Overview
In just a few short years, getting around Brisbane via rail is set to become a whole lot different. The city's Cross River Rail project has been in the works for quite some time, complete with plenty of construction around the place to prove it — and when it launches in 2025, southeast Queensland's train network will change with it.
The Queensland Government has just revealed exactly what the Cross River Rail will mean for existing train routes, with some big shifts in store. The huge one: the Gold Coast, Beenleigh, Caboolture, Sunshine Coast and Redcliffe Peninsula lines will no longer run through Central station. They'll bypass South Brisbane too; instead, the routes will use the Cross River Rail setup to hit up the new Woolloongabba and Albert Street stations.
The new Roma Street station.
If you've somehow avoided all things Cross River Rail over the past few years, it'll give Brisbane its first underground rail network, connecting from a new Boggo Road station through to the upgraded Exhibition stop. It's part of the reason that Roma Street station was torn down, alongside adding a new entertainment precinct to that part of the CBD.
Shifting five lines away from Central will obviously disrupt some daily routines; however, all other routes will still stop at the busy inner-city station. Every line will also go through the new Roma Street Station as well. With the latter, some will use the underground Cross River Rail station, while others will remain above ground.
Also, trains across southeast Queensland will be split into three sectors. The first will connect Varsity Lakes and Beenleigh to Redcliffe Peninsula and Nambour, aka all the trains that'll skip Central.
The second will cover services from Rosewood, Ipswich and Springfield through Central to Doomben, the airport and Shorncliffe — and the third will span from Ferny Grove through Central and South Bank to Cleveland.
The new Woolloongabba station
In total, when it joins the train network, Cross River Rail will add a 10.2-kilometre stretch from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills, including 5.9 kilometres of twin tunnels beneath Brisbane River and Brisbane CBD.
As well as the new underground stations at Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street and Roma Street, the project is undertaking upgrades to eight above-ground, spanning Salisbury, Rocklea, Moorooka, Yeerongpilly, Yeronga, Fairfield, Dutton Park and Exhibition.
Cross River Rail is set to launch in 2025. For more information, head to the project's website.
Images: renders of Roma Street and Woolloongabba stations.