18 SUNDAY MAY 24 2020 COURIERMAIL.COM.AU BRISSIE’S HEART€¦ · 18NEWS SUNDAY MAY 24 2020...
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18 NEWS SUNDAY MAY 24 2020 COURIERMAIL.COM.AU BCME01Z01MA - V1 BRISSIE’S HEART QUEENSLAND’S biggest in- frastructure project will be a heart bypass that transforms the centre of Brisbane, hooks up more trains to the suburbs and regions and creates thou- sands of jobs when they are needed most, its builders say. Construction of the mass- ive $5.4 billion Cross River Rail underground railway, tunnel and stations is cur- rently pouring $2.8 million a day into the Queensland economy, jumping to $4.1 mil- lion a day as it ramps up even further through the second half of the year. The Courier-Mail and The Sunday Mail, in conjunction with the Cross River Rail De- livery Authority (CRRDA), is presenting a series looking at the project and what it will bring to the state. Matthew Martyn- Jones, CRRDA general manager for strategy and people, said the new crossing beneath the Brisbane River would end the Merivale Bridge bottleneck currently choking the rail net- work, open up new in- vestment around public transport stations and get more passengers on more trains running more often. The route runs from Dutton Park to the Boggo Road new technology precinct to a station next door to the iconic Gabba stadium before crossing under the river to a new station sunk 30m deep below Albert St. The Albert St station cuts walking distances to less than 800m for big clusters of poten- tial passengers in Eagle St, the new $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf precinct, QUT and William St. It will also hook up with the new “grand central” sta- tion at Roma St, where pas- sengers can join long-distance travel services, the Metro and buses before continuing to the Ekka showgrounds and Bowen Hills. “Once people are catching the train through the tunnel, and experiencing it, it will to- tally revolutionise the way people get around southeast Queensland,” Mr Martyn-Jones said. “It will connect the two busiest parts of the ex- isting rail network – the Sun- shine Coast line and the Gold Coast line – with a new tunnel. “That’s where all the popu- lation growth is occurring up through that northern corri- dor up through Caboolture and up into the Sunshine Coast and then obviously down through on the southern corridor through Logan and Beenleigh and down to the Gold Coast. “That sector of the network currently has to go through the middle of the city across the Merivale Bridge and through the old historical sta- tions like Roma Street and The Valley. “That’s a real pinch point, a bottleneck on the network. “So by putting in a tunnel under the river and under the CBD and under the Gabba, you’re basically giving the city heart bypass surgery for the rail network and that means you’ll be able to run 18 DAN KNOWLES FUTURE SEQ EDITOR $5.4b Cross River Rail plan will change our city forever THE ROUTE Bringing the Cross River Rail project to life | May 24-30 Cross River Rail will radically change the way we live, work, travel and play in southeast Queensland. This isn’t just a better transport system, but a better Brisbane for the whole region. Don’t miss this ground-breaking editorial series on your favourite digital and print platforms. The Courier-Mail Proudly Presents FUTURE OF TRAVEL IN SOUTH EAST QLD
Transcript of 18 SUNDAY MAY 24 2020 COURIERMAIL.COM.AU BRISSIE’S HEART€¦ · 18NEWS SUNDAY MAY 24 2020...
18 NEWS SUNDAY MAY 24 2020 COURIERMAIL.COM.AU
BCME01Z01MA - V1
BRISSIE’S HEART QUEENSLAND’S biggest in-frastructure project will be aheart bypass that transformsthe centre of Brisbane, hooksup more trains to the suburbsand regions and creates thou-sands of jobs when they areneeded most, its builders say.
Construction of the mass-ive $5.4 billion Cross RiverRail underground railway,tunnel and stations is cur-rently pouring $2.8 million aday into the Queenslandeconomy, jumping to $4.1 mil-lion a day as it ramps up evenfurther through the secondhalf of the year.
The Courier-Mail and TheSunday Mail, in conjunctionwith the Cross River Rail De-livery Authority (CRRDA), ispresenting a series looking atthe project and what itwill bring to the state.
Matthew Martyn-Jones, CRRDA generalmanager for strategy andpeople, said the newcrossing beneath theBrisbane River wouldend the Merivale Bridgebottleneck currentlychoking the rail net-work, open up new in-vestment around publictransport stations andget more passengers onmore trains runningmore often.
The route runs fromDutton Park to theBoggo Road new technologyprecinct to a station next doorto the iconic Gabba stadiumbefore crossing under the riverto a new station sunk 30mdeep below Albert St.
The Albert St station cutswalking distances to less than800m for big clusters of poten-
tial passengers in Eagle St, thenew $3.6 billion Queen’sWharf precinct, QUT andWilliam St.
It will also hook up withthe new “grand central” sta-tion at Roma St, where pas-sengers can join long-distancetravel services, the Metro and
buses before continuing to theEkka showgrounds andBowen Hills.
