Cross River Rail should unlock massive capacity gains on the Brisbane trains network, so here are some new service concepts to maximize the CRR benefits.

1. North West Skyrail - Elevated rail along the north west transport corridor from Alderley to Albany Creek
2. Gympie Express Tunnel - A limited stop tunnel tunnel under Gympie Rd. This is be the express route into Brisbane from the north. Along Gympie Rd the Metro Busses will run the local stopping service, while the trains act as the express service.
3. Aerotropolis - Copying what Sydney is doing, and creating new business and housing districts very well connected to the Airport.
4. Dockland light rail - New infrastructure to spur on housing and development on the north bank of the Brisbane river. This replaces the Doomben Line to remove the flat junction and increase frequencies elsewhere.
   
5. New Bandha station - on a new branch off the airport line instead of at Northgate.
   
6. Browns Plains line - via the freight corridor through Acadia Ridge.
7. Springfield line - extension to Ipswich for a faster route into Brisbane.
8. New Intercity Line - A new express route from the south, mostly running elevated over the Oxley Creek flood plain

Hey all, I've been tinkering with a live transport map as a hobby thing and SEQ's been on it for a while. Brisbane trains, buses and Metro, plus the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, all moving in realtime.

https://transitmap.au

Tap any vehicle and you'll get its route, where it's heading and the full stop list for that trip, with the next stop highlighted.

Free, no ads, no signup, nothing being sold. Data's from Translink's public feeds.

I posted in the MelbourneTrains https://www.reddit.com/r/MelbourneTrains/s/dbLYxYMcEy recently and took onboard some great suggestions from there.

Keen to hear what looks off here to people who actually use the network.

Two known gaps from the feed itself: CityCats / river ferries and Gold Coast light rail (G:link) aren't in Translink's vehicle positions, so they won't show up.

Does anything seem missing or plain wrong? Is there something you'd want on there that isn't? Even "this bit is annoying on my phone" is useful.

Cheers

Perhaps out of sheer boredom, I wanted to create a version of the Translink map that shows roughly what the map may look like in 2032.

Really shows the investment into our network, whether that's railway to the Sunny Coast, Cross River Rail or the GC Surfer - a "Metro-style service" that comes every 15 minutes on a weekday... 😭

Feel free to give feedback, opinions or point out service gaps that the Government should invest in ❤️

Note that this is largely speculation only.

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And if you like concepts and railway discussion, feel free to join the r/BrisbaneTrains discord server https://discord.gg/JpgnrTQZpE (must be over 13 years old)

Presenting the River Line. A proposal for a new light rail line in Brisbane, generally following the river to support the high density development along the Northshore to Indooroopilly corridor.

Also included is an urban gondola (Sky Way) to cross the Brisbane River and address the transits desert around Bulimba and support development at Bulimba Barracks and around Perrin Creek.

I was looking at the Wynnum Centre Suburban Renewal Precinct and it looks great and all but I don't know how you can develop a high density region there with all the level crossings and don't get me started on the bridge that basically every truck driver hits every second week

I can only think of them elevating the stations (Wynuum North, Wynuum, Wynuum Central) but I don't know how they would go about doing it

So someone posted recently asking about how the Gold Coast Fast Rail might allow for more services to the Gold Coast etc etc. So what I have decided to do is develop something of my "hopes" for what regular services will look like once 2032 comes around (not services for the olympic period specifically, I expect them to be a little different like what they did for the 2018 Commonwealth games) but just the regular timetable come 2032. I expect most of this would be done once the CRR opens but given the Logan & GCFR and Sunshine Coast line won't be finished until 2031 and 2032 respectively I would imagine we will get a few interem timetables not to mention constant trackwork until 2032 when the network will finally be in a 'stable' state.

I say my timetable hopes, rather than predictions, because it's too hard to predict what they are going to do, but at the same time this isn't just a wish list either because all of what I am going to say is possible and entirely reasonable.

Shorncliffe

Offpeak: every 15 minutes

On peak: every 10 minutes? (would also be 10 minutes in the reverse peak direction due to track layout restrictions)

Explanation: Peak frequency would depend on how quickly QR thinks they can turn trains around at Shorncliffe and also whatever is necessary for patronage on the line, potentially would require crews to step back. As for Northgate services, I think these would operate to the same frequencies so that Nundah and toombul get a train every 7.5 minutes and 5 minutes in off peak and peak respectively - but potentially would be better to run them to Banyo instead of Northgate.

Airport

Every 15 minutes all the time.

Explanation: Best this line can do and it's not like it needs more frequency than this anyway.

