Plans for a $5 billion busway in Brisbane have been announced by the Queensland State Government
A conceptual image of the Roma Street Station
November 18, 2013
The Queensland Government has announced plans for the Underground Bus and Train Project – a 5.4 km tunnel which includes two busways and connects congested areas.
The tunnel will go underground at Dutton Park in the south to Victoria Park in the north, via new stations at Woolloongabba, George St and Roma St and include two train lines in the lower section.
Premier Campbell Newman says they have taken two of Brisbane’s major congestion challenges – the Merivale train bridge and the Cultural Centre bus precinct – and come up with an “affordable and elegant solution”.
Treasurer Tim Nicholls says the project will be a major economic boost, creating hundreds of jobs and new pathways for business to grow and develop in Brisbane.
Transport Minister Scott Emerson says the estimated $5 billion project will deliver better passenger outcomes than proposed by the $5.2 billion Cross River Rail tunnel and the $2.8 billion Suburbs to City project.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform Brisbane into a world city with a public transport system to match,” Emerson says.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says co-operation between the state and Brisbane City Council led to the innovative solution that advanced multiple transportation deficiencies.
“This is a great example of different levels of government working together to address the city’s public transport capacity issues and, unlike previous plans, it is affordable and can be delivered by 2021,” he says.
“The CBD and adjacent suburbs will need to accommodate an additional 130,000 workers in the next 20 years and we need to improve public transport capacity to accommodate this growth by improving the network.
“It achieves the outcomes we identified in the Suburbs 2 City study and will take up to 200 buses off CBD streets in the morning peak and reducing 100 buses per morning peak hour on the Captain Cook Bridge.”
The project will now pass to the Coordinator-General to assess the environmental impacts, and a public competition will be held in the New Year to come up with a name for the project.