Cross River Rail Project

[ozbob]

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Roma Street CRR PDA - Proposed Development Scheme and Draft Development Charges and Offset Plan Now open for feedback...

Posted by RAIL - Back On Track on Wednesday, 17 February 2021

[ozbob]

https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/cross-river-rail/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/17070110/Roma-Street-CRR-PDA-Proposed-Development-scheme.pdf page 61

4.2.6 Inner Northern Busway
Objective
Investigate the future form, function, and location of the Inner Northern Busway, to maximise integration between
different transport infrastructure within the PDA and surrounding uses, improve connectivity and visual permeability
within the PDA.
Action
• The CRRDA continue to work collaboratively with TMR (inc. Translink) and QR, to establish future options for the
Inner Northern Busway and resolve a long-term form and function of this transport infrastructure.

[kram0]

For reference:

Government Statement

Roma Street busway interchange digs underground

24 May, 2019

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/87421

News article to accompany their statement.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/250m-for-new-underground-roma-street-bus-hub/news-story/5bd8161ddd7b6aba81c7ea7127597239

Are you going to ask the government and or the media for clarification on this Ozbob?

[ozbob]

Media is chasing it up.

[verbatim9]

The Busway is not really a good solution as it currently stands. The busway blocks the heritage listed station house and the T Junction up near Countess Street will slow down metro services. Even at the moment the T junction is tight for buses and people have to hold on tight to their seats and accompanying luggage to prevent it going flying.

Even if the Metro vehicles can negotiate that T junction it won't be with ease and will impede in passenger comfort and efficient operations of Metro.

I can understand why they built the Busway as it now, due to restriction with the Transit Centre. They also ran shorter buses for a considerable amount of time. Now longer buses are in operation due to demand and a rethink of that Roma Street Busway is in order.

Just borrow the money while it's cheap and do it properly with an underground solution as originally proposed.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Billboard company hits snag in Cross River Rail compensation claim

[ozbob]

Easter and April School Holidays Track Closures

> https://crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/construction/travel-impacts/easter-and-april-school-holidays-track-closures/

[ozbob]

https://crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/construction/fairfield-to-salisbury-construction/yeronga-station-extended-closure/

Yeronga station closing for approximately six months

Yeronga station customers can start looking forward to a new station in the future but right now, to ensure works can be undertaken safely and more efficiently, Yeronga station will be closing from late April for approximately six months.

The works at Yeronga station will include raising platform 1 and 2, relocating in-ground services, constructing retaining walls, installing shade canopies and installing new station amenities. When the station reopens to services, construction will continue to complete permanent features. These activities have less of an impact on the operation of the station.

To help customers reach their destination during the station closure, there will be a new, temporary bus service introduced to support these important Cross River Rail works. Route 109 (Moorooka to Boggo Road) – or StationLink – is a limited stops bus service, running from Moorooka train station to Boggo Road busway station, servicing two stops near Yeronga station.

The exact date of the Yeronga station closure will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

We appreciate your patience during construction and will continue to update you as work progresses.

[#Metro]

How about extend route 196 into Yeronga temporararily?

[ozbob]

How about extend route 196 into Yeronga temporararily?

There will be more closures announced along the ' southern stations ' so it will have a dedicated rail replacement service - StationLink.

See > https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=3025.msg244155#msg244155

[Gazza]

How about extend route 196 into Yeronga temporararily?

Gee I don't know Metro, possibly because the 196 serves a different catchment area to the rail line, so would not be a suitable replacement for passengers making journeys.

For example, if someone boards at Yeronga and wants to get to Morningside, the 196 does not offer the interchange required at Park Rd.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1362549017142468608

[Gazza]

As a side note, why cant they close Auchenflower for 6 months so the upgrade doesn't take 2 years.

[ozbob]

As a side note, why cant they close Auchenflower for 6 months so the upgrade doesn't take 2 years.

Yo.  Far better to close and do the upgrade in shorter time. I have made a number of representations along those lines over the years.  Perhaps this might be the turning point.

[kram0]

Agree Ozbob, short term pain, for long term gain. I cannot believe how long some of these stations take to upgrade.

If these KPI's were in the everyday development world, everyone would go broke.

[Cazza]

And why is Rocklea staying open? It has a tiny catchment area, bus connections are limited (and probably shouldn't exist in the first place but the 116 has other ideas...) and any kiss n ride patronage is more than likely better off using Moorooka. The 40 odd car spaces that Rocklea provides (that is likely to just be the same 40 people each day with their own spots and their names spray painted onto the bitumen) doesn't really justify having a station.

