North-South Subway

[#Metro]

Chermside
(runs under Gympie and Lutwyche Roads in the busway alignment)

Fortitude Valley
(runs under Ann St)

CBD
(runs under Adelaide or Queen Street/QSBS)

South East Busway
(joins at Mater Hill, down the busway to 8 mile Plains).

Only the core need be put in place in the first instance, and as bus loads increase, the North-South Subway can be incrementally extended.

Benefits

High frequency: Service every 4-5 minutes during the day, every 2 minutes during peak hour (30 000 pphd) or more frequent if required.

Buses recast as high frequency cross-town feeders Buses intersect the NSS in the middle of their route, buses are re-cast as east-west services feeding the NSS (this will work particularly well around Chermside where there is a pre-existing tram grid of roads).

Keep buses out of the CBD: Much better cycling and pedestrian environment, 1000s of buses on Adelaide Street might be a thing of the past.

Convenient and time savings: The first service is yours. None of this 'I need to find which bus number/bus stop/which part of the city' just catch the first service and transfer.

Maximum network simplicity Just get any bus, it will end up at the station. Single, simple line.

DOUBLE BUSWAY CAPACITY: 30 000 pphd - 40 000 pphd. Enough capacity to meet the city's needs well into the future.

[O_128]

I would say have it at buranda otherwise your stuck with gabba, and eastern busway being cut off

[SurfRail]

I like.  Potential ultimate length could be something on the order of Carseldine - Springwood/Loganholme.

I think this a more worthy goal than the inner-city metro, although I support both notions.  The inner city metro can follow later when, in about 10-15 years, the population density in inner Brisbane starts resembling Sydney.

Then who knows - Indooroopilly to Capalaba with interchanging at Buranda?  Probably get a lot of stick for not providing a single seat to the CBD, but with these 2 lines and an inner city line in place you would have most of the major or sub-regional centres in SEQ connected to rail (QR, metro or GCRT).

[BrizCommuter]

BrizCommuter just changed into his scuba gear so as to not drown in a torrent of foam. 

[mufreight]

BrizCommuter just changed into his scuba gear so as to not drown in a torrent of foam. 

Must agree with the need for scuba gear but must question if the foam was formed by less than ecologicaly friendly detergent in the washing up water or is it something that is naturaly occuring in the overflow from a septic tank?

[somebody]

BrizCommuter just changed into his scuba gear so as to not drown in a torrent of foam. 

Perhaps so, but you don't see the merit in the proposal to Chermside?  Northern Busway won't have the quality of the SEB.

[Golliwog]

BrizCommuter just changed into his scuba gear so as to not drown in a torrent of foam. 

Perhaps so, but you don't see the merit in the proposal to Chermside?  Northern Busway won't have the quality of the SEB.

I thought it was entirely grade seperate until it got to Chermside, where it then became a median running busway, before becoming buslanes at Aspley?

[somebody]

Pretty sure there is street running on parts to Kedron.

[#Metro]

I think it is Class A and then tunnel and then Class B for a while and then tunnel again.

It's not going to be class A all the way, which is a pity but understandable.
What this also means is that the capacity on it will be much lower as well.

http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Projects/Name/N/Northern-Busway-Kedron-to-Bracken-Ridge.aspx

[Golliwog]

Pretty sure there is street running on parts to Kedron.

True, forgot about the bit they're building now. It's buslanes from the mess at Bowen Hills until Truro St or there about where its a tunnel from there to Kedron. Here's the map from Translink, though it's a been modified slightly from what is shown here: http://translink.com.au/resources/about-translink/what-we-do/infrastructure-projects/northern-busway/100217-alignment.jpg

So it's Class A till just past RBWH, then Class B for a bit, before being Class A to Chermside, then back to Class B. There was a long term plan for a tunnel to eventually be built between Truro St and Federation St to make it Class A to Chermside, but I haven't heard anything on this in a while. By my count, there are 8 sets of traffic lights the buses would be running past in the Class B section being built currently.

[#Metro]

http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/tramtrain/NSS.png

With credits to Brent Palmer for Creative Commons share alike license.
http://transitmapsetc.blogspot.com/

[SteelPan]

Brisbane certainly needs a 10-25yr subway development plan to compliment its existing heavy rail system, including the Cross River project - BOTH phases of it.  Good post, keep it loud and strong for PRO RAIL!

[#Metro]

A ride on the South East BusSUBway in 2031 perhaps?

[Gazza]

If the SEB was metro converted, then id use the alignment from 8MP to just south as Buranda. To get a Metro from there to Roma St is only 5km of tunnel, which would make it pretty short by global metro standards.

The reason for doing this is it means the inner portion of the Busway still remains for the Boggo Rd and Eastern Branches, so those investments aren't stranded.

[#Metro]

The reason for doing this is it means the inner portion of the Busway still remains for the Boggo Rd and Eastern Branches, so those investments aren't stranded.

In the first instance the Metro need only go between the Northern Busway just after RBWH (so what is that Windsor?) through the valley down past the CBD and then terminate.

In the next stage, a tunnel needs to be constructed or a bridge to connect into the system somewhere around wooloongabba.
Then extend. You could always put the metro into a cut and cover tunnel as it approaches Buranda station so that buses could go from the Eastern Busway to Boggo Road busway and just interchange at the existing buranda station (just dig underneath a bit and put a new metro station at a deeper level underneath the existing platforms) and then let the metro resurface after that.

[Gazza]

Exactly. Buranda would be a stop on the Metro.

