Cross River Rail Project

[somebody]

Also, you can also just as equally argue that if the Beenleigh line trains don't serve Woolloongabba that the Gabba station has an unsatisfactory service at only 2tph off peak and 1tph after quite an early time.

[Derwan]

I personally didn't see any issues with the original design (i.e. no interchange in the city).  People could interchange at the northern or southern ends of the tunnel if they needed to.

An interchange at Roma St makes some sense - in that those on a route that would normally go through the tunnel who then want to interchange to bus or long distance services would have to change to get to Roma St before changing to the other service.

The predicament is that if you build an interchange at either Roma St at Central, it's yet another station (or more platforms at a station) that is some distance from where the majority of people are going.  Options A and B partially address this by having another city station towards the gardens - but the end result of this is 2 stations, neither of which are where most people are going. 

Option C, while not providing a direct interchange with Central, provides a single station right in the middle of where most people are going.  It is also a cheaper option as there is only one station and not two.

[somebody]

Thank you Derwan.

[mufreight]

Perhaps the more logical in terms of commuter convenience route would have stations at Alice street and George  Street between Alice and Margret Streets with the next station being under the Ann Street Edward Street and Adelaide Street block angled between the Central station and the Adelaide Street Edward Street intersection and a further station in the vicinity of Fortiscue and Boundary Streets Spring Hill connecting with the Exhibition loop on the Exhibition side of Yorks Hollow.
The Exhibition Station could be moved to the west with a new station constructed under Bowen Bridge Road to serve the Hospital and the Exhibition redevelopment.
The station position at Woolloongabba is a no brainer under the bus station a as an interchange and b to service the Gabba Stadium.

[somebody]

But the further west you go the less useful you make it for connection to the north.  Unless, of course, you connect to the Ferny Grove line, but I do not believe that would happen.

[colinw]

Regarding re-routing the Beenleigh Line via the new tunnel -a decent level of service must be maintained via the old route.   The whole idea here is to add capacity and destinations to the system - a goal which will not be achieved if we simply switch all services from one two or three track line to another.  This is not a replacement - we are building a network here.

By that logic you can't re-route the Gold Coast trains via the new tunnel either.

Oops, that's not what I meant!  I was not meaning to say that Beenleigh cannot be re-routed, just that a decent level of service must be maintained via the old route.  I explicitly did not state HOW that should be achieved.  I don't much care which way the Beenleigh line trains - my home line by the way - go, as long as there is a choice of both routes.  Whether that choice is by changing trains or a through journey is immaterial, provided any changes of train are seamless (i.e < 5 minutes).

Obviously if we switch the Gold Coast & Beenleigh lines to the new route, then additional services will need to be introduced to cover the South Brisbane route as it will be left with only 2tph to Cleveland.

[mufreight]

Reference to the maps and the proposed routing ends up as the most easterly where it joins the loop, as for those wishing to interchange with the Ferny Grove line the rail interchange would be Central.
The object is to provide additional capacity through the present bottleneck in a manner that will be as commuter friendly as possible for the majority of computers, servicing areas currently only accessible by bus or on foot is a positive bonus.
From the operational viewpoint no matter if the line is routed via Roma Street or Central it provides a level of redundancy for system failures through the CBD.

[colinw]

Also, you can also just as equally argue that if the Beenleigh line trains don't serve Woolloongabba that the Gabba station has an unsatisfactory service at only 2tph off peak and 1tph after quite an early time.

I would be careful about assuming that when the tunnel opens we'll still be stuck with the current substandard service frequencies. Surely the point of this & other projects is that we can go to 4tph or better on many lines by adding capacity & reducing junction conflicts?

Actually - you raise a valid point.  If we take the base offpeak service via South Brisbane of 2tph each to Gold Coast, Beenleigh or Cleveland, it can be seen that without the addition of new services either the new or the old route is going to be left with an unsatisfactory service frequency.

Cleveland cannot be routed via the tunnel, so if we put Beenleigh & Gold Coast via Woolloongabba then we are left with a mere 2tph via the South Brisbane route, and probably unattractive connections via South Brisbane from Park Road as well.

New services therefore MUST be introduced otherwise the tunnel is going to make things worse, not better, by diluting an already relatively poor level of service by splitting it via two routes.  We also must be careful that we do not relegate the South Brisbane route to "cinderalla" status, which would not be a good outcome for the South Brisbane & Southbank area.

