are several bus stops located around Waitematā Station. However, some bus services travelling west, north or to some central suburbs depart from other parts of the city centre such as Queen Street, Wellesley Street, Customs Street and Lower Albert Street.

The location name for bus arrivals and departures will not change as a result of the renaming of the station. 
Rail Replacement Buses leave from Customs Street West, outside H&M.

When connecting to buses from the train or ferry, check Journey Planner for where and when your service departs.

Places of interest around Waitematā Station

From Waitematā Station you can walk to:

• the Viaduct hospitality and entertainment district
• downtown Auckland shopping
• the Downtown ferry terminal
• rapid buses to the North Shore.

Protected cycle paths or shared walking and cycling paths also make it easy to travel by bike along the waterfront towards:

• Orakei
• Mission Bay
• St Heliers in the east
• Wynyard Quarter and the Harbour Bridge in the west.

For more information about what’s on offer in the city centre, visit the Heart of the City website (opens in a new tab).

Filming, photography, and commercial use of Waitematā Station

Waitematā Station is available for some commercial use, including filming and photography. If you'd like to use Waitematā Station as a location for your project, contact MediaWorks (opens in a new tab). The station is not available to hire for private events. Find out about filming opportunities.

Changes at Waitematā Station for City Rail Link

When the City Rail Link is complete it will reshape travel in Auckland by:

• allowing trains to operate both ways through Waitematā Station
• increasing rail capacity by more than 50% on day one of operations, doubling the capacity of Auckland's rail network in peak travel hours
• shortening journey times
• creating better connections to buses and ferries and across the rail network, often without changing trains
• improving access to the city centre by introducing two new city train stations (Te Waihorotiu Station in midtown and Karanga-a-Hape Station in the Karangahape Road neighbourhood, and a redeveloped station at Maungawhau Station (formerly Mount Eden Station) on the rail network.

Some changes will happen at Waitematā Station as we prepare for the City Rail Link. Be assured it is business as usual, with the station remaining operational throughout.

All building work will be staged to minimise impact to passengers and ensure continuous operations.