Cross River Rail is a proposed new underground rail line in Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The project involves building a new 18 km railway under the Brisbane River

Brisbane River

The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...

 and the Brisbane central business district

Brisbane central business district

The Brisbane central business district , sometimes referred to as the city, is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and is located on a point on the northern bank of the Brisbane River. The triangular shaped area is bounded by the Brisbane River to the east, south and west...

, creating four new underground inner city stations, and increasing the core capacity of the rail network. According to the Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh

Anna Bligh

Anna Maria Bligh is an Australian politician and the Premier of Queensland since 2007. The 2009 Queensland state election was the first time a female-led political party won or retained state or federal government in Australia...

 the railway will be the largest transport project ever built in Queensland. The project is expected to cost around $8.2 billion.

Planning

A report titled the 2008 Inner City Rail Capacity Study predicted that the demand for peak train services would double by 2016. Between Salisbury

Salisbury, Queensland

Salisbury is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It is south of the Brisbane central business district.Salisbury was named after the residence of William Coote, an early Brisbane journalist and political figure, who lived in the area....

 and Dutton Park

Dutton Park, Queensland

Dutton Park is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia located 5 km south of the Brisbane CBD. The suburb is predominantly residential, with some light industrial and commercial areas....

 the existing line is used by freight trains traveling to the Port of Brisbane

Port of Brisbane

Port of Brisbane is the shipping port of Brisbane, on the east coast of Australia. It is located in the lower reaches of the Brisbane River on reclaimed land that was once called Fisherman Islands at the mouth of the river. It currently is the third busiest port in Australia and the nation's...

 and a terminal at Acacia Ridge. The expected rise in the number of passengers services will interrupt freight services unless a new line is built. For many years the Merivale Bridge has been the only inner-city rail crossing in Brisbane. By 2016 it is expected to be over capacity, leading the Queensland Government

Government of Queensland

The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the "Queensland Government".The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then...

 to plan for this project.

Geo-technical surveys, and public consultation began in 2010. Funding for a feasibility study

Feasibility study

Feasibility studies aim to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of the existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats as presented by the environment, the resources required to carry through, and ultimately the prospects for success. In its simplest...

 was provided in 2009 by the federal government. A funding submission will be made to the federal government in early 2011 after a detailed environmental impact statement

Environmental impact statement

An environmental impact statement , under United States environmental law, is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act for certain actions "significantly affecting the quality of the human environment". An EIS is a tool for decision making...

 is complete.

Design

The final plans for the project were released on the 11 November 2010. The project includes a 9.8 km tunnel, two new surface stations as well as four new underground stations. Upgrades to Moorooka railway station and Rocklea railway station will also be required. Underground stations will include shops. A maximum of 120,000 passengers will be able to be moved during the morning peak period.

The city station will be built under Albert Street

Albert Street, Brisbane

Albert Street is a road in Brisbane, Australia. It was named after Prince Albert, the Prince Consort of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and it runs between George Street and Edward Street, and from Alice Street to Wickham Terrace....

. This station will have two entrances and allow for trains up to 200 m in length. Stations at Woolloongabba

Woolloongabba, Queensland

Woolloongabba is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia located 4 km south of the Brisbane CBD.Experts are divided regarding the Aboriginal meaning of the name, preferring either 'whirling waters' or 'fight talk place'...

 and Bowen Hills

Bowen Hills, Queensland

Bowen Hills is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia, located 3 km northeast of the Brisbane CBD. It was named after a Governor of Queensland, Sir George Ferguson Bowen.-History:...

 will be named "The Gabba" and "The Ekka" respectively.

Yeerongpilly

Yeerongpilly, Queensland

Yeerongpilly is a suburb of in Brisbane, Australia. It is 8 km south of the Brisbane central business district.Yeerongpilly is derived from the Aboriginal words "yarung" meaning sandy or gravelly or "yurong" meaning rain and "pilly" meaning gully or watercourse.Yeerongpilly grew from an area...

 was chosen as the southern portal because it had less impact on residents than a tunnel entrance at Fairfield

Fairfield, Queensland

Fairfield is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia located 5 km south of the Brisbane CBD on the Brisbane River. The suburb is mainly residential with house and unit accommodation.-Geography:...

. An entrance here allows trains on the Ipswich railway line to use the tunnel via the Tennyson railway line. It also allows the existing rail yard

Rail yard

A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic....

s at Clapham

Moorooka, Queensland

Moorooka is a suburb of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. Bordering with Toohey Forest Park, it is seven kilometres south of Brisbane's central business district...

 to be used as stable yards, negating the need to build a new storage depot for trains elsewhere.

Construction

Thirty-nine commercial properties will have to be resumed for the project, including the Royal on the Park hotel and another nine properties in the central business district. One hundred and five residential properties at Yeerongpilly will have to be resumed for the expansion of the Yeerongpilly railway station.

Due to the reconstruction costs of the 2010–2011 Queensland floods‎ this rail project will be delayed by at least two years.

See also

• Rail transport in South East Queensland
• Transport in Brisbane
  Transport in Brisbane
  Transport in Brisbane, the capital and largest city of Queensland, Australia, is provided by road, rail, river and bay ferries, footpaths, bikepaths, sea and air....