I would be most interested in discussion of what service patterns may be desirable & achievable once cross river rail opens.

[somebody]

Reference to the maps and the proposed routing ends up as the most easterly where it joins the loop, as for those wishing to interchange with the Ferny Grove line the rail interchange would be Central.

Actually, Bowen Hills would work out better, or at least a shorter walk, unless the suggestions that that station be canned are implemented.

Also, you can also just as equally argue that if the Beenleigh line trains don't serve Woolloongabba that the Gabba station has an unsatisfactory service at only 2tph off peak and 1tph after quite an early time.

I would be careful about assuming that when the tunnel opens we'll still be stuck with the current substandard service frequencies. Surely the point of this & other projects is that we can go to 4tph or better on many lines by adding capacity & reducing junction conflicts?

Actually - you raise a valid point.  If we take the base offpeak service via South Brisbane of 2tph each to Gold Coast, Beenleigh or Cleveland, it can be seen that without the addition of new services either the new or the old route is going to be left with an unsatisfactory service frequency.

Cleveland cannot be routed via the tunnel, so if we put Beenleigh & Gold Coast via Woolloongabba then we are left with a mere 2tph via the South Brisbane route, and probably unattractive connections via South Brisbane from Park Road as well.

New services therefore MUST be introduced otherwise the tunnel is going to make things worse, not better, by diluting an already relatively poor level of service by splitting it via two routes.  We also must be careful that we do not relegate the South Brisbane route to "cinderalla" status, which would not be a good outcome for the South Brisbane & Southbank area.

I would be most interested in discussion of what service patterns may be desirable & achievable once cross river rail opens.

We could go to 4tph almost right away on many lines, it's just that the willness to do so isn't there.  The Gold Coast line is one of the least desrving of upgrades.  There's no percentage in it and it also requires a quad at some point to allow the coasties to pass each other without blocking the Beenleigh trains.

A transfer at the Gabba for a bus is perfectly acceptable IMO to get between the Coast and South Bank.  So long as the potential journey time improvements from this tunnel are realised, the lions share are winners, and others can make do easily.

It's hard to understand what this tunnel will do at the northern end.

[STB]

Lower Albert St earmarked for site of proposed underground metro station for Brisbane Ursula Heger

 
The Cross River Rail project  - earmarked for completion by 2016 - will provide a second north-south rail line, including a 7km metro tunnel from Fairfield to Bowen Hills running beneath the CBD capable of carrying 30,000 people an hour in both directions.

Premier Anna Bligh announced during Estimates hearings at State Parliament this morning the location for the southern CBD stop on lower Albert St in the CBD - providing access to the Queensland University of Technology and the Botanic Gardens.

Three other underground stations planned on the line  will be located at Roma St, Boggo Rd in Dutton Park and Woolloongabba.

The stations are expected to cost more than $100 million each.

Ms Bligh said the Cross River Rail project had the potential to "revolutionise" public transport across the southeast.

"It really is a genuine city-building opportunity,'' she said.

"CCR will create a new tunnel under the river and under the city - that will enable us to move up to 120,000 people
in the morning peak into the inner city from the north and the south.

"It would take a 30 lane motorway to match that in the inner city.''

She said the detailed feasibility study into the project found the city's first new train station in 100 years should be built at lower Albert St.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/lower-albert-st-earmarked-for-site-of-proposed-underground-metro-station-for-brisbane/story-e6freon6-1225891160456

[#Metro]

The video looks like they will interchange at Roma Street.
and then on to The Exhibition Station.

Looks like finally, that perfectly good, under-utilised station which is just 300m from RBWH will be used. Or at least something close to it will be built.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-cbds-new-underground-station-revealed-20100713-108l8.html?autostart=1

[somebody]

"Somebody" doesn't like this idea!  Is it definitely happenning this way?  Was there any consultation?

[colinw]

Sorry, which part don't you like?  Interchange at Roma St, or use of Exhibition?

I personally would prefer interchange at Central if any interchange in the CBD at all, or simply do not bother with an inner city interchange and focus on getting stations into the densest bits of the CBD that don't have rail at present.  Roma St is peripheral to the CBD and more than adequately serviced already.

[#Metro]

I hope they put enough tracks in the tunnel for future expansion!
This is a very long term (100 years +) piece of infrastructure, that will be useful for future generations to come.

[somebody]

Sorry, which part don't you like?  Interchange at Roma St, or use of Exhibition?