“Once people are catchingthe train through the tunnel,and experiencing it, it will to-tally revolutionise the waypeople get around southeast
Queensland,” MrMartyn-Jones said.
“It will connectthe two busiest parts of the ex-isting rail network – the Sun-shine Coast line and the GoldCoast line – with a new tunnel.
“That’s where all the popu-lation growth is occurring upthrough that northern corri-dor up through Caboolture
and up into the SunshineCoast and then obviouslydown through on the southerncorridor through Logan andBeenleigh and down to theGold Coast.
“That sector of the networkcurrently has to go throughthe middle of the city acrossthe Merivale Bridge andthrough the old historical sta-
tions like Roma Street andThe Valley.
“That’s a real pinch point, abottleneck on the network.
“So by putting in a tunnelunder the river and under theCBD and under the Gabba,you’re basically giving thecity heart bypass surgery forthe rail network and thatmeans you’ll be able to run
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DAN KNOWLESFUTURE SEQ EDITOR
I can’t wait to take
my daughter on her
first train ride
through the tunnel Area manager Megan Wood
$5.4b Cross River Rail planwill change our city forever
THE ROUTE
Bringing the Cross River Rail project to life | May 24-30 Cross River Rail will radically change the way we live, work, travel and play in southeast Queensland. This isn’t just a better transport system, but a better Brisbane for the whole region.
Don’t miss this ground-breaking editorial series on your favourite digital and print platforms.
The Courier-Mail Proudly Presents
FUTURE OF TRAVEL IN SOUTH EAST QLD
COURIERMAIL.COM.AU SUNDAY MAY 24 2020 NEWS 19
V1 - BCME01Z01MA
GOING PLACES: Boggo Road area manager Megan Wood at the construction site for the Cross River Rail project. Main picture: Annette Dew
more trains more frequently.”The underground line will
also link the Gabba with thecity centre.
“It’s an absolute no-brainerto have a high-capacity railstation on the doorstep of theGabba,” Mr Martyn-Jonessaid. “It’s one of our most icon-ic venues to go to but it’s actu-ally very hard to get to.
“It’s surrounded by busyroads Main Street, VultureStreet and Stanley Street.”
Albert St is set to becomethe busiest station on the net-work when it opens, taking70,000 passengers a day afterit commences operation.
The stations on the 5kmtunnel section sit as deep as30m underground, with trains
pulling up at 200m-longunderground platforms.
The work has continuedthrough the COVID-19 lock-down, with the workforce of1800 currently spread acrosseight construction sites.
“It’s only going to get big-ger,” Mr Martyn-Jones said.
“We’ve got 1800 peopleworking on the project now.
And in a couple of years fromnow that will be at over 3000people in 2022.
“So it’s growing all thetime.”
Among the army of work-ers doing their bit on themega-project is Boggo Roadarea manager Megan Wood.
“This is a significant rail in-frastructure project, but it’s
more than just that,” she said.“It’s a city-shaping projectwhich will change Brisbane forgenerations to come.
“I can’t wait to takemy daughter on her first trainride through the tunnel andlook forward to telling mygrandchildren that I was in-volved in delivering this amaz-ing project.”
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I can’t wait to take
my daughter on her
first train ride
through the tunnel Area manager Megan Wood
TRANSPLANT Vision totransformsoutheasttransportDAN KNOWLES
CROSS River Rail is a$5.4 billion project execut-ing a vision to build a10.2km railway line andtunnel underneath theBrisbane River.
It will run from DuttonPark to Bowen Hills andinclude 5.9km of twin tun-nels under the river andBrisbane CBD.
It includes four newunderground stations atBoggo Road, Woolloong-abba, Albert Street andRoma Street.
Salisbury, Rocklea,Moorooka, Yeerongpilly,Yeronga, Fairfield, DuttonPark above-ground sta-tions will be upgraded andExhibition will become ayear-round station.
Three new stations onthe Gold Coast line willalso be delivered as part ofthe Cross River Rail pro-ject at Pimpama, Helens-vale North/Hope Islandand Merrimac.
The tunnel will unclogthe bottleneck of the Meri-vale rail bridge, which cur-rently is the only railcrossing running throughthe city centre.
Cross River Rail is ex-pected to generate thou-sands of jobs during itsconstruction and nearly1800 workers have alreadybeen employed acrosseight Cross River Railwork sites.
Work is already underway on the project, withtwo inner-city cornerblocks having been clearedin Albert St to make wayfor construction of the firsttrain station to be built inBrisbane’s CBD in genera-tions.
Work continues at thenew and refurbished sta-tions as well as Shorn-cliffe, for the new trainmanagement system andMayne yard.
EXCLUSIVE CROSS RIVER RAIL SERIES Continues all this week in The Courier-Mail
Work is underway
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