Just thinking through the logistics of the conversion. I'd do the 8MP line ahead of the northern part since that is where the demand/capacity crunch is. Stage 1 would be tunneling from Roma St to Buranda, and simultaneously building the maintenance centre out at 8MP, with track stubs.
While the busway was still operating, At night times, or just by doing a lane closure and a set of lights for the single lane section off peak (Like what they did when building the junction for the Boggo Rd branch of the Busway) Have a moving worksite where the overhead line equipment gets installed first. Run along drilling footings for the stanchions like a production line. At the end, you'd have an operating busway, but with non live overheads running the full length.

Then, blitz it.

Busway gets closed and all the manpower goes into several work sites, getting the track laid as quickly as possible Eg start at Buranda, 8MP and Griffith Uni and work outwards and inwards all at once.

Out of interest, what needs to be done to the busway platforms. Would they need to be raised to suit a metro vehicle? Or can you get low floor ones.

[O_128]

Exactly. Buranda would be a stop on the Metro.

Just thinking through the logistics of the conversion. I'd do the 8MP line ahead of the northern part since that is where the demand/capacity crunch is. Stage 1 would be tunneling from Roma St to Buranda, and simultaneously building the maintenance centre out at 8MP, with track stubs.
While the busway was still operating, At night times, or just by doing a lane closure and a set of lights for the single lane section off peak (Like what they did when building the junction for the Boggo Rd branch of the Busway) Have a moving worksite where the overhead line equipment gets installed first. Run along drilling footings for the stanchions like a production line. At the end, you'd have an operating busway, but with non live overheads running the full length.

Then, blitz it.

Busway gets closed and all the manpower goes into several work sites, getting the track laid as quickly as possible Eg start at Buranda, 8MP and Griffith Uni and work outwards and inwards all at once.

Out of interest, what needs to be done to the busway platforms. Would they need to be raised to suit a metro vehicle? Or can you get low floor ones.

you would be better digging the road down I would have thought then you have perfect working platforms.

[Golliwog]

I'd also vote for putting the EB/Boggo Rd busway station underneath the current one. EB has the Logan Rd tunnel, so just start in there and contiue under Buranda. Main reason being to get rid of the dogleg they put in there. That said, I don't think this is going to happen for a VERY long time, if at all.

[#Metro]

Just thinking through the logistics of the conversion.

I think the CBD section needs to be done first. This will mean immediate patronage as people use it to do City-Valley-Northern busway trips.
The CBD streets during peak hour are horrendously congested and this subway would put a nice escape to that, meaning instant high patronage.

I'm thinking of some stabling and maintenance out at Mayne or near there might be possible, hence the northern section done first along with
the CBD. Once this is done stabling facilities could be located out at Rochedale as well.

The busway could be closed in stages (just like it can be opened in stages - that's right buses are "flexible").
Peak hour rockets would exit the busway either at Buranda (temporary bus lane on Story Bridge) and Captain Cook Bridge (Temporary bus lane
and entire off ramp dedicated to buses) and use the freeway as well.

[#Metro]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP_05

I quite like the Paris solution. Rubber tyres mean steep gradients and turning can be handled nicely. Put something like this down the busway.

[O_128]

if the cleveland solution gets chosen build the bridge for 4 track, have the lines run parrellell to roma street then connect it to normanby

[#Metro]

North-South Subway?

[#Metro]

Look at the gradient you can climb on these things! 

[BrizCommuter]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP_05

I quite like the Paris solution. Rubber tyres mean steep gradients and turning can be handled nicely. Put something like this down the busway.

Rubber tyres also mean more maintenance, and more energy usage. Not good in snow either, but that's not likely to be problem in Brisbane.

Metro de Santiago, a major adopter of rubber tyre technology, has gone back to steel wheel technology on new lines.

[#Metro]

Rubber tyres also mean more maintenance, and more energy usage. Not good in snow either, but that's not likely to be problem in Brisbane.

Metro de Santiago, a major adopter of rubber tyre technology, has gone back to steel wheel technology on new lines.
   

Yes, but our busway runs on rubber tyres, does it not?

The ICTS (skytrain) runs on steel wheels and can handle gradients, rubber tyred metros even more so.

[aldonius]

If we took the Canada Line setup but with double-length trains and 20-30 tph, that would work quite well for the North South Subway IMO.

[BrizCommuter]

If we took the Canada Line setup but with double-length trains and 20-30 tph, that would work quite well for the North South Subway IMO.

Paid for from the non-existent pot of government money.

Any speculation of a metro replacing the busway is a...

...foam party!

[aldonius]

Well, obviously. 

[Gazza]

If we took the Canada Line setup but with double-length trains and 20-30 tph, that would work quite well for the North South Subway IMO.

Paid for from the non-existent pot of government money.

Any speculation of a metro replacing the busway is a...

...foam party!

Haters gonna hate.

[#Metro]

Paid for from the non-existent pot of government money.
Any speculation of a metro replacing the busway is a...

Ottawa is replacing their busway core with LRT operating in metro-like mode. Hardly foam.

I think there would be significant operational savings from taking around 80 different bus routes and consolidating them into a single line.
Peak capacity would also be increased / doubled as would efficiency and importantly, the cost might be significantly cheaper to do as a conversion rather than starting from scratch as the ROW has already been acquired.

[SurfRail]

Paid for from the non-existent pot of government money.
Any speculation of a metro replacing the busway is a...

Ottawa is replacing their busway core with LRT operating in metro-like mode. Hardly foam.

I think there would be significant operational savings from taking around 80 different bus routes and consolidating them into a single line.
Peak capacity would also be increased / doubled as would efficiency and importantly, the cost might be significantly cheaper to do as a conversion rather than starting from scratch as the ROW has already been acquired.

Closer to home, this is one of the major justifications for Gold Coast Rapid Transit.  It beggars belief that we aren't considering something similar for a much, much busier bus-only corridor.