The dumping of the convenient Edward St station for the considerably less convenient Roma St and southern Albert St stations.  Also the notion of detouring west to Roma St before attaching to northern lines.  Interchange for a more convenient station location isn't practical when coming from the south.

Regarding Exhibition, I do see this effort as wasteful and again the deviation for the northern lines is a real negative, although I concede there are positives.  Without this station it is necessary to do some strange things in peaks to prevent the loop services reducing capacity which I will detail here:
In the AM peak, trains from the Ipswich Line which were terminating at Bowen Hills would instead go to Exhibition.  They would then need to run outbound along the Ipswich line to form a new service in general.  Those heading away from Exhibition in the AM peak (if there are any) can use regular services, or perhaps these trains could stop at Milton to drop them off.
In the PM peak, trains which were Roma St starters need to be back-extended to Exhibition.  Regrettably, people heading towards Ekka at these times would have to be bussed unless there could be a direct service from Milton or further towards Exhibition.
Off peak, current loop services could continue.

[Derwan]

I doubt there will be a need to run ekka loop services during the peak period.  There will be plenty of services going to the Ekka station.  Even at off-peak, you wouldn't need as many as they run now.

Of course a good thing is that they won't have the rip-off fare for the ekka station!

[somebody]

I doubt there will be a need to run ekka loop services during the peak period.  There will be plenty of services going to the Ekka station.  Even at off-peak, you wouldn't need as many as they run now.

Of course a good thing is that they won't have the rip-off fare for the ekka station!

I was talking about a "what if the Exhibition 2 station isn't built" scenario.

[#Metro]

The dumping of the convenient Edward St station for the considerably less convenient Roma St and southern Albert St stations.  Also the notion of detouring west to Roma St before attaching to northern lines.  Interchange for a more convenient station location isn't practical when coming from the south.

I'm not 100% sure I agree with this. See the INB busway does exactly this. Queen St Bus Station is not far from the bottom of Albert St and the INB busway also has a station at Roma St. It also runs in a giant arc to surface at RBWH, in parallel with the Inner City Bypass and also roughly following the current Ekka Loop.

[Derwan]

I was talking about a "what if the Exhibition 2 station isn't built" scenario.

Ah okay.... well fortunately the upgrade of the ekka station is part of the plan.

More details are now on the website:  http://www.crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65&Itemid=93

[somebody]

From Derwan's link:

Northern tunnel entrance

The preferred tunnel route will connect to the surface at the Exhibition line in Victoria Park. Trains will then travel along surface tracks and join the existing rail corridor south of Albion.

This idea was rejected in the ICRCS.  I believe one of the problems with it was the difficulty of having a reasonable interchange at Bowen Hills.  Perhaps they think that if there is an interchange at Roma St, it isn't required at Bowen Hills?

I'm not 100% sure I agree with this. See the INB busway does exactly this. Queen St Bus Station is not far from the bottom of Albert St and the INB busway also has a station at Roma St. It also runs in a giant arc to surface at RBWH, in parallel with the Inner City Bypass and also roughly following the current Ekka Loop.

Far enough.  It's about 600m from Albert & Alice Sts to the Myer Centre.  Let's say it will be 300-400m walk from the Albert St station to the Myer Centre, >60% of the users of the station would need to take this walk, I expect.  I don't get what the INB has to do with anything.

[#Metro]

Far enough.  It's about 600m from Albert & Alice Sts to the Myer Centre.  Let's say it will be 300-400m walk from the Albert St station to the Myer Centre, >60% of the users of the station would need to take this walk, I expect.  I don't get what the INB has to do with anything.

True, but I think it represents an improvement on the current situation. Right now, to walk from the Myer Centre to Central via the underground tunnel/shops at the corner of Adelaide and Edward St is about 615m or so.

[longboi]

I think what we all need to remember is that even though at the moment Roma St is on the fringe of the CBD.

In as litte as 10 years time it will very much be considered central CBD, as will the inner 5km of the City as per the River City Blueprint (BCC).

Roma St is a great location because there is plenty of room for high passenger volume (Unlike Central) and there's interchange opportunities with all other QR lines, Northern Busway and long distance bus/rail services. Southern Albert St is a fair distance away from rail compared to Edward St and in the long term its going to become much more valuable as that end of the City becomes more activated.

