Cross River Rail (CRR) is an underground heavy rail project currently under construction in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The project will see the development of a new rail line underneath the Brisbane River, together with the redevelopment of a number of stations in the Brisbane central business district as well as the Beenleigh railway line. The business case for the project was released in August 2017, with construction officially beginning in September 2017.[2][3] The project replaced the planned 2013 BaT Tunnel, which in turn replaced the original 2010 Cross River Rail proposal.[4] It is the largest infrastructure megaproject ever undertaken within Queensland. It has been widely reported that the cost of completion and date of the Cross City Rail Queensland Project was delayed and blown-out to $17 billion and expected to be opened in the year 2029, respectively.[5]
Cross River Rail consists of a new 10.2 km (6.3 mi) line through the CBD from Dutton Park in the city's south to Bowen Hills in the city's north, connecting existing Brisbane rail lines. The project includes 5.9 km (3.7 mi) of twin tunnels and will deliver four new underground stations at Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street and Roma Street, with Exhibition station upgraded. Tunnelling for the project was completed in 2021, with construction planned to be complete by 2025 and the new line operational by early 2026.[6]
The project provides a second rail crossing of the Brisbane river due to concerns that the only inner-city rail river crossing, the Merivale Bridge, would reach capacity.[7] According to the project's business case, without the new tunnel overcrowding on most lines would be expected by 2026.[2] Cross River Rail is considered to be the highest infrastructure priority by the Queensland Government.[8]Infrastructure Australia evaluated the business case in 2017 and expressed concerns that the rail patronage projections may not be achieved and that the benefits in the business case may be overstated.[9] However, Infrastructure Australia still listed Cross River Rail as a priority project.
Under the plan, Queensland Rail Citytrain will operate in three sectors, all connecting at the existing or new underground Roma Street stations. Sector One will connect the Gold and Sunshine Coasts directly, operating trains from Varsity Lakes and Beenleigh through to Redcliffe Peninsula, Nambour and Gympie. Sector Two will link the Rosewood and Springfield lines through Central to the domestic airport and Shorncliffe. Sector Three will run Ferny Grove trains through Central and Southbank to Cleveland.[10]
History
2010 Cross River Rail proposal
A report titled the 2008 Inner City Rail Capacity Study predicted that the demand for Brisbane peak train services would double by 2016.[11] The Infrastructure Australia review of the current project highlighted that the 2011 business case projected the 2016 rail patronage – without Cross River Rail – as 374,000 passengers per day.[9] The Queensland Rail Annual Report for 2015–16 reports patronage of approximately 150,000 passengers per day for the Citytrain network in 2015–16.[12] Between Salisbury and Dutton Park the existing line is used by freight trains traveling to the Port of Brisbane and a terminal at Acacia Ridge, and the expected rise in the number of passengers services may interrupt freight services unless a new line is built. The Merivale Bridge is the only inner-city rail crossing in Brisbane, and by 2016 it was expected to be over capacity, leading the Queensland Government to plan for this project.[13]
The original plans for the project were released on 11 November 2010. The project included a 9.8-kilometre (6.1 mi) tunnel, two new surface stations as well as four new underground stations. Upgrades to Moorooka and Rocklea were also proposed. Underground stations were proposed to include retail facilities, and a maximum of 120,000 passengers were claimed to be able to be moved during the morning peak period.[14]
The city station was to be built under Albert Street,[13] with two entrances and allowing for trains up to 200 m (656 ft 2 in) in length.[15] Proposed stations at Woolloongabba and Exhibition were to be named The Gabba and The Ekka respectively.
Yeerongpilly was chosen as the southern portal because it had less impact on residents than a tunnel entrance at Fairfield.[16] An entrance there would allow trains on the Ipswich railway line to use the tunnel via the Tennyson railway line.[16] It also allowed the existing rail yards at Clapham to be used as stabling yards, negating the need to build a new storage depot for trains elsewhere.
2012 revised plan
In June 2012, the newly elected Newman Government announced plans for a scaled down version of the project estimated to cost $4.5 billion. The revised plan excluded upgrades to existing stations and extra above-ground train lines south or north of the new tunnel. The revised plan was expected to be completed by 2020. Thirty-nine commercial properties were to have been resumed for the project, including the Royal on the Park hotel[17] and another nine properties in the central business district.[15] One hundred and five residential properties at Yeerongpilly were to have been resumed for the expansion of the Yeerongpilly railway station.
