TRANSPORT TRAUMA Commuters standing in the aisles
twin 10 kilometre-long tunnels from the city’s south and north along with four new underground stations at Woolloongabba, Boggo Road, Albert and Roma Streets.
The $5.4 billion project will double transport capacity across the river into the Brisbane CBD from the south, providing ultimate capacity for 24 rail services per hour in each direction.
The CRR business case says the new tunnels will allow for 134 services into the city during the morning peak, improve network reliability and reduce overcrowding.
Less than a quarter of the passengers on the Coast line will be forced to stand, those standing longer than 20 minutes less than five per cent.
The study looked at options like doubling the Merivale Bridge, light rail through Cleveland and building a combined bus and rail tunnel, but ruled all of them out.
The LNP remains unconvinced, accusing the government of releasing a “sanitised” business case and hiding the real costs which could reach more than $15 billion.
“Instead of addressing the concerns that they’ve over-estimated the benefits, no critical analysis has been undertaken and Labor’s still cooking the books to make its rail project look good,” LNP Deputy leader Deb Frecklington said.
The Opposition contends that actual patronage data shows there were 10 million fewer people on trains last year compared to 2008.
The estimated passenger load on the Merivale Bridge was only 65 per cent of the seated capacity and 41 per cent of the design capacity, the Opposition said.
The CRR business case admits there was a “flattening of demand” in the three years to 2013 due to a 40 per cent increase in fares, a slowing economy and road capacity to inner Brisbane being increased.
But since 2013 the demand had picked up and was expected to reflect the pre-2009 rates.
“The forecast growth in rail patronage of 6.9 per cent per annum between 2015 and 2026 is not without precedent in Brisbane or elsewhere in Australia,” the report said.
Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said the government would begin next week hosting industry briefings which would be the first opportunity for construction firms to learn about delivery of the project.
She accused Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls of “waging a campaign to white-ant this project” and called on him to put on record before the State Election, later this year, whether he would axe it again.