I feel like a multimillion dollar upgrade to it would be a bit of a slap in the face to much busier stations like Morningside which has the world's longest ramp or Taringa with the world's narrowest platforms (and quite a large step up from memory). The lack of accessibility at Taringa is quite a concern given the patronage of the station as well as the number of nearby medical facilities.

[verbatim9]

I was thinking more along the lines of having a full closure between Park Road and Coopers Plains to accommodate demolition and rebuild of the stations as well as track realignments to eliminate unnecessary curves.

[aldonius]

I was thinking more along the lines of having a full closure between Park Road and Coopers Plains to accommodate demolition and rebuild of the stations as well as track realignments to eliminate unnecessary curves.

They did about as much can be done without far more serious resumptions a decade and a bit ago, with the triplication.

As for Rocklea... there are worse performing stations on the line: Runcorn and Bethania are maybe 20% lower, and of course the ever hapless Holmview and Edens Landing are a lot lower.

Salisbury gets about twice as many boardings as Rocklea, for calibration, and Fairfield just under three times as many.

... oh, and Bindha has 8x fewer boardings than Rocklea!

[verbatim9]

I was thinking more along the lines of having a full closure between Park Road and Coopers Plains to accommodate demolition and rebuild of the stations as well as track realignments to eliminate unnecessary curves.

They did about as much can be done without far more serious resumptions a decade and a bit ago, with the triplication.

There is still room to move stations a tiny bit as well as approach to stations to eliminate curves. I don't think further resumptions are needed just tweaking of that corridor.

[BrizCommuter]

I was thinking more along the lines of having a full closure between Park Road and Coopers Plains to accommodate demolition and rebuild of the stations as well as track realignments to eliminate unnecessary curves.

They did about as much can be done without far more serious resumptions a decade and a bit ago, with the triplication.

There is still room to move stations a tiny bit as well as approach to stations to eliminate curves. I don't think further resumptions are needed just tweaking of that corridor.

Well, apart from the much required 4th track.

[BrizCommuter]

As a side note, why cant they close Auchenflower for 6 months so the upgrade doesn't take 2 years.

Probably due to it being next to a hospital.

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament Hansard  Ministerial Statements

https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/2021/2021_02_23_DAILY.pdf

Cross River Rail

Hon. MC BAILEY (Miller—ALP) (Minister for Transport and Main Roads) (9.55 am): If 2020 was
the year of demolition to make way for Cross River Rail, 2021 is the year we carve out, tunnel and build
the largest ever passenger rail project in Queensland. There will be two rail tunnels, three stations on
the Gold Coast, four new underground stations, 5.9 kilometres of tunnels, six road headers, 7,700 jobs,
eight station upgrades, 95 per cent local workers on tunnels and stations, 10 kilometres of rail line and
zero dollars from the Morrison LNP government. That is why the Palaszczuk government's $5.4 billion
Cross River Rail project is not just transforming our public transport network; it is creating jobs in existing
and new industries and opportunities for hundreds of local businesses, all driving our state's economic
recovery plan from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the past two months I have inspected works that people above ground cannot see: the
construction at the Albert Street and Dutton Park sites, the start of tunnel boring at the Gabba site and
the transformation of the Exhibition station, which I inspected with the Minister for Education and
member for McConnel. I have met with hundreds of workers who are building this project from the
underground up, such as the crew of 15 that is skilfully guiding our two 1,350 tonne boring machines,
which are named after two wonderful women in Queensland history.

So far, 2,400 people have been able to secure stable and long-term jobs because of this project.
Queenslanders looking to upskill have been able to cut their teeth on a world-class project with 450
apprenticeships and traineeships, including 17-year-old apprentice Samuel Scheeres who is getting the
opportunity of a lifetime to work and learn as the machines tunnel from the Gabba, under the river and
towards the Brisbane CBD. Eight hundred Queensland businesses, both big and small, have supplied
resources, equipment and skills. Those include businesses such as Fencepac on the Sunshine Coast,
which I am sure enjoys support from the members for Caloundra and Nicklin, the Wagners company
through its concrete facility at Wacol, and Beenleigh Steel Fabrications in the Woodridge electorate, to
name but a few.

