Wellington Railway Station upgrade welcomed

Wellington MPs are welcoming government support for the Wellington Railway Station, Wellington Central MP Marian Hobbs said today. The cabinet has approved a works package to complete the station upgrade and officials will be talking to Wellington City Council and Greater Wellington regional council about cost sharing.

The first stage involved upgrading the western side of the station and some of the building. Now it is the eastern side's turn. The ground floor public areas will also receive a makeover and include the development of a new retail shopping area.

"Wellington Railway Station is a distinctive building and the changes will see it become more than just a thoroughfare from the trains to the city streets," Marian Hobbs said.

"When the Crown purchased the railway station in 2003 we agreed to strengthen and upgrade it to modern building code standards. Victoria University has leased around a third of the building and various Toll divisions have leased other space.

"The decision is great news for Wellington for a number of reasons. The government is contributing to the development of a special city precinct which combines the heritage values of the railway station, the Law School in the 'old wooden building' and the soon-to-be-refurbished Supreme Court Building.

"These sit well with the modern transport interchange beneath the Commerce Faculty and link to the seat of government and justice in the shape of the High Court.

"These developments should leave no one in doubt of the benefits accruing to Wellington as the centre of government."

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