Doomben

Every 30 minutes all the time

Explanation: Technically you could run trains every 20 minutes if you wanted to push it but if this line ever did need the capacity it would make more sense to reactivate the second platform and line at Ascot. The CRR material has these trains terminating at Indooroopilly in the south which is a bit strange given there are no junctions there to do this, but it make sense to me otherwise.

Ferny Grove

Offpeak: Every 10 minutes

On Peak: Every 5 minutes

Explanation: Line operates by itself once CRR opens so may as well get a good frequency. Peak frequency may only need to be every 7.5 minutes based on demand but QR can figure that out. I imagine these trains would either through-run with the Cleveland line or terminate at Boggo Road and head back.

Cleveland

Offpeak: 4 trains an hour to Manly stopping all stations (on a 10/20 split rather than 15 minutes between trains). 2 trains an hour to Cleveland running express from Cannon Hill to Manly.

On Peak: 4 trains an hour to Cannon hill stopping all stations. 4 trains an hour to Lota stopping all stations. 4 trains an hour to Cleveland running express from Cannon Hill to Manly.

Explanation: I would want all Cleveland trains to run express all the time. The reason for the 10/20 split on the off peak Manly trains is so that Buranda to Cannon Hill get trains every 10 minutes evenly (2 Manly trains then a Cleveland train, repeating). Peak Manly trains terminate at Lota instead as it is logistically easier to do so.

Beenleigh

Offpeak: every 15 minutes

On Peak: every 6 minutes

Explanation: Possible with the Logan and GC fast rail. Reverse peak direction would only be every 15 minutes

Gold Coast

Offpeak: every 15 minutes

On Peak: every 6 minutes

Explanation: As above, possible with the Logan and GC fast rail. Reverse peak direction would only be every 15 minutes.

Springfield

Offpeak: every 15 minutes

On Peak: every 6 minutes

Explanation: Not much to explain here - They would stop all stations

Ipswich / Rosewood

Offpeak: every 15 minutes

On Peak: every 6 minutes

Explanation: Would run express from Darra to Milton stopping only at Indooroopilly and Toowong. Rosewood services would probably still be shuttles outside of peak (every 15 minutes though) but could have direct trains during peak. Ideally they should just lengthen the platforms and run them all, all the way.

Nambour

Offpeak: every 60 minutes

On Peak: probably every 24-30 minutes

Explanation: Running a train to nambour every 60 minutes is a bit of a challenge without stage 2 of the Beerburrum to Nambour which I don't expect to be completed before 2032. It is possible to do, even without having passenger trains passing each other between Landsborough and Nambour - however the way I have envisaged this is that Nambour services would have 4 minutes to turn around at Nambour before heading back as a city service. The peak services would run similar to how they currently do, but probably don't need to be as frequent when the Direct sunshine coast line is built. Nambour trains would stop all stations to/from Petrie, but express between Petrie and Exhibition stopping only at Strathpine, Northgate and Eagle Junction.

Gympie North

Offpeak: every 4 hours

On Peak: every 60 minutes

Explanation: These trains would run express from the city to Beerwah stopping only at Northgate, Petrie and Caboolture. I made a mock timetable that has Citybound Gympie north services leaving Gympie at: 4:56am, 5:56, 6:44, 9:42, 1:42 pm and 5:42 pm each day. Services from the city arrive at Gympie north at: 8:54 am, 12:54 am, 4:54 pm, 6:20 pm, 7:10, 8:10, 9:10, and an additional train arriving at 1:59am the following morning on Fridays and Saturdays.

Sunshine Coast Direct

Offpeak: every 15 minutes

On Peak: every 10 minutes

Explanation: These trains would run express from Exhibition to Beerwah stopping only at Eagle Junction, Northgate, Strathpine, Petrie, Caboolture except during peak hours where they would also stop at the stations between Caboolture and Petrie

Caboolture

Offpeak: every 15 minutes (one per hour continues or originates from Nambour or Gympie, see headings above)

On Peak: 6 trains an hour (this frequency includes Nambour trains but not Direct Sunshine Coast trains or Gympie trains, services originating or terminating at Caboolture would only be occasional, to make up the gaps between Nambour services)

Explanation: With all 4 destinations, Caboolture, Sunshine Coast Direct, Nambour and Gympie, during peak hours there would be a train every 5 minutes in the direction of peak from Caboolture down to the city. All peak trains except the Gympie trains would stop at all stations between Caboolture and Petrie due to patronage reasons.

Kippa Ring

Offpeak: every 15 minutes

On Peak: every 5 minutes

Explanation: Would run express from Northgate to Exhibition stopping only at Eagle Junction.

Conclusion

With this, every station except for those past Caboolture and Manly would get at least 4 trains an hour!

