Cross River Rail Project

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

7th April 2016

Cross River Rail plan number 3

Good Morning,

Some exciting news.

Couriermail --> Brisbane Cross River Rail: Queensland Government to announce new version to relieve train crisis

Although this is somewhat truncated from the original plan - no Yeerongpilly connection, the core is there.  Cross River Rail will deliver mass transit capacity to the CBD, as well as enabling the entire rail network for SEQ.

It is important that consideration be given to allowing trains a smooth transition from and to the Cross River Rail alignment from the Northern Line as well.  Capacity constraints apply to the north as well as the south.

The Quirk ' Metro ' as proposed during the Council Election is simply not needed.  Bus network reform and sorting out Victoria Bridge and the Cultural Centre bus station will save many billions of dollars. Brisbane might well need a proper metro down the track but it does not need a half baked non-solution metro now.  It is scandalous that Brisbane City Council is network reform refractory - it is time TransLink was given the proper authority to sort out the festering Brisbane bus mess.

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[#Metro]

I wish CM was more creative than just ripoff the London roundels. It is always so breathless with the superlatives.

On another note, I just realised that CM subscriptions are $300+ per year!

[ozbob]

4KQ News have followed up 

[kram0]

Do you believe anna2 decided on Albert St out of spite as George St was Newman's idea? Massive oversight via Albert St I think with the casino being built.

[ozbob]

Do you believe anna2 decided on Albert St out of spite as this was Newman's idea? Massive oversight via Albert St I think with the casino being built.

The opportunity was lost for station in that precinct when the Queens Wharf proposal was finalised. We said as much at the time.

Albert St will work OK.  George St is better from a geo-technical point of view, but no point in crying over spilled milk ..

[kram0]

Do you believe anna2 decided on Albert St out of spite as this was Newman's idea? Massive oversight via Albert St I think with the casino being built.

The opportunity was lost for station in that precinct when the Queens Wharf proposal was finalised. We said as much at the time.

Albert St will work OK.  George St is better from a geo-technical point of view, but no point in crying over spilled milk ..

So the new Casino and Underground station are not possible because of engineering constraints? If that's the case well Albert St will have to work. If its not the case, with the number of visitors each year (which will be in the millions) visiting the casino, then George St would be the better option.

[ozbob]

It is not going to happen.  Albert St is fine.  It provides good access to the CBD from more a central position. 

[QLDBUS]

Albert street would is better served for the everyday commuter as it better aligns with the Queens mall and riverside. If your going to terminate it at Park Road it would of been a better opportunity to make it the tunnel 4 tracks so to better match the the trouts road Corridor tunnel. but all i can say is ill just be happy if anything gets done with the governments these days

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Bill Shorten backs new Cross River Rail plan for Brisbane

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Tunnel vision back on the table for Brisbane

[Stillwater]

Maybe put the onus on the developers of Queens Wharf to put in an underground pedestrian tunnel from Albert Street Station to George Street, complete with those horizontal travelators used at airports -- to get people there faster.

[Derwan]

Do you believe anna2 decided on Albert St out of spite as George St was Newman's idea? Massive oversight via Albert St I think with the casino being built.

Albert St is far more central for the catchment.  George St is too close to the river.  The casino will generate relatively low overall patronage when you compare it to commuters.

The LNP went with George St because it was the cheaper option.  They were looking at cutting costs.

[tazzer9]

This isnt even that much better than BAT in my opinion.   It loses alot of what made the original CCR so good.  marginal time savings for any beenleigh or GC line users.   Being spat out at dutton park means we are still such with the GC and beenleigh line trains horrible off peak frequency due to lack of overtaking tracks.  this was remedied in the original by simply having both being spat out further.  No chance of any corinda via tennyson services.   The trains staying on the current tracks means there is less paths for freight. 

The worst part is tunneling isnt that expensive, its the stations that make underground railways expensive.   so moving the portal to yeerongpilly (or ideally around salisbury) wouldnt even cost too much more, yet would have so much more benefits.

[ozbob]

I hear you!  There is nothing stopping the tunnel being extended eventually - south or north.

The Bligh Govt put CRR1 on the back burner.  Then we had CRR2 which morphed into the BaT,  CRR3 is better than nothing,

CRR3 is also looking at signalling improvements.

https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/projects/cross-river-rail/index.html

Cross River Rail

The Queensland Government is moving ahead with planning to reduce congestion on south-east Queensland's rail network.

A Cross River Rail project team has been established to identify a preferred solution to alleviate this congestion, including assessing elements of previous projects.

The study will also assess the feasibility of introducing New Generation Signalling to the inner city rail network, allowing for a higher frequency of services and improving reliability on our most constrained part of the network.

