Brisbane Metro's draft design report released for consultation

Brisbane Metro's draft design report released for consultation
Alastair TaylorApril 23, 2018

The draft design report for the Brisbane Metro has been released and the Brisbane City Council is now inviting feedback on the project.

Brisbane Metro is a project which is designed to provide frequent, predictable bus services on two new lines that will utilise and in some cases augment existing busway infrastructure within central Brisbane.

The proposal includes two separate lines which run from Eight Mile Plains to Roma Street and the Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital with the University of Queensland's primary campus at St Lucia. Both lines will share the same infrastructure between Roma Street and Buranda.

Much of the existing busway infrastructure will be re-used between Eight Mile Plains, UQ and the RBWH and the primary infrastructure changes are predominantly limited to the centre of the city.

South Brisbane's Melbourne & Grey Streets intersection, which currently hosts the surface busway from Victoria Bridge, would see a new underground structure built, complete with a station at the Cultural Centre, to give buses priority.  

Brisbane Metro's draft design report released for consultation
Proposed changes to Brisbane CBD city streets for the Metro project - image: Draft Design Report

Victoria Bridge would be closed to car traffic and instead stay open only for new metro services, buses, cyclists and pedestrians.  A suite of works in the CBD including a tunnel under Adelaide street and traffic changes are also proposed to separate metro services and provide access to the King George Square bus station.

Together, the draft design report estimates 150 buses will be removed from the surface streets in central Brisbane.

A dedicated fleet of 60 vehicles with a capacity around the 150 mark will boost the capacity of the inner busway system to 22,000 passengers per direction, per hour and the draft design report estimates it will reduce journey times by up to 30% in the AM peak and up to 50% in the PM peak.

To view the draft design report, click here.  To make a submission, see yoursay.brisbane.qld.gov.au

Alastair Taylor

Alastair Taylor is a co-founder of Urban.com.au. Now a freelance writer, Alastair focuses on the intersection of public transport, public policy and related impacts on medium and high-density development.

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