The New Passenger Terminal.

The site of the station building was the first consideration. The position was influenced by the necessity for keeping all passenger platforms and the trackwork serving them, to the south of Davis Street. This brought the building into the position shown on the plan. Fortunately this position fitted in with some other important considerations. There was room here, between Featherston Street and Waterloo Quay, to develop an adequate layout fronting towards Bunny Street and at such distance from that street as to provide a broad plaza for the circulation of city traffic making contact with the station—trams, buses, motors and pedestrians.

The station building will present a perfectly symmetrical front to this plaza, with a central doorway giving entrance to the main booking hall.

As Featherston Street is essentially a passenger thoroughfare the passenger facilities and amenities were developed on that side of the building. In the same way luggage, parcels and page 28

Planned On Approved Modern Lines.
Railway Station Wellington
Plan Of Ground Floor & Platforms
Bunny Streef
Ground floor plan of the new station building shewing the arrangement of the platforms and station facilities.

page 29 mail facilities were developed on Waterloo Quay, which is essentially a commercial thoroughfare giving access to all the wharves and warehouse blocks.

The central feature of the station layout is the large concourse which provides an internal circulating area, and which has direct access to Featherston Street. A subsidiary concourse also with access to this street will deal with the suburban passengers, so that they will not hamper the movements of long distance travellers within the station.

City approaches to the new station.

The arrival platforms will be served by a wide carriage road from Waterloo Quay. Passengers will be able to step direct from train to motor car, and so reach the city with the briefest delay possible.

A large mailroom with rail access is provided for dealing with bulk mails.

A study of the plans will show that the station offers to the traveller all the amenities of a first-class hotel, except sleeping accommodation. Several beds will be provided in conjunction with the women's rest room for those overcome by the stress of travelling, particularly those coming off the South Island ferry after a rough night and wishing to proceed by train.

The new station block will make close contact with the inter-island ferry wharf, and it is expected that, in the future, when inter-island and inter-colonial traffic further develop, additional facilities in this direction will be provided.

The site of the station having been definitely settled, it now remains to finalise the arrangement of street and traffic approaches; in other words, the welding of railway transportation to city transportation. This has been fraught with page 30 many difficulties, but a solution appears to offer itself in the tentative layout shown on the plan. This provides for a general circulation of traffic in the wide plaza in front of the station, the main feature being a double-balloon loop for the reversal of tram movements. Within the tramway loop a bus depot is suggested. A clear thoroughfare for through traffic is provided. Pedestrian movements between trams and station will be made without interference from vehicles of any kind. It is also proposed to eliminate trams from Featherston Street. These are matters for the civic authorities to decide.

It is unfortunate that Featherston Street, one of the principle arterial roadways should pass the station, but this is offset by the fact that Lambton Quay will carry a very large proportion of the northern road traffic entirely clear of the station.

The building will rise to a height of five storeys, in order to accommodate all railway staffs in Wellington, including the chief executive offices, the result being a very impressive structure. Its site is not without æEsthetic features. The main facade of the building, with its pillared entrance, will show to great advantage across the wide plaza, particularly to those approaching from the wharves and from Stout Street. From the plaza itself will be obtained a view of the Government Buildings, destined in the future to be a monumental structure. Up the wide vista of Bunny Street will be seen the Houses of Parliament, with trees, green lawns and gay flower beds surrounding them.

If in the future it be decided to remove the Government Printing Office and remodel the Hotel Cecil block then the stage is set for a splendid entrance to the capital city. The Featherston Street facade of the railway station will certainly be an outstanding part of that setting.

The Station Building.
The proposed new railway station for Wellington.