[tazzer9]

knowing how qld queensland does things, they wont make any easy for any extensions.  They will probably also half bake basics like not having a central turnback road at roma st or park road. and have terminating trains sit at the platform for 8 minutes.
Ideally they would put in tunnel stubs at both ends, they could even do a bondi junction and make these stubs available for stabling and storage.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Shane Doherty ‏@ShaneDoherty9 4m

The cross river rail route we've heard so much about #9News #qldpol

[ozbob]

^ looks like the presser is underway ...   

[nathandavid88]

That implies to me that there will be a connection to the northern lines, which is good to see!

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

That implies to me that there will be a connection to the northern lines, which is good to see!

Yope!   

[verbatim9]

And a remodelled Roma Street Station much needed

[ozbob]

CRR TMR site updated:

https://www.qld.gov.au/transport/projects/cross-river-rail/index.html

Cross River Rail

Cross River Rail is a transformational 10.2km rail link connecting Dutton Park in the south to Bowen Hills in the north, with 5.9km of tunnel under the Brisbane River and CBD. It will deliver new services to stations at 5 key locations including Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street, Roma Street and Exhibition showgrounds.

Cross River Rail is vital for South East Queensland and its strategic importance is highlighted in the State Infrastructure Plan and South East Queensland's Rail Horizon.

Critical to supporting the growth of Queensland, easing congestion and improving accessibility into the Brisbane CBD, Cross River Rail is the Queensland Government's highest priority infrastructure project.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Shane Doherty ‏@ShaneDoherty9

Cross river rail cost $5.2 billion

[ozbob]

Twitter

Shane Doherty ‏@ShaneDoherty9 6 minutes ago

Without cross river rail Brisbane Northside traffic will be a shmozzle in 10 years #9News #qldpol

[tazzer9]

I love how they say 10.2km   Nowhere else has to sink that low to make project look good.
Good thing is that the northern connection is fully grade separated, but im wondering how they will add connections to mayne yard.

Any mention of upgrades to non CCR stations to better handle the increased train frequencies.  (mitchelton, beenleigh and at least one cleveland line station need to have either a central turnback road or platform)

[ozbob]

http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2016/4/7/palaszczuk-government-will-establish-new-authority-to-deliver-cross-river-rail

Media Statements
JOINT STATEMENT

Deputy Premier, Minister for Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning and Minister for Trade and Investment
The Honourable Jackie Trad

Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games
The Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe

Thursday, April 07, 2016

Palaszczuk Government will establish new authority to deliver Cross River Rail

The Palaszczuk Government today announced plans to establish an authority to deliver Cross River Rail, the number one priority infrastructure project for Queensland and unveiled the new 10.2 kilometre alignment.

Acting Premier Jackie Trad and Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe announced the Palaszczuk Government was continuing to drive the delivery of Cross River Rail and build the much-needed inner-city rail link from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills.

At both a State and Federal level, Cross River Rail has been identified as a critical infrastructure project required to address capacity constraints in our rail network and avoid increased congestion and reduced productivity in the South East Queensland economy.

"Cross River Rail is not only a critical infrastructure project but also a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape Brisbane through this major city-making initiative," Ms Trad said.

"With South East Queensland's population set to grow to 4.9 million by 2036, Cross River Rail is the state's number one infrastructure project to boost network capacity in the region and unlock economic opportunity and productivity for our state.

"Almost half the state's total jobs growth will occur in Brisbane and without an effective transport system to accommodate growth, Infrastructure Australia estimate the cost of congestion in the region could total $9 billion each year.

"Once operational, Cross River Rail will provide the equivalent capacity of a 30-lane highway and will provide faster and more effective connections to jobs throughout the region.

"The Palaszczuk Government has also agreed to establish a Cross River Rail Delivery Authority to take the politics out of delivering this critical infrastructure project.

"As our Government has said publicly many times, major infrastructure projects of this scale require cooperation, support and funding from all three levels of government.

"That's why we have asked the Federal Government and Brisbane City Council to partner with us, along with private capital, to deliver this vital second rail river crossing that will ensure our city has the rail infrastructure it needs to accommodate future population growth.

"We want every level of government to have a seat at the table to drive collaboration, innovation and coordination so that along with delivering much needed transport infrastructure, we also reshape our city with places and spaces for our growing population to live, work and play."

Mr Hinchliffe said the updated business case based on the new alignment would be completed in mid-2016.

"The new 10.2 kilometre alignment announced today, including 5.9 kilometres of tunnel, is built on planning from previous projects and will unlock network capacity to meet forecast passenger demand and accommodate future growth," Mr Hinchliffe.

"Over the next 20 years rail demand will increase threefold in South East Queensland and without major investment in the inner-city rail network by 2021, there will be no capacity to increase services during our busiest times and passengers will face overcrowding on platforms and trains.

