The busiest train station in New Zealand will finally get signs identifying it as a train station, fixing a long-known issue.

Public transport advocates have, for some time, assumed the lack of signage on the chief post office building housing Waitematā/Britomart train station in downtown Auckland was due to its category 1 heritage status.

However, a spokeswoman for Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga said the agency hadn’t been approached with any signage proposals.

The building opened in 1912 and has a category 1 status and a heritage covenant, so Heritage NZ would expect to review any signage proposal and give its views to the Auckland council, she said.

“We are looking forward to working with Auckland Council in the future on any signage proposal pertaining to this nationally significant heritage building.”

However, it appears that work is already under way on a solution.

Thousands of people a day pass through Britomart, which is now officially known as Waitematā Station. However, for visitors to the city it’s not obviously identifiable as a transport hub and main train station.

Matt Lowrie, director of the influential Greater Auckland transport blog, said wayfinding was a key part of making public transport easy to use.

Signage could be done in a way which was sympathetic to the heritage status of the building, he said.

“We should be making the public transport network as easy as possible to identify and to use, particularly for those who are not used to using it.”

Sign time

Auckland Transport (AT) wayfinding product owner Mark Lenaarts said over the next few months AT would be installing a range of signs and wayfinding improvements.

The transport agency was looking at installing large beacons at the intersections near the Waitematā station building, plinths outside the station entrance off Te Komititanga square and signs on the four metal roofs overhanging the doors.

“We are under way with the installation planning and are expecting to have foundations complete in the next six weeks and the largest beacon should be installed soon after this,” Lenaarts said.

Asked if the signs would say Waitematā or Britomart, or both, he said: “We are confirming the naming conventions and once this has been confirmed we will be able to kick into gear and get the new signs and existing signs installed.

“This will create an easily navigable and identifiable station for commuters and visitors.”