Waitemata Train Station — Local services in Waitematā

I'm really impressed with the advancements on the refurbishment of Britomart Train Station. With the reopening you can easily see all of the work being done to maintain a heritage status building and combine this with the new developments for the City Rail Link. What wasn't so good today was a short trip on the Southern Line (and there must have been about 8 Auckland Transport (AT) staff on our service) and having to watch while an AT staff member berated a small boy (of perhaps six or seven years old) travelling with a lady who appeared to be his grandmother (and whose first language was obviously not English) as the boy apparently had the wrong ticket for his travel. The young boy had to do all of the talking as his Guardian appeared to be struggling to understand what was being said. After what seemed to be about 5 minutes of this, the staff member came over to myself and a woman sitting near to me to check our AT hop cards and both of us firmly challenged him as he had chosen to 'have a go' at the boy and his Guardian and had completely ignored two men sitting directly behind the woman and the boy, neither of whom (the men that is) were wearing face masks. He then told us "we are doing our best" which is a load of hog wash as this is currently a mandated rule on public transport. I noticed that both men had put on their face masks shortly after this as they appeared to have overheard our conversation. This is not the Kiwi Way and AT still has a long way to go. Two (2) stars to AT for lousy customer service and for their shoddy treatment of the boy and...

"Britomart Express: Where Trains Meet Coffee and Clean Toilets"

Britomart Train Station is huge — like seriously, it’s got four railway lanes to keep things moving. The toilets? Surprisingly clean, so you won’t have to hold it in while waiting for your ride. Inside, you’ve got coffee shops to fuel your caffeine addiction and convenience stores for last-minute snacks or emergency gum.

I hopped on the east lane from the city center to Manukau, and wow—the view was a real treat! We cruised past Mission Bay, sparkling seas, and some beautiful forest greenery. It’s like a mini scenic tour on wheels.

The best part? It’s super convenient and won’t empty your wallet—easy on the pocket and easy to use. Trains arrive and leave on time, so no need to practice your impatient foot tapping. Plus, using an AT card is a breeze with plenty of top-up machines and friendly manual counters ready to help.

Overall, Britomart makes commuting feel less like a chore and more like a casual sightseeing trip—with better toilets.

"Logan was here.. caught a train… and feelings for public...

Britomart is the main railway station in the CBD, Commercial Busines District. Here you can take the train and visit the outlying area of Auckland. The people working there are very helpful and approachable. Paper tickets only go one way, so you will need to buy another one on the way back. We bought ours from a ticket agent, but there are also ticket vending machines. Our ticket to Sylvia Park was only NZ $5. Once you get down to the platform you can ask which platform will the train be coming in for your particular destination.

Travel tip: Don't jump into the train car until you know it's the right train for your destination. We hopped into train car thinking it was the right one considering the name of the destination displayed on the train. They went through the cars and told people to leave. As it turns out they made a mistake in the announcement. They immediately announced the error and redirected people to the right train platform.

Inside the Britomart, there are various fast food restaurants and cafés. And, yes, they do...