Cross River Rail is a key part of our state's economic recovery from COVID. Every day it injects
more than $4 million into our state's economy. We will see that benefit continue for generations to come,
including of course through the trains we will build in Maryborough, Queensland for the Cross River
Rail project. The Palaszczuk Labor government is the only party with a plan for economic recovery from
COVID, a plan to create jobs and a plan to build a better public transport network with a record
$26.9 billion transport and roads budget. We are getting on with the job. They laugh at the jobs and
infrastructure that we are building, but we are getting on with it.

Mr SPEAKER: Order! Thank you, Minister.

Mr BAILEY: We are not cutting; we are building.

[kram0]

Bailey couldn't lie straight in bed......All the information is hidden under his mattress for this project. 

[kram0]

Correspondence below from Bailey's office, regarding whether the busway will be placed underground as part of the Roma Street Station/CRR project. 

The Cross Rive Rail Delivery Authority has provided the below information.

The design of the INB will be guided by future development at the Roma Street precinct.

The Authority is currently assessing design options, precinct development strategies and procurement and delivery mechanisms for the precinct.

Consultation undertaken to date indicates that configuration of the INB would be better incorporated into the precinct delivery component rather than pre-determining that the location will be underground.

The Delivery Authority is continuing to work with industry to explore commercial options for the Roma Street precinct as well as undertaking customer and operational analysis at the Roma Street interchange across all transport modes before settling on a design for the INB.

[Andrew]

In other words "We don't know". They probably haven't worked it out yet. The fact they want it to be a PDA (Priority Development Area) makes me think they're gonna sell some of the airspace for buildings.

Schrödinger's Bus: Early, on-time and late, simultaneously, until you see it...

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/SteveMinnikinMP/status/1366239783085727744

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> 'It is epic down there': First look at Brisbane's new underground station

The first 400 metres of tunnels have been dug for Brisbane's new underground station at Roma Street.

Roma Street will be one of four underground stations built as part of Cross River Rail - the others will be at Boggo Road, Woolloongabba and Albert Street.

Visiting the site on Monday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Roma Street would be Brisbane's "equivalent of a grand central station".

"This is the type of infrastructure that is needed for a 2032 Olympics," she said. ...

[ozbob]

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/91574

Tunnels transforming Roma Street
1st March 2021

JOINT STATEMENT

Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Mark Bailey

Almost 400 metres of tunnels have been excavated beneath Roma Street as one of the most crucial sites for the transformational Cross River Rail project starts to take shape.

The Roma Street underground is one of five new and upgraded inner-city stations being constructed for the $5.4 billion Cross River Rail project.

Visiting the site today, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Cross River Rail would transform travel across south east Queensland.

"Cross River Rail will re-define how people make their journeys to parts of the inner city," the Premier said.

"Not only is it transforming our public transport network, Cross River Rail is supercharging our economy and is a vital project as part of our economic recovery.

"Last year, when work sites across Australia and around the world stopped because of COVID-19, Cross River Rail ramped up.

"This project is putting more than $4 million a day into the economy and more than 2400 people have worked on the project since it started.

"By the time trains are running in 2025, more than 7700 workers, including 450 trainees and apprentices, would have had a hand in building this game-changing project for Queensland."

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said while progress on the surface of the two-hectare Roma Street site was obvious, even more work taking place out of sight underground.

"Late last year we said goodbye to Brisbane's ugliest building – the Brisbane Transit Centre – and now piling work has started to stabilise the ground in preparation to excavate the station building shaft," Mr Bailey said.

"But what many people don't appreciate is the sheer scale of work taking place under their feet.

"More than 385 metres of tunnels has been excavated so far."

Mr Bailey said two 115-tonne road headers working more than seven storeys underground were about three quarters of the way through excavating the 280-metre-long station cavern.

"If 1 William Street was put on its side and shoved underground, it still wouldn't be as long as Roma Street's station cavern once it's fully excavated," he said.

"More than 100 workers are busy making sure the station cavern is finished in preparation for the arrival of the massive Tunnel Boring Machines from Woolloongabba mid-year."

Member for McConnel Grace Grace said Cross River Rail would deliver huge improvements to public transport options for inner-city commuters.

"For the first time, people will be able to head underground at Albert Street, jump on a train and pop up at the Gabba a short time later," Ms Grace said.

"In my electorate, thousands of residents and workers will have a new seven-days a week service at Exhibition Station, while Roma Street's new underground station will help to transform the north-western corner of Brisbane's CBD."

