Australia: Projects in Queensland

◗ Brisbane is preparing for the Commonwealth Games 2018 with the creation of a new light rail that will link Brisbane with Costa Dorada with a budget of 1,200 million Australian dollars (780 million euros). The first section of the so-called Gold Coast Light Rail System was awarded to the consortium GoldlinQ. The second section, covering a distance of 7.3 kilometres is still waiting to be awarded.

◗ Another of the most important government projects is the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail, connecting South East Queensland directly to Melbourne via Toowoomba and Central West NSW. It will be approximately 1,700 kilometres long and with an estimated cost of 10,000 million Australian dollars. It will take about ten years to build and the project is expected to start soon.

◗ Bus and Train Project. It is a tunnel of 5.7 km long for buses and trains which will run from Dutton Park in South Brisbane to Spring Hills in the north through the CBD (Central Business District) of Brisbane. The project will cost 5,000 million Australian dollars and is expected to be finished in 2021.

◗ Moreton Bay Rail Link, en Queensland. Operations will begin in early 2016. This is a 12.6 km railway line between Petrie and Kippa Ring that includes six new stations. This project involves the construction of 13 km of railway north to the city of Brisbane. The total amount of the project is 1,147 million dollars and it will provide the following benefits:

• Provide a more reliable, cheaper and faster alternative to travel to the Central Business District of Brisbane during peak hours.

• It will help reduce congestion on the road network, including Bruce Highway, and free up capacity for those who can not travel by public transportation.

• Provide sustainable transport options to reduce carbon emissions

• Provide better access to major employment centres, both within and outside the region of Moreton Bay

• It will help attract investment to the area and create business opportunities

• Act as a catalyst for growth

• Moreton Bay’s Railway will provide a focal point for the local community and will include a number of features, including:

• 14 km of double-track rail from Lawnton to Kippa-Ring

• Railway connection to Caboolture Line

• 22 bridge structures

• 6 new railway stations

• 2,850 parking lots

• Stabling (including installations of the train crew) for 10 trains of 6 cars in the vicinity of the station Kippa-Ring

• 3 m wide route made of concrete for cyclists and pedestrians along the entire length of the corridor.

◗ Caboolture to Maroochydore Corridor is under study..

◗ Central Queensland Integrated Rail Rail Project (CQIRP). It is a railway network linking the coal mines of Galilee and Bowen Basins with the eastern ports of Queensland. The project, which is estimated at about 2,000 billion Australian dollars, is still in the preliminary stages.