Cross River Rail

Cross River Rail is an underground heavy rail project currently under construction in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The project will see the development of a new rail line underneath Brisbane River, alongside the redevelopment of a number of stations in the Brisbane central business district and along the Beenleigh railway line. The business case for the project was released in August 2017, with construction work officially beginning in September that year. The project replaced the planned 2013 BaT Tunnel, which in turn had replaced the original 2010 Cross River Rail proposal. It is the largest infrastructure megaproject ever undertaken in Queensland.

Not to be confused with Brisbane Metro, bus rapid transit.

Cross River Rail
Cross River Rail construction site at Roma Street station in central Brisbane
Overview
StatusUnder construction
OwnerQueensland Government
LocaleBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
Termini
Stations6
Websitecrossriverrail.qld.gov.au
Service
TypeCommuter rail / rapid transit
SystemQueensland Rail City network
Operator(s)Queensland Rail
Rolling stockNew Generation Rollingstock
History
Planned opening2026
Technical
Line length10.2 km (6.3 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map

 Cross River Rail
 other lines
km
 
Airport, Caboolture, Doomben,
Sunshine Coast
and Shorncliffe lines
Ferny Grove line
 Bowen Hills
Bowen Hills
(original site)
 Bowen Hills
(second site)
3.4
 Exhibition
1.3
 Fortitude Valley
0.0
 Central
0.8
 Roma Street
Ipswich & Rosewood
and Tennyson lines
Pacific Motorway
Merivale Bridge
over Brisbane River
2.6
 South Brisbane
 Albert Street
3.5
 South Bank
 Woolloongabba
Fisherman Islands
standard gauge freight line
5.1
 Park Road
 Boggo Road
Cleveland line
Fisherman Islands
standard gauge freight line
Pacific Motorway
5.9
 Dutton Park
Beenleigh, Gold Coast
and Tennyson lines

Cross River Rail consists of a new 10.2 km (6.3 mi) line through the CBD from Dutton Park in the city's south to Bowen Hills in the city's north, connecting existing Brisbane rail lines. The project includes 5.9 km (3.7 mi) of twin tunnels and will deliver four new underground stations at Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street and Roma Street, with Exhibition station upgraded. Tunnelling for the project was completed in 2021, with construction planned to be complete by 2025 and the new line operational by early 2026.

The project provides a second rail crossing of the Brisbane river due to concerns that the only inner-city rail river crossing, the Merivale Bridge, would reach capacity. According to the project's business case, without the new tunnel overcrowding on most lines would be expected by 2026. Cross River Rail is considered to be the highest infrastructure priority by the Queensland Government. Infrastructure Australia evaluated the business case in 2017 and expressed concerns that the rail patronage projections may not be achieved and that the benefits in the business case may be overstated. However, Infrastructure Australia still listed Cross River Rail as a priority project.

Under the plan, Queensland Rail Citytrain will operate in three sectors, all connecting at the existing or new underground Roma Street stations. Sector One will connect the Gold and Sunshine Coasts directly, operating trains from Varsity Lakes and Beenleigh through to Redcliffe Peninsula, Nambour and Gympie. Sector Two will link the Rosewood and Springfield lines through Central to the domestic airport and Shorncliffe. Sector Three will run Ferny Grove trains through Central and Southbank to Cleveland.

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