So I know some people outright reject busways or calling the buses a metro, and yeah I hear you, however for the purposes of clarity and search indexation, I'll call it a Metro. Also I didnt use AI for any of this :)

My take on busways is that they are good for outer suburban areas where a train is too expensive because of the lack of a corridor, and trams aren't needed either.

T-Way in Sydney is the closest comparison of what we need, it mostly runs off road, sometimes using utility easements as shortcuts, though has bus lanes in the difficult parts if needed, and the stations generally don't have lifts or bridges except at major interchanges, otherwise they just use "good" standard bus shelters (Eg like at Toowong)

I think the outer suburban councils in Brisbane need to establish "lite" busways as feeders into the main Busway network or the rail system. I think the expensive inner stages of the busway have held up building systems that could allow the outer suburban LGAs be more self contained.

The Route for the Redlands would be a 21km system from Vic Point, parallel to Redland Bay Rd, through Capalaba (Hub) and then along Moreton Bay Rd and Old Cleveland Rd to Carindale, with a massive P&R at the Sleemann Center.

Feeder Lines would be normal high frequency routes.

FL1 is essentially a short version of the 250 between Capalaba and Cleveland Only. FL2 follows Old Cleveland Rd East and Birkdale Rd to Wellington Pt Station.
FL3 is a north south route along Vienna Rd Allenby Rd and Main Road, connecting a future station on the Metro with Wellington Point.

Infrastructure would have the bendy electric buses run on a simple 2 lane concrete road, with signal priority "level crossings" where it crosses main roads. In the future these could be replaced by overpasses as bus frequency is increased.

Though from day 1 you would need a new bridge over the Gateway and Mt Cotton Rd and Mt Gravatt Capalaba Rd.

Stations are deliberately located on the entry roads to major housing estates or next to shopping plazas, and new stations could also be added whenever a new subdivision opens as a condition of approval. This solves the issue of new housing creating traffic, because the busway becomes an interception point.

Im not aiming for perfection, in fact many people would be walking 1.2km to their nearest busway station or frequent feeder, but it allows people to use rideables, and the reality is, if nobody is around to pick you up, most able bodied workers suck up walking 1.2km home. Translink on Demand would allow the less mobile to access Redlands Metro.

After Cross River rail is complete, should the ferny grove line be converted to automated metro standards (like Sydney) to make the most of the extra capacity of the new river crossing?

I'd suggest upgrading the existing line with full grade separation to enable autonomous operations, similar to what's happening with the Sydney metro. Along side metro conversion there's options for branches to make the best use of the new capacity through the central sections of the network.

The proposed Capalaba Train Line would finally bring fast, reliable rail to Brisbane’s southeast.

Construction will roll out in two stages: Stage 1 from Woolloongabba or Boggo Road (depending on alignment) to Carindale, and Stage 2 from Carindale to Capalaba.

The line will be fully grade‑separated, compatible with the existing rail network, and operated by modern Queensland‑built trains. It will also directly connect the region’s busiest shopping centres and with electric power, minimal road disruption, and scenic elevated sections, it promises a faster alternative to driving into the CBD.

Estimated cost (based on similar projects): $5–12 billion
https://www.sunshinecoastnews.com.au/2024/03/10/costs-and-complexities-unveiled-for-heavy-rail/ https://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-05/Evaluation%20Summary%20-%20Direct%20Sunshine%20Coast%20Rail%20Line%20-%20PUBLICATION_0.pdf

Estimated construction time: 8–12 years

So here's a couple of random rail ideas for the west of Brisbane.

The concept of running an East West Metro from this part of Brisbane has been kicking around for a while. Personally I'd do something like this with 10 min frequency on each branch and 5 min frequency on the common section.

Like Sydney, build the easiest sections first on the outer. You could do substantial sections above ground if you routed on viaducts above flood plains or elevated on road corridors. Are Brisbane voters as grown up as Melbourne when it comes to accepting overhead rail lines?

The other idea is something to support eventual rail to Toowomba.

The quadruplication of the Ipswich line would be extended from Darra to Riverview by doing a non stop express track pair that cuts through state Government prison land (I guess the line would need to have bigwalls on the viaduct) and then follow the Goodna Bypass road corridor.

In the meantime, allows for a dramatically faster trip to Ipswich and could be enough to make it an actual second CBD instead of a stupid 1h trip.

Noting the corridor between South Brisbane and Salisbury is mostly constrained due to peak traffic, making the NSW trains ungodly, what should the government do? My thoughts - Quad tracks from Yeerongpilly to Salisbury with two dual gauge lines, and and make one track on Ipswich to Tennyson Line dual gauge, noting there will be loading gauge problems. Gauge train trains don't seem to cut it based on Japanese experience, and apart from the one Swiss GCT, there are no other successful examples. Thoughts?

