Brisbane Commuters Will Receive Four Days of Free Train Travel Over the Next Month
You'll be able to hop on a train for free on four consecutive Mondays in November and December.
On four upcoming Mondays, if you travel by train, your commute to and from work won't impact your Go Card balance. To start each week between November 18 and December 9, Queensland Rail is giving everyone free trips on what it's calling 'free train travel days'.
If you don't have your calendar app open, you'll be able to ride the rails for free on November 18 and 25, as well as December 2 and 9. Translink advises that you won't need to tap on and off (or buy a paper ticket) — instead, just stroll on through the fare gates, which'll be open at all stations.
All Citytrain services are included, which means all services on the Gold Coast, Beenleigh, Caboolture, Ipswich/Rosewood, Springfield, Cleveland, Doomben, Ferny Grove, Shorncliffe, Sunshine Coast and Redcliffe Peninsula lines.
If you happen to be heading out of town via plane — or arriving back from elsewhere — on one of the four Mondays, Airtrain services are also included.
Wondering why Queenslanders are getting four days of train travel without spending a cent? Announcing the plan, the Queensland Government said that it's to "thank customers for their loyalty as Queensland Rail worked to restore services earlier this year". Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey is referring to the government's efforts to increase driver and guard numbers, as well as services — but given how unreliable Brisbane's trains can be sometimes, his sentiment really could apply in general.
Of course, QR's staff will still need to be paid on the free train travel days, so the costs will be covered by funding that had previously been allocated for the company's senior managers.
Queensland Rail's free train travel days will take place on November 18 and 25, as well as December 2 and 9.
Top image: John via Flickr.
UPDATE, NOVEMBER 17: Translink has revealed how rail commuters can take advantage of the four free train travel days across November and December. This article has been updated to include these details.
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