[paulg]

I'm very supportive of the choice of the Albert St alignment. The southern CBD stop is a good compromise for access to both QUT and Riverside, and the Roma St station will give good connectivity with the rest of the PT network. It will have to be a deep tunnel to go under the KGS carpark. The Albert St station certainly looks deep based on the animation on the Brisbane Times site.
Cheers, Paul

[#Metro]

I agree with the plans for Roma St and Exhibition and the alignment. (No surprises there!)
Good work from the CRR team! 

[ozbob]

Just got out of a meeting and I walk straight into a front page splash on the old mX ...

Very happy with CRR route.  TIme to move forwards ...

[somebody]

Far enough.  It's about 600m from Albert & Alice Sts to the Myer Centre.  Let's say it will be 300-400m walk from the Albert St station to the Myer Centre, >60% of the users of the station would need to take this walk, I expect.  I don't get what the INB has to do with anything.

True, but I think it represents an improvement on the current situation. Right now, to walk from the Myer Centre to Central via the underground tunnel/shops at the corner of Adelaide and Edward St is about 615m or so.

Well thank !@#$ for that!!  If it wasn't an improvement on the current situation then the team should all be fired!!  The current Central/Merivale Bridge situation is positively awful, and one of the main reasons why I am strongly supportive of sending the Beenleigh line trains down the new tunnel.

[colinw]

I think it'll do, and can understand the desire to get a southern CBD station in place.

Remember that there'll be another bite of the cherry for a new CBD station when the 2nd stage underground line comes through.

[ozbob]

[somebody]

Just got out of a meeting and I walk straight into a front page splash on the old mX ...

Very happy with CRR route.  TIme to move forwards ...

I think it's OK for coming from the south.  It's the northern connection which I am less comfortable with.  You are probably about to say that you can interchange.

[verbatim9]

Woolloongabba is going to boom from this project. Its going to be a great Urban transformation for Brisbane.

[ozbob]

Courier Mail --> Lower Albert St earmarked for site of proposed underground metro station for Brisbane


Brisbanetimes --> Brisbane CBD's new underground station revealed

[ozbob]

Premier and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Anna Bligh
13/07/2010

ALBERT STREET NEXT STOP FOR "GAME CHANGING" CROSS RIVER RAIL

The Premier has announced plans to build Brisbane CBD's first new train station in 100 years as part of Brisbane's game changing $8 billion Cross River Rail project.

The Albert Street Station is one of four new underground stations including

Roma Street, the Boggo Road Urban Village and Woolloongabba.

The Albert Street station will have subway style portal entries from various Street locations on the surface above the new underground station.

Premier Anna Bligh said the underground station, which is part of the multi-billion dollar Cross River Rail project, was a genuine city-building opportunity that was a "game changer" for rail in South East Queensland.

"A station in Albert Street will provide a link directly to the heart of the CBD and make travelling to popular destinations such as the Queen Street Mall, the Botanic Gardens and QUT Gardens Point a lot easier," she said.

"It will be part of a project that will move 120,000 people in the morning peak into and out of the city. That's the equivalent of a 30 lane motorway right through the city.

"But one of the most exciting features of the proposed new station is the potential for rejuvenation of the southern part of the CBD.

"Just imagine it - below the surface is a bustling train station integrated with a mix of retail and other commercial activities.

"Above the surface is a new place for the people - a mix of shops, cafes and public space - the new must-visit destination for people travelling to the CBD.

"South East Queensland is a growing region, with the population expected to grow from approximately 3 million now to around 4.4 million by 2031.

"To manage that growth and maintain our liveability we must continue investing in better public transport.

"Cross River Rail is critical to delivering more services from the suburbs to the CBD and without a second river crossing we simply will not have room for more train services between the north and south of Brisbane.

"Last week we laid the first track on the $1 billion Darra to Springfield railway line and we need Cross River Rail so we can keep expanding the network across SEQ."

Ms Bligh said the Albert Street location was selected following detailed technical investigations as well as feedback from commuters, workers and students that travel to the CBD.

"George Street and Edward Street were considered as potential locations, however Albert Street was selected because it provides the best transport, city and community outcomes," she said.

Ms Bligh said private sector as well as public funding would be critical for the delivery of Cross River Rail.

The Federal Government is currently providing $20 million and the Queensland Government $5 million for the current feasibility study.

"We will continue to work with the Federal Government and the private sector to see this vital project delivered by 2016 when our studies show it will be needed," she said.

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said with the preferred location now selected, the project team would like to hear from the community on a number of key issues.

"Consultation for Cross River Rail is continuing, and four weeks of consultation events will start in late July," she said.

