Cross River Rail
Community consultation
Cross River Rail is committed to involving the community and key stakeholders throughout the planning process.
What is it?
Cross River Rail will help transform south east Queensland’s rail system and provide essential inner city rail infrastructure to promote future productivity and prosperity.
The project will introduce a new rail line in the inner city (including a new river crossing) with brand new inner city rail stations. A new rail corridor in the city will mean more frequent trains and better services for all of south east Queensland’s rail users.
Cross River Rail will give more passengers quicker access to Brisbane’s inner city with easy interchanges between train lines and other transport.
Brisbane is growing and expanding and the wider region’s population is booming. Better public transport is vital to support south east Queensland’s growth. In the future, we’ll need to move people more efficiently to help manage congestion and climate change and boost our economy.
The Commonwealth and Queensland Governments have committed A$25 million to progress with the detailed feasibility phase of the project.
With construction envisaged to start in 2012, the new rail line could be built by late 2016. Community consultation will be a valuable part of the project so please visit the website regularly to find out how to have your say.
Why do we need it?
South east Queensland is growing rapidly and Brisbane is expected to attract thousands of new residents and workers over the next 30 years. This growth will lead to a massive increase in the need for public transport, particularly for trips into and across Brisbane’s inner city areas.
A new corridor in the inner city will make it possible to add more trains to the region’s network. This would provide the ability to move up to 60 000 people per hour into the inner city from the north and south. It would take a 30-lane motorway to match this.
Better and more efficient public transport networks improve the liveability and sustainability of our cities. New inner city rail stations would provide more choice for rail commuters, giving them a new way to travel.
Cross River Rail is about providing an environmentally, user-friendly public transport system which will help reduce traffic on roads. This will help manage congestion — an economic imperative in south east Queensland.
Timeline
| Phase | Activity | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pre-feasibility | mid 2007-late 2008 (complete) |
| 2 | Detailed feasibility | early 2009-mid 2011 (current phase) |
| 3 | Procurement | 2011-2012 |
| 4 | Construction | 2012-2016 |
Where are we now?
The planning phase is now under way. It involves a range of technical and environmental investigations along with extensive community consultation to determine the location and design of the new rail line and stations, as well as a business case.
The detailed feasibility phase will be completed in mid-2011. The government will then decide whether the project will proceed and how it will be funded.
Where will it go?
The first step in deciding where the new rail line will go is to identify a study corridor.
The project team will define this north-south study corridor by early 2010. Once the study corridor is defined, the project design will be developed including the route of the new rail line and the location of new stations.
There will be numerous opportunities for the community to have meaningful input into the project design process throughout the detailed feasibility phase.
Community consultation
Cross River Rail is committed to involving the community and key stakeholders throughout the planning process.
There will be numerous opportunities for community input during the detailed feasibility phase from early 2010 to mid-2011 through a range of forums including information sessions and public displays.
The project team will be encouraging feedback on the following topics:
- commenting on the draft terms of reference (that set the scope of the environmental impact statement)
- giving input into what the community most values and what issues and opportunities should be explored in the project’s planning phase
- reviewing route and proposed station locations
- commenting on the draft environmental impact statement.
Throughout the planning phase, information about Cross River Rail will be continuously available on the website and the project team will be available to answer queries:
Freecall: 1800 462 730r (during business hours)
Email: crossriverrail@tmr.qld.gov.au
Recent tenders
The Cross River Rail project team has received an impressive response over the past six months to a range of invitations to offer, including:
- Transport modelling services
- Infrastructure design and engineering services
- Environmental impact statement services
- Economic advisory services
- Legal services
- Project management and technical leaders
- Communication and stakeholder services.
Appointments are announced on the Queensland Government eTender website (www.qgm.qld.gov.au) as soon as they are available.
Cross River Rail is not currently seeking any further services for the detailed feasibility phase.
Thank you for your interest in being part of this significant project.
Background
The South East Queensland Regional Plan 2009-2031 estimates the region’s population will grow from 2.8 million to 4.4 million by 2031. The Queensland Government is planning for south east Queensland’s future rail needs through Cross River Rail.
The South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program 2009-2026 recognises the limited ability of the existing rail network to meet growing demand. This plan identifies the need for a study of inner city rail capacity, including consideration of a second rail river crossing.
The Premier of Queensland, the Honourable Anna Bligh MP released the Inner City Rail Capacity Study (Pre-Feasibility Report) in October 2008. This study (which represents the pre-feasibility phase of Cross River Rail) assessed the options to expand the inner city rail network as part of an integrated inner city transport network that would support the future expansion of the central business district and inner city.
The Inner City Rail Capacity Study identified a need for Cross River Rail. It found:
- passenger demand in peak periods to the inner city is forecast to increase from more than 44 000 in 2006 (currently 53 000) to between 70 000 and 80 000 by 2016 and 105 000 and 130 000 by 2026
- a bottleneck in the inner city rail network restricts the number of additional trains that can be added to south east Queensland’s rail network to meet growing demand
- three potential corridor options for a new rail line through the inner city by 2016.
Cross River Rail publications
There are currently no publications.
The first Cross River Rail publications, including the initial advice statement, the project’s terms of reference and a study corridor will be available in early 2010.
Media
19 November 2009 – Underground is the future for Brisbane transport network (Premier and Minister for the Arts)
12 May 2009 — Cross River Rail key to city’s transport future (Minister for Transport)
7 Oct 2008 — Inner city rail plan to increase capacity (Premier and Minister for Transport)
For more information
For more information contact the project team:
Phone: 1800 462 730r (during business hours)
Email: crossriverrail@tmr.qld.gov.au
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Last updated 23 November 2009
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