The new Roma Street station will be open when Cross River Rail starts operating in 2025.

For more information about the Cross River Rail project, visit https://crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/

Roma Street station fast facts:

More than 385 metres of tunnels have been excavated so far
103 people, including 15 apprentices and trainees, have been involved in tunnels and excavations
Almost 200 people are working on Roma Street station, including those on the surface
Workers underground include tunnellers, rock bolters, shotcreters, roadheader operators, electricians and mechanical tradespeople
More than 128,000 tonnes of spoil has been excavated from site so far
In December 2020, demolition of the Brisbane Transit Centre was completed
The station will be set 27 metres below the ground and will have 220-metre-long platforms
More than 46,000 people are expected to use the new Roma Street station each weekday by 2036.

ENDS 

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1366409321442013190

[ozbob]

Rail Express --> Yeronga station construction rolls on

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> 'Sneaky' claims over Cross River Rail change $

Trucks could soon be heaving to and from a busy Cross River Rail construction site in Brisbane's CBD on Sundays, abandoning the project's initial plans of six days a week.

The Opposition has seized upon the revelation with transport spokesman Steve Minnikin claiming residents would no longer have a peaceful Sunday.

According to a recent CRR 'Works Notice', the project wants to change the working hours at its Roma Street construction site to include haulage and equipment delivery between 9am and 6.30pm on Sundays. ...

... Local community consultation was undertaken which included more than 1000 letterbox drops and emails sent to 2765 CRR subscribers, with no significant objections raised.

A start date has not been locked in but is expected to be next month. ...

[ozbob]

[burgo]

Couriermail --> Roma St overpass closed as part of Cross River Rail, but concerns on commuter jaywalking

The closure of an important pedestrian link in Brisbane’s CBD has left commuters taking the long way round or making a dangerous dash, with at least one near-miss between a car and pedestrian so far.

PEDESTRIANS are dicing with death across an “extremely dangerous” CBD street after a popular footbridge was closed as part of Cross River Rail works.

Public transport advocates claim they’ve noticed a spike in the number of jaywalkers across Herschel St and Roma St following the closure of the pedestrian bridge linking the Transit Centre with the Supreme Courts on January 13th.

The Courier-Mail visited the site on Friday and spotted over 10 jaywalkers in the immediate surrounds of the bridge in less than five minutes.

The pedestrian link, which has closed to make way for the construction of Cross River Rail’s underground platforms at Roma St Station, was popular with commuters going to and from nearby offices.

No replacement pedestrian crossing has yet been installed, despite promises by the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority for new lights at street-level.

Public transport advocate Jackson Burgess, who frequently walks through the area for work, described the practice as “extremely dangerous” and said he’d already witnessed a near-miss between a jaywalking pedestrian and a car.

“It will only be a matter of time before a more serious accident occurs,” Mr Burgess said.

He said he first noticed an uptick in jaywalking after the bridge was closed, especially in peak hour, when he said hundreds would flood across the road every hour.

“The overpass was there for a reason,” Mr Burgess said.

“Lights should have been built unless the overpass demolition has to be done first,” he said.

“From the groundworks they appear to be doing, the demolition of the overpass wouldn’t have prevented them constructing the crossing prior to closing the overpass.”

Scramble crossings were installed in late 2018 by Brisbane City Council near Cross River Rail’s other CBD station on Albert St.

The Cross River Rail website states that the authority will install “additional signalised pedestrian crossings at the intersection of Roma and Herschel streets,” however does not state when construction would commence.

In response to a request for comment, a Cross River Rail spokeswoman said new signalised pedestrian crossings would open in March.
“Signage has been installed all around the area to direct pedestrians to the two signalised crossings of Roma Street,” the spokeswoman said.

“Temporary fencing is being installed along Roma Street on the Brisbane Transit Centre side to safely direct pedestrians to the two signalled crossings.”

Paper

Couriermail 25th January 2020 page 22

It's cross-road rail fail

So it looks like CRRDA have finally realised that people who work on and around George St. do not like having two signalled crossings to get to the station entrance. This is now the second revision to the crossing arrangements at the same intersection. I highlighted this issue last year when they removed the overpass and replaced it with a set of two signalled crossings (not immediately by the way) . The new approach should have been in place from the time the overpass was removed. As it currently stands, many people will cross diagonally (the soon-to-be corssing) dodging oncoming traffic. 



https://crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/construction/roma-street-construction/changes-to-the-intersection-of-roma-and-herschel-streets/

[Gazza]

Just remember if you are more than 20m from a signalised crossing, it's not jaywalking and you are entitled to cross.