"These events are a great opportunity for the community to get involved in planning for this vital project.

"The community is encouraged to provide feedback on key project issues, including where entrances to the proposed stations could be located at street level and what the public areas around the entrances could look like.

"In addition, the community can provide feedback on the preferred location for the tunnel to surface in the north and where it could surface in the south.

"Consultation details will be available on the Cross River Rail website www.crossriverrail.qld.gov.au and advertised in The Courier-Mail and selected Quest newspapers."

Brisbane Central Labor MP Grace Grace said the project had the potential to transform the inner city.

"This project can be a real game changer for Brisbane and it has the potential to really revolutionise public transport in this city."

For more information about Cross River Rail visit www.crossriverrail.qld.gov.au.

==============================================================

[stephenk]

I like the Albert Street alignment - it seems fair for the station to be placed in the "middle" of the Southern CBD rather nearer Eagle St or QUT.

Not too sure about Roma Street. More passengers will want Central, but Roma St has better interchange opportunities and may be cheaper to construct.

If the routing follows part of the Exhibition Loop on the surface, it must be on extra tracks, with a grade-seperated junction around Bowen Hills/Mayne. Using the existing infrastructure in this area would be a utter disaster!

I also think the trains reversing north to south in the CRR tunnel should do so at Park Rd/Boggo Rd rather than in the CBD. This would improve transport to UQ.

[ozbob]

Media Release 13 July 2010

SEQ:  Cross River Rail route welcomed

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has welcomed today's announcement by the Premier of the preferred route for Cross River Rail (1).

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The preferred route is innovative and also capitalises on the existing rail corridor on the Exhibition loop.  High capacity sustainable mass transit will now be a reality though Brisbane City.  The flow on effects of this underground extension to the rest of the Citytrain network will also be significant.  New train paths and increases in frequency and capacity will be possible on all lines."

"Interfacing with the surface rail network and bus network at Roma St station will give many travel options.  The new stations at Albert St and Woolloongabba will give commuters public transport options to and from both these significant public transport trip generator locations."

"Regular commuter rail services via Exhibition will allow direct rail travel to the Herston Medical complex, again a major public transport trip generator."

"Cross River Rail is an urgently needed project to move past looming inner Brisbane rail congestion. We welcome the next consultative phase of the project."

Reference:

1. http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=70632

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[colinw]

Ok, looks like a reasonable consensus on merits of chosen route.

The next question is ... how to get it over the business case & financing hurdle?  The price tag is much bigger than any previous suburban rail project in South East Queensland, and this project is (at this point) external to the SEQIP funding stream and desperately requires significant Federal funding.

The proposal & route looks good.  What next?

[stephenk]

Ok, looks like a reasonable consensus on merits of chosen route.

The next question is ... how to get it over the business case & financing hurdle?  The price tag is much bigger than any previous suburban rail project in South East Queensland, and this project is (at this point) external to the SEQIP funding stream and desperately requires significant Federal funding.

The proposal & route looks good.  What next?

Federal Funding!

[Golliwog]

Also, as for consultation, its still ongoing:

Consultation events

Community consultation is continuing, with the next round of consultation events scheduled for July-August 2010.

Local residents and business owners are encouraged to participate in the events to find out more about the project and to provide comments on:

•the preferred tunnel route and station locations
•the areas still under investigation, including where the tunnel could surface in the south
•the potential benefits and impacts.
Get involved – come along to an information session

Information sessions are consultation events where people in the community can drop by any time and speak to project team members about the project.

South:
Saturday 24 July 2010 9am-12pm Dutton Park State School - 112 Annerley Road, Dutton Park
Saturday 31 July 2010 9am-12pm Moorooka State School - Sherley Road, Moorooka
Thursday 12 August 2010 11am-2pm Fairfield Gardens Shopping Centre - 180 Fairfield Road, Fairfield (smaller display)

Central:
Monday 26 July 2010 4pm-6pm Roma Street Station (smaller display)
Wednesday 28 July 2010 11am-2pm Queen Street Mall Stage, Brisbane City
Tuesday 3 August 2010 12pm-2pm QUT Gardens Point - inside Main Drive entrance, George Street (smaller display)

North:
Saturday 7 August 2010 9am-12pm Holy Cross Catholic School - 40 Morris Street, Wooloowin
Thursday 12 August 2010 5pm-8pm Brisbane Girls Grammar School - Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill

[ozbob]

The Brisbane mX had a great front page to announce the CRR preferred route!  Two parts ..

