Subway plan gathers steam

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Subway plan gathers steam

Subway plan gathers steam
Article from: The Courier-Mail

John McCarthy

December 09, 2007 11:00pm

IT COULD take 20 years and cost billions of dollars but plans for a subway in central Brisbane already have won widespread backing as a solution to the city's transport woes.

Shortly before being made Premier, Anna Bligh said it was a 10-to-20-year project that would help the city cope with growth.

Her vision also includes a second river crossing to take the load off the only rail bridge, at Merivale Street in West End, which is quickly reaching capacity.

Under the proposal, Ms Bligh said, the train line would go underground at Kangaroo Point, en route to a subterranean station at the QUT campus at Gardens Point, which would be linked to either Roma Street or Central Station.

Stations at either the Myer Centre or near the Riverside Centre are also under consideration.

The line could then link with other lines to Brunswick Street and Bowen Hills.

Brisbane City Council's Labor Deputy Lord Mayor, David Hinchliffe, and Liberal planning spokeswoman Amanda Cooper have backed the plan.

Cr Cooper said last week she was keen to see the State Government invest in the city's railway infrastructure.

"Business in the CBD has been under-served for 20 years, particularly at QUT and down near the Riverside Centre," she said. Planning experts say six underground stations are needed to make the CBD proposal effective.

Engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff is in the early stages of the feasibility study for the project and is investigating land use and public transport integration analysis, including transit-oriented development opportunities.

The study will identify and assess options for development of the inner-city rail network, including river crossings, to meet capacity upgrade requirements to 2026, while allowing for longer-term development of the rail network.

Congestion tax

The University of Queensland's Professor Luis Ferriera said the Government and councils should start planning now for a congestion tax on Brisbane's CBD.

The tax, which exists in cities such as London, charges people to drive into the CBD to put the onus on public transport.

But Professor Ferriera said that before it could start the city needed to significantly increase its public transport to provide people with an alternative.

Although the issue would be political poison, he said Australians were paying extra every time a new road or tunnel was built, mostly through tolls.

"Sooner or later we are going to have to start charging (a congestion tax)," Professor Ferriera said.

"At the regional level, the idea should be on the agenda.

"It's too early now for it, but we need to start talking about it.

"But we have to provide a level of service to move people away from their cars."

However, he said the issue might be taken out of government hands by increasing fuel prices.

"A fuel price of $1.50 to $1.80 a litre would do wonders for public transport," he said.

Professor Ferriera also said he supported a light rail network for the CBD, saying it could run in tandem with traditional heavy rail.

"The people who come into the city still need to be distributed," Professor Ferriera said.

"At the moment they are walking and sometimes long distances."

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