In November 2013, the Queensland Government announced a revised plan for the BaT (Bus and Train) project as an alternative to the previous Cross River Rail proposal. The revised plan involved a 14.8 m (48 ft 7 in) external diameter (13.5 m (44 ft 3 in) internal diameter) 5.4 kilometres (3.4 mi) tunnel to accommodate both a dual track rail line on the lower level and a two lane busway above. The cost was expected to be $5 billion with construction proposed to start in 2015 and completion in 2021.[18][19]Citytrain patronage is quoted as having increased at an annual average of 3.4% between 2006 and 2012, compared to an average annual population increase of 2.4% over the same period, confirming forecasts that the Merivale Bridge will reach capacity some time between 2016 and 2021. However, this capacity constraint may be over pessimistic as doubt has been cast on the pre-2009 figures supplied by Queensland Rail due to double counting of patronage figures.[20]
Project description
The current 2016 proposed 10.2-kilometre (6.3 mi) rail link involves building a new 5.9-kilometre (3.7 mi) tunnel under the Brisbane River and the Brisbane central business district, creating five new inner city station precincts, and increasing the core capacity of the rail network. The alignment will extend from Dutton Park, through four new underground stations at Boggo Road (adjacent to the Boggo Road busway station), Woolloongabba, Albert Street and Roma Street, towards upgraded stations at Exhibition and Bowen Hills.[21] A new line through the city centre was needed because of the centralised nature of the existing inner-city network of stations.[2] If any inner-city services were interrupted it led to traffic bottlenecks that rippled across city-wide services.[2]
The tunnel will utilise the European Train Control System, and Automatic Train Operation. The maximum capacity is 24 trains per hour in each direction.[22][2] According to the project's business case the desired design speed is 80 km/h (50 mph).[2] The four new underground stations will have platform screen doors, a first for Brisbane.[2][23] Platforms will be 220m long to accommodate future nine-car trains, though the tunnel will initially run six-car trains.[2] The project will utilise a combination of construction methods, including cut-and-cover station box construction for some stations, mined station caverns for the CBD stations, and both Tunnel Boring Machines and Road-headers for tunnelling.[3]
In December 2019, work commenced on the demolition of the Brisbane Transit Centre.[24][25] With an estimated capital cost of $5.4 billion it is expected to be the largest transport project ever built in Queensland.[26] In addition, the project's detailed business case identifies the project will result in costs of $4.9 billion for additional services and complementary growth projects, and $4.4 billion for operation and maintenance costs over a 30-year period.[27] On 13 June 2017, the Queensland Government allocated $2.8 billion to start building the rail link.[28] The remaining $2.6 billion of capital costs and other project costs is proposed to be allocated in future budgets. Infrastructure Australia has observed that early project designs formed the basis of the project cost estimates and are prone to design maturity risks.[9] Construction started in September 2017, with completion scheduled by 2024.[29] The Labor Government has stated the project will provide more than 1,500 jobs each year during construction, and boost the Queensland economy by $70 million.[30]
Queensland Rail's New Generation Rollingstock are compatible with Cross River Rail's European Train Control System and will be used in the new tunnels.
The New Generation Rollingstock fleet will operate in the tunnels. The Queensland Government has also initiated a process of building a new fleet of 65 EMUs capable of operating on the new corridor, with the government committing $600 million to the first 20 trains in 2020.[31] In 2021 three manufacturers were shortlisted for the project and the Queensland Government committed $7.1 billion to build all 65 trains, with construction to take place at a purpose-built facility in Maryborough.[32][33][34] The design of the trains, and the eventual service plan for Cross River Rail, have not been detailed by the government.
Delivery
The project is being delivered through public-private partnerships and contracts, and is arranged into three major infrastructure packages.[35] The first is the Tunnel, Stations and Development public-private partnership to deliver the main underground and tunnelling works, the Rail, Integration and Systems alliance to deliver the rail system upgrades, and the European Train Control System contract to deliver the new signalling system.[35][26] These contracts were awarded in 2019.[26]
Sectorisation
Cross River Rail will add an additional sector to the rail network, replacing the current main and suburban sectors. Exact operations of the network are yet to be publicly revealed, however in 2022 SEQ Rail Connect was published by the Department of Transport and Main Roads. The document serves as a high level conceptual plan for integrating tunnel operations into the existing network with an emphasis on high service levels and network reliability. Sectorisation was chosen over grade separation to reduce construction and maintenance costs while allowing for high frequencies. The sectorised network will also reduce the propagation of service perturbation, ensuring any delays are contained within a single sector. According to SEQ Rail Connect the three sectors will consist of the following line pairs:
Sector 1
Sector 1 will operate north-south via the rebuilt Exhibition station and the Cross River Rail tunnel. Northern Lines include the Sunshine Coast line, Caboolture line and the Redcliffe Peninsula line. Southern Lines include the Gold Coast line and Beenleigh line.