"The Palaszczuk Government has fast-tracked the business case for our number one priority infrastructure project and announced plans to establish a delivery authority to ensure the project is built.

"The Palaszczuk Government is serious about investing in major public transport infrastructure that will ease congestion and drive economic productivity and growth and will establish an authority to ensure this project is no longer hostage to political point scoring.

"The plan we've announced today will also engage all levels of government, along with the private sector and local community to drive innovative planning.

"The Cross River Rail project is expected to provide 1,600 jobs each year during construction and, with an anticipated construction timeframe of five years, the project could generate more than 8,000 jobs for Queenslanders."

The new delivery authority will lead the development, procurement and delivery of Cross River Rail and support wider economic and social outcomes for the transformational project.

The authority will seek federal, state and local government co-investment and private sector participation as funding, financing and delivery partners.

The Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning and the Department of Transport and Main Roads are co-sponsoring investigations to finalise the preferred delivery model and specialist advisers from KPMG and Clayton Utz have been engaged.

A full range of options are being canvassed including using a dedicated government office, establishing a Statutory Authority or a Government Owned Company (enabled by Corporations Act). These options will be presented to government for consideration shortly.

The Cross River Rail project team will engage with the community later this year.

For more information contact the project team on 1800 010 875.


Fly through of the new Cross River Rail alignment: www.crossriverrail.qld.gov.au

>> http://bit.ly/1N9HVpu

[dancingmongoose]

Pause the flythrough at 0:40 and note all the lines. Some interesting ones. I can see Churchill, Marburg, Beaudesert and Workshops on there.

[ozbob]

Cross River Rail

>> http://www.crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/


Cross River Rail

Cross River Rail is a city-changing addition to the South East Queensland public transport network, providing benefits to Brisbane, South East Queensland and the state.

Cross River Rail is the Queensland Government's highest priority infrastructure project and an important part of our vision to cater for future growth, unlock economic opportunities and make Queensland a more internationally competitive state.

A 10.2 kilometre link from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills, with 5.9 kilometres of tunnel under the Brisbane River and CBD, Cross River Rail will connect to both northern and southern rail networks from day one of operations, providing significant benefits to commuters from both directions. This second rail river crossing will ease congestion, improve network reliability and increase accessibility to the Brisbane CBD, allowing more people to travel longer distances, with shorter journey times.

Cross River Rail will deliver services to stations at five key locations: Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street, Roma Street and Exhibition showgrounds.

The new Boggo Road station will improve interchange opportunities for passengers in the south as well as students accessing The University of Queensland. The new Albert Street station will be centrally located, providing easy access to 1 William Street, Queen Street Mall, the Botanic Gardens, Queensland University of Technology and the $3 billion Queen's Wharf Development. The new Woolloongabba station will improve accessibility to health and entertainment landmarks and provide multi-modal public transport connectivity.

Cross River Rail is the natural and necessary next step and will be a catalyst for urban revitalisation in Australia's New World City.


Fast facts

    With employment in SEQ forecast to increase from 1.4 million fulltime equivalent jobs to almost 2.2 million by 2031, there are likely to be 1.2 million public transport trips into the Brisbane metropolitan region each day
    A project of this scale is expected to provide approximately 1,600 jobs each year during construction. With a construction duration of five years, the project would create approximately 8,000 jobs
    The project will support regional redevelopment in areas such as Flagstone, Yarrabilba, Coomera and Springfield, as well as urban development in areas such as Dutton Park, Woolloongabba, Brisbane CBD and Roma Street.

Publications

Community Newsletter – APRIL 2016 (PDF, 1.4MB)

[paulg]

I'm very happy with this revised proposal, especially the inclusion of a Boggo Road station to improve interchange options and the inclusion of connectivity with the northern lines. Fixes a lot of the shortcomings of BaT. There will have to be stubs at the southern end to allow for further tunnelling to the south, given capacity constraints south of Dutton Park (was included in BaT).
Cheers, Paul

[red dragin]

Pause the flythrough at 0:40 and note all the lines. Some interesting ones. I can see Churchill, Marburg, Beaudesert and Workshops on there.

Plus the long gone branches near Murrarie, Hamilton wharves (which will apparently be overcrowded in 2021), hardly an accurate diagram. QPSR even get a mention with the Box Flat & Swanbank loops, although they will be fine for capacity at that point. 

I guess they forgot about Dayboro & Kilcoy  :conf

[ozbob]

I'm very happy with this revised proposal, especially the inclusion of a Boggo Road station to improve interchange options and the inclusion of connectivity with the northern lines. Fixes a lot of the shortcomings of BaT. There will have to be stubs at the southern end to allow for further tunnelling to the south, given capacity constraints south of Dutton Park (was included in BaT).
Cheers, Paul

G'day Paul.  Spot on ... 