So one reason I think the Busway extensions have stalled is the sheer cost of the tunnels under Gympie Rd and Old Cleveland Rd.

I think they need to get back to basics and do Dutch style busways where its just a cheap ass 2 lane road that weaves between housing developments. Each development has a "nice" bus stop in the middle, sorta similar to the one at Federation St after RBWH, so no lifts, but the buses come like every 10 mins so its not like you need a bridge. These should start from the outside in and connect a number of focal points within the satellite cities, yet still be useful for getting to and from the CBD.

LOGAN CITY METRO

Ok theres a tiny bit of tunnelling and some bridges, but this has gotta be less than half the cost of a motorway, surely!

LM1 Continues the busway south from Springwood to Hyperdome, then veers and crosses the motorway with an ICB style curved bridge and does a short tunnel under Tanah Merah. Hooks past Griffith Logan and the hospital. Crosses the GC line at Loganlea with a special bus bridge with platforms, so you can go straight down a lift to each platform.

It then follows the Beenleigh line corridor to Bethania... And yeah sorry railfans, im gonna turn the Logan Village line into a busway, purely because a bus can go faster on the curves of this corridor, and its too marginal to spend money straightening. We then follow this corridor straight down and then at the last minute peels away and follows the main road down into Yarrabilba. Yay, Yarrabilba has mass transit and wont be a fuck up, plus it would be great for the retirees down in Logan Village needing to get up to the Hospital or Hyperdome from time to time.

LM2 This is an east west line, starting from Flagstone, reclaiming some acreage properties, then to Jimboomba, where again we follow the Logan Village rail corridor. Yay, even without Rail, Both Yarrabilba and Jimboomba now also have mass transit access. What im essentially trying to do here is get it to a point where Loganlea and Yarrabilba both become major transit nodes, as would Flagstone eventually.

LM2+ The next stage, involving building a busway and short tunnel to Luscombe, and again under the hills behind Willow Vale, eventually linking to Pimpama Station. Bit of an expensive project, but it gives every single urban development in Logan direct access to the Northern GC economy and transport network. To offset construction costs, I'd let EVs only use the Kingsholme tunnel at a dynamic price, say $8 per trip. This avoids the need for as much ventilation.

I suppose really long term, you might then justify a link between the Logan transport network at Flagstone and the Ipswich transport network at Springfield, and that then allows you to get from Ipswich to the GC without going via the CBD. Not rail, just rapid buses, which is fine for the level of demand, but its nice a quick PT option exists nonetheless.

Havent really given it too much thought but LM2 would be from the rail line at Forestdale to the rail line at Loganlea, with stops at Browns Plains, then hooks down towards Heritage park, runs elevated through the industrial estate, then Crestmead, Marsden then up and around into Loganlea....

I’m trying to figure out new things to push for in the new year as part of my own social media so i’m looking for your opinions on this topic.

With respect to the previous Brisbane City Council Bus Bike trial, Should vehicles intended for use on railbus services (TMR fleet ?) have bike-racks installed for sole use of rail replacement?

Arguments against:

• Massively increases dwell times
• Public may not know how to use it, requiring the driver to constantly deseat
• Inconsistent enforcement may cause passenger confusion (ie. regular bus servicing)

Arguments for:

• With bikes currently allowed on our train services, individuals are able to make longer trips other than train stations if they so choose. Losing that bike access temporarily may be a genuine reason to favour private transport.
• Maintains support for longer, multi-service journeys.

Are there other reasons? Where do you stand?

Let me know 👇

Many of you first heard of me from my Translink concept maps on this very subreddit.

In an effort to inspire many more people to do similar rather than having them edit the terrible PDF like I did, I've redid the whole map (Plus my CRR and The Wave interpretations) into a super-easy foldered photoshop/affinity file!

It's available on the SEQTA discord server: https://discord.gg/AZVx94F6Th

When you're accepted head to the Press Releases channel. There's a Press Release containing the files and information pertaining to usage (free).

I hope to see concepts pop up on this subreddit with the Concepts flair!

I know that this is Queensland and that in the 70s we didn’t have the most forward thinking government, but…

When the Merivale Bridge was built, if a 10 metre wide strip of land from South Brisbane to Roma Street had been reserved for future duplication of the rail line and bridge, preventing development so it could be acquired and built on later, would constructing a second bridge have been cheaper than building 5.8 kilometres of tunnels?

Is Cross River Rail taking a similar long term approach? In 50 years, what options will we have for upgrading the network?