From the Brisbane mX 13th July 2010 page 1

Albert St Station

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Albert Street station to service all CBD

Albert Street station to service all CBD
TONY MOORE
July 14, 2010 - 5:00AM

Brisbane's planned new inner-city underground rail station will service most of the city's CBD, Premier Anna Bligh said yesterday.

Ms Bligh said entrance portals to the new Albert Street railway station, revealed by brisbanetimes.com.au yesterday, would include the Botanical Gardens, the Queen Street Mall, QUT and Riverside.

"They haven't done all the portal work, but you would imagine you would have three or four different entry portals including one at Albert Street," she said.

The new rail line would be constructed deep below the city streets.

"Another entry portal could be in Brisbane's finance district, say at Riverside."

The Albert Street station will be 32 metres underground and more than 220 metres long, and cover more than the city block between Alice and Margaret streets.

The station, which will be the first new inner-city railway station in over a century, is part of the state government's $8.2 billion Cross River Rail Project.

The station is necessary because the Merivale Bridge - the only north-south link between the Beenleigh and Caboolture lines - is expected to reach capacity by 2016.

Brisbane's existing four rail lines could only provide 84 trains in the peak hour, while Brisbane will need 92 within the next six years.

And by 2026, Brisbane will need 141 peak hour train services.

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman backed the Brisbane underground and said council's CBD plan in 2005-06 included an underground railway station near Parliament House.

"It is actually mentioned in there, and it has to happen," he said.

Cr Newman said he, and other south-east Queensland mayors, would back the project, despite each having other projects to pitch to the federal government for funding.

"I, and the other mayors, all have other projects with different priorities which we would like to get up, but we think this should have the priority.''

Cr Newman said the underground would be deeper than comparable subterranean rail stations, like New York's famous subway, because the rail line had to go under the Brisbane River.

But the Lord Mayor said he hoped the heritage streetscape around the Queensland Club, Parliament House and the Botanical Gardens would be reflected in the planning of the entrances to the station.

"We have had a few [negative] comments about the [modern] entrance portals to the busways at King George Square," he said.

Meanwhile, project director Luke Franzmann said connecting Albert Street to Roma Street was chosen instead of a connection between George and Edward streets because it provided a better link to other transport services.

"The reason we chose Roma Street over Central station was because it connects with the busway network, it connects with the interstate coach network, the interstate trains," he said.

"It it is the most central location in the transport system."

In the longer-term, the Albert Street station could link to an east-west rail link, the Premier said.

Ms Bligh said that was a post-2016 option, which had not been studied in any detail.

"That would give you a loop and that might come in from Toowong through to Newstead," she said.

Public transport lobby group Rail Back on Track spokesman Robert Dow said new stations at Albert Street and Woolloongabba would give commuters better public transport options to and from both the "significant public transport trip generator locations".

"High capacity sustainable mass transit will now be a reality though Brisbane city," he said.

"The flow on effects of this underground extension to the rest of the Citytrain network will also be significant.

"New train paths and increases in frequency and capacity will be possible on all lines."

[colinw]

My feedback to the BT article is below.  For some time now, I have made it a habit to try to submit pro public transport and pro rail comments to all such articles in BT, Courier Mail, Gold Coast Bulletin, etc.  Particularly in the CM & GC Bulletin where anti-rail viewpoints sometimes seem to get a disproportionate airing.  We should all endeavour to do the same - it certainly has made a difference in the case of the GC Bulletin's coverage of the light rail where a few people posting such comments have managed to get a lot more positive commentary feedback which was previously heavily dominated by the small but vocal anti light rail protest group on the coast.

"Thumbs up to the Cross River Rail team & Government for this eminently sensible suggestion, which will allow rail in Brisbane to develop beyond its current relatively poor level of service.

This project is critically necessary if Brisbane is ever to have more frequent rail services than we do now. It is also necessary to create the additional inner city network capacity that will allow desperately needed outer suburban extensions like Petrie to Kippa-Ring and a line from Salisbury to Browns Plains to proceed.

If this project does not get up, suburban rail in Brisbane will not be able to expand beyond the present system and service levels.. Simple as that.

I call on all levels of Government to get behind this project, secure funding, and ensure it proceeds and is delivered by the target date of 2016. To do otherwise is to give up on rail as a public transport mode in Brisbane."

cheers,
colin