[Derwan]

The northern end has the line going straight through the middle of Mayne.  I guess it's "indicative" only?

[OzGamer]

The northern end has the line going straight through the middle of Mayne.  I guess it's "indicative" only?

When I asked someone at a public consultation for the BaT, they mentioned the planned remodelling of Mayne Yards, so maybe this will be in conjunction with that.

While I don't like this proposal starting at Dutton Park rather than Yeerongpilly, I like that it joins the main north line north of the Ferny Grove line, meaning a genuine increase in capacity from the north, even with no other track amplifications.

[red dragin]

The northern end has the line going straight through the middle of Mayne.  I guess it's "indicative" only?

I am imagining that the yards will be much quieter once NGR's are the dominate train type. 30 sets alone go into the new stabling yards being built. It would only be the few diesel loco's, and the 160/260's I believe.

There is a tender at the moment for the "Regional Rollingstock Maintenance Shed and Electric Locomotive Provisioning Shed Facilities Upgrade" on QTenders.

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

CCIQ

https://www.cciq.com.au/news/federal-election-key-to-brisbanes-cross-river-rail-project/

Federal Election key to Brisbane's Cross River Rail Project

Thursday 7 April, 2016 | By: Darrell Giles | Tags: Cross River Rail, traffic congestion, Infrastructure Australia

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland (CCIQ) applauds the State Government on its commitment to building Brisbane's Cross River Rail Project.

CCIQ Director of Advocacy Nick Behrens said developing the business case and setting up a delivery authority to ensure it is built are essential milestones for this project seeing the light of day.

"CCIQ believes that the Cross River Rail Project is absolute top of the priority list for Queensland's infrastructure," he said.

"The project is critical to Brisbane's continuing economic growth and will play a crucial role in addressing traffic congestion in the South East Queensland.

"The problem at present relates to capacity constraints in the existing transport system for trips to and from the Brisbane CBD and strong population growth in SEQ – with the rail system expected to reach capacity by the mid-2020s.

Infrastructure Australia has identified a macroeconomic cost of $9 billion by 2031 if delays to current inadequate transport networks are not addressed.

"The availability of a reliable, affordable and capable passenger transport network is pivotal to determining the vibrancy of our capital city and the strength of economic growth," Mr Behrens said.

"An investment in our transport network represents an investment in the future prosperity of Brisbane.

"For business, what the practical impact of this $9 billion looks like is increased cost of doing business; decreased efficiency and productivity; reduced access to existing markets and expansion into new and emerging markets.

"It is essential that the Cross River Rail Project is built in order to drive ongoing business investment and expansion and drive above-average economic growth and prosperity."

Mr Behrens said it was hoped funding for the project would be on the table as part of the Federal Election, which is looking likely to be July 2.

"However at the last Federal Election the Coalition did not support the Brisbane Cross River Rail Project citing it did not support contributing funding for urban rail. Conversely, the ALP committed $715 million for project in 2013.

"The forthcoming Federal Election will be one of only few opportunities for Queensland to secure a commitment to fund this vitally needed project.

"However, we only need to look at the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing to see projects that have experienced funding dilemmas can ultimately be built as a result of the pork-barrelling that occurs at elections.

"This project is a symbolic one for the State Government and is an opportunity for it to smash through the perception of inactivity on the infrastructure investment front.

"It is a shame that the business case for the project looks not to be finalised prior to the Federal Election. A leap of faith will be needed by election time, but Infrastructure Australia has already signed off on this project and that should be enough.

"Our advice to the State Government is build the business case for the project and make sure both the Coalition and the Federal ALP are on board."

[ozbob]

[kram0]

I believe the alignment is wide enough for 4 tracks from Dutton Park to Salisbury and beyond. This will be needed to get a sufficient timetable to service CRR3 both peak and counter peak.

[tazzer9]

I am imagining that the yards will be much quieter once NGR's are the dominate train type. 30 sets alone go into the new stabling yards being built. It would only be the few diesel loco's, and the 160/260's I believe.

There is a tender at the moment for the "Regional Rollingstock Maintenance Shed and Electric Locomotive Provisioning Shed Facilities Upgrade" on QTenders.

The yard will probably be quieter than they are now, but its not going to become a ghost town.  It will still be very important for interpeak stabling.

[tazzer9]

I believe the alignment is wide enough for 4 tracks from Dutton Park to Salisbury and beyond. This will be needed to get a sufficient timetable to service CRR3 both peak and counter peak.

There are several sections that would be extremely costly and difficult to get 4 tracks across.  4 tracks is also not much of an upgrade, it would need to be 5 if you include the interstate dual gauge line.