Sector 2
Sector 2 will operate east-west via the existing inner-city core network. Eastern Lines are the Shorncliffe line, Airport line and Doomben line. Western Lines include the Ipswich and Rosewood line and Springfield Central line.
Sector 3
Sector 3 will operate east-west via the existing inner-city core network and the Merivale bridge incorporating the Ferny Grove and Cleveland lines. Exact line pairings and operations have not been publicly revealed by the State Government.
Stations
As part of the project 4 new underground stations will be built in Brisbane, 8 stations will be rebuilt including Exhibition station and stations between Dutton Park and Salisbury, and 3 new stations will be built on the Gold Coast line.
Woolloongabba will provide direct access to the Gabba Stadium and to the Mater health precinct.[38] It has nearby access to the high capacity South East Busway to the west. The Gabba is planned to be rebuilt for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, for which it will serve as the main stadium.[39] As part of this, the new stadium will be closely integrated with the new Woolloongabba Cross River Rail station.[39]
Demolition of the Brisbane Transit Centre complex in January 2020, to make way for the new Roma Street station entrance.
The new underground Roma Street station will be an extension of the existing ground-level station that will provide direct access to the existing bus and train network as well the proposed Brisbane Metro. Demolition of the Brisbane Transit Centre commenced in December 2019, with it to be relocated partially underground near the underground platform entrances.[25] A set of new high rise buildings will occupy the site.[41]
The subway and busway platforms at Roma Street station are also receiving a facelift as part of the project, to better integrate the new and existing station. Customers transferring from the above ground station to the underground or vice versa will benefit from a tap-less interchange.
Exhibition
The existing Exhibition station in the suburb of Bowen Hills will undergo an extensive upgrade. The station only opens a few times a year, servicing special events such as the Brisbane Ekka held at the Brisbane Showgrounds. After the station is upgraded, it will open year-round with high-frequency services connecting the surrounding residential community.[42]
Dutton Park to Salisbury Station Upgrades
Seven existing rail stations will be upgraded at Dutton Park station, Fairfield station, Yeronga station, Yeerongpilly station, Moorooka station, Rocklea station and Salisbury station.[43] Stations will be rebuilt with additional accessibility features (such as braille maps and rubber platform gap fillers), high level platforms, new lifts, new enclosed stairs and overpasses for weather protection, and new drop-off and cycling facilities.[43] Stations will also receive an additional third platform apart from Dutton Park station which will also be relocated and rebuilt to the south of Annerley Road. Yeerongpilly station's existing lifts and footbridge will be retained.[44]
Gold Coast Line
In July 2021, the State Government announced that a further three stations would be built on the Gold Coast railway line as part of Cross River Rail.[45] These will be located at Pimpama, Hope Island and Merrimac.
In April 2016, the Queensland Government announced it would pass legislation to establish the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority to deliver the new project and any related public transport projects.[46] After finalisation of a business case in August 2017, construction officially started in September 2017, when work began on demolishing the defunct GoPrint building at Woolloongabba, to make way for Cross River Rail.
In April 2019, the Queensland Government appointed a CIMIC Group led consortium to deliver various aspects of the project. The consortium began work in late 2019, with a five year construction time frame.[47][48]
In June 2021, construction was halted over one weekend because of worker concerns about the potential release of dangerous silica dust from the conveyor belt carrying tunnel spoil to the surface.[49]
Spoil from the diggings is transported to Rochedale where it is made into bricks at a brickworks.[50] The bricks will be used in housing construction in South East Queensland.
One of the tunnel boring machines (TBM) was named after Professor Else Shephard, the other after Merle Thornton.[51] Pre-cast concrete segments were manufactured at Wacol by Wagners, a Toowoomba-based construction company.[52] TBM Else completed its tunnel boring when it broke through to the northern portal on 25 November 2021.[53] The second machine completed its tunnelling on 17 December 2021. By September 2022, track had been laid under the river linking Albert Street and Woolloongabba stations.[54]
Jacobs Engineering Group is responsible for reconfiguring the existing network, supply and installation of supporting rail systems and seven station upgrades.[55]
The first test train went along the tunnel in October 2024.[56]
Other projects
Sunshine Coast Line
In March 2022, it was announced that the Maroochydore railway line would be planned and built ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, with a number of new stations on the branch line and trains running through Cross River Rail.[57][58]
^"Underground Bus and Train". Queensland Government Department of Main Roads. 22 November 2013. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
^Australian Government, Department of Infrastructure and Transport, Research Report, No 131, 2012, p48
^Where does the spoil go? (TV news report). Brisbane: Nine News. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