[verbatim9]

Is it likely to become a scramble crossing? Gotta love those scramble crossings.

[tazzer9]

Just remember if you are more than 20m from a signalised crossing, it's not jaywalking and you are entitled to cross.

Doesn't help that they put up fencing to stop you doing that.


This is a major gripe of mine this stupid double crossing as I use it regularly.  About half the time I technically jaywalk across.  The thing is, the lights and crossing aren't interlocked properly and the lights for the cars are set up for vastly different traffic patterns than what actually occurs meaning alot of stopped cars and people.  There is absolutely no priority for pedestrians at these lights at the moment.

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament Hansard

https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/2021/2021_03_09_DAILY.pdf

Questions Without Notice

Cross River Rail

Mr KING: My question is of the Minister for Transport and Main Roads. Will the minister update
the House on how Cross River Rail will transform public transport connections for commuters?

Mr BAILEY: I thank the honourable member for Kurwongbah, a great supporter of the Cross River
Rail project. It is going to be awesome—twin rail tunnels going past the Gabba for the first time and
under the river right into Albert Street—into the heart of the CBD for the first time. It will connect to the
Roma Street line and the big busway interchange and come out onto the exhibition line. It will be a
full-time line and we will have a full-time exhibition station. This is going to be an awesome project—
absolutely awesome! It is on track for construction to be finished by 2024. The first services will be in
2025 once testing is done.

I point that out in particular to the member for Chatsworth, my shadow minister. We all know that
the member for Chatsworth has a history for overreaching. He did say that it would take 36 years to go
back to the full timetable; it took six weeks! We know that they cut train drivers. There was the NGR
debacle. We heard the 'tough love' comment. We know that he overreaches, but I have an even better
one. We saw his little Sherlock Holmes routine, saying to the media that he had discovered that there
was allegedly a delay with Cross River Rail and that we were a year behind in its opening. The only
thing was that the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority had been reporting since the beginning of last
year that the opening of services would be in 2025!

Mr Crandon interjected.

Mr SPEAKER: Member for Coomera!

Mr BAILEY: That was announced at the beginning of last year. It never seemed to occur to the
member for Chatsworth to share this information with the opposition leading up to the election. He did
not even seem to think it was a good idea to raise it at estimates. He was a year behind on the
announcement and he called a press conference on that basis! It was extraordinary.
I know all of that LNP infighting is probably a bit distracting for him, but there are oodles of Cross
River Rail media releases that refer to the opening of services in 2025 and construction in 2024. I
suggest that the LNP—

Opposition members interjected.

Mr SPEAKER: The member for Coomera is warned under the standing orders. Member for
Chatsworth, I believe there may be some provocation; however, you will tone down your interjections.

Mr BAILEY: After they cut it once they promised to cut it again. Then they said they would back
it, but they attack it every chance they get. This project has created thousands of jobs and they would
have been lost if those opposite got into power because this project would never have happened under
the LNP. That is the truth of it. This government supports public transport, supports infrastructure and
supports jobs—thousands of jobs. We do not believe in robbing people of their jobs; we believe in giving
them a job. That is what we do. Cross River Rail is going to be awesome.

[Gazza]

e did say that it would take 36 years to go
back to the full timetable; it took six weeks!

Didn't it take 2 years?

[ozbob]

Interesting reading ...

SNC-Lavalin's Atkins business has been providing operations and maintenance support to the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority (the Delivery Authority) as the Operations Technical Advisor since early 2016.

> https://www.snclavalin.com/en/projects/cross-river-rail-operations-technical-advisor

[timh]

Very interesting indeed. From the website:

SNC-Lavalin's Atkins business has performed a key role in identifying and resolving key issues. An example of a strategic issue surrounded stakeholder expectations of a full-service operation, mismatched with project plans for an incremental transition. This strategic issue was identified by SNCL as significant risk to successful operation, demanding excessive concurrent technological, operational, procedural, operating business and customer change.

So these guys have been brought in to sort out the service plan. And if I'm reading this right, services would be gradually adjusted in the lead up to CRR, rather than change over immediately when CRR opens??