The SC and GC lines are classed as long-distance express in the SEQRailConnect plan; the lines classes as suburban turn-up-and-go is described as having an all-day frequency of at least every 15min, so long-distance express will probably run with lower service frequencies.
I’d prefer if GC and SC trains have Beenleigh-Varsity Lakes and Maroochydore-Caboolture services respectively to allow for higher service frequencies within the SC and GC for intraurban rail travel. After all, 20-30min frequencies are alright-ish for services travelling all the way to Brisbane; there probably is more demand for intraurban travel within the Coasts rather than travel from the Coasts all the way to Brisbane during off/contra-peak.
Petrie and Loganlea will be served by the Beenleigh and Redcliffe Peninsula lines which are classes as suburban turn-up-and-go. These stations will definitely be served with 15min frequencies or better.
If we want to continue through-running with the SC and GC lines, a faster alternative alignment would have to be constructed. The SC line could run on the NWTC from Alderly to Strathpine, while the GC line could run Perth-style along the M2 Gateway and M3 Pacific Motorways from Kuraby to Mt Gravatt. The alignments could then be connected by a new CRR from Mt Gravatt to Alderly via Yeerongpilly, St Lucia, and Roma St.
I really only see the government take this into account a decade the Olympics has passed.
Alternatively, the SC and GC trains would have to make additional stops on the 3-track corridors, where SC trains would stop all stations from Petrie to Strathpine, and GC trains would (once again) stop all stations from Yeerongpilly to Boggo Road. This would probably add like around 5min of journey times to the CBD, yet passengers would not be happy to have additional stops along their commute.
A worthwhile legacy. I don’t think 15 minute everywhere it is achievable network wide, but one hour frequency or worse go to 30 minute, 30 minute to 15 minute.
Government statement: Australian and Queensland Governments sign IGA for 2032 Games Infrastructure
The Australian and Queensland Governments have signed the Intergovernmental Agreement that will guide how both Governments collaborate on delivering the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The Australian Government has allocated a capped contribution of $3.435 billion to the $7.1 billion Games Venue Infrastructure Program, which will see 17 new or upgraded venues delivered across Queensland.
This includes the main 63,000 seat stadium at Victoria Park and the National Aquatic Centre.
I was reading from Jonathan Sriranganathan (ex bcc greens Councillor, greens lord mayor candidate 2024)(disclosure: I am a Queensland greens general member and have met him once during the council elections, but otherwise do not know him), and I noticed in this article about his thoughts on the campaign against the Victoria park stadium proposal, that he makes a suggestion that if the Nathan stadium plan had stuck, that the savings from not building a new stadium could have been invested in a light railway between garden city and the Beenleigh line.
While I am not sure of how likely that this would have cost less than a new Stadium I do think that this could fill a massive gap in the outer suburbs of Brisbane serving destinations like Griffith University and QEII hospital, I previously did not realise that Griffith’s main campus isn’t actually on the Busway and I think that connecting it to the busway and/or Beenleigh line would probably make it much more attractive to get there by public transport. To me even without using Nathan for the Olympic stadium I think it could make sense but I do not know the area very well so I want to hear from someone who is more familiar with the area if this suggestion holds any water or if this hypothetical higher capacity corridor could pan out.
The problem with this line of thinking is that there wouldn’t have been any substantial savings. The QSAC plan wasn’t a reuse of the existing stadium, it was a knockdown and rebuild on the existing site. The Miles Government gave it a $1.6 billion cost, but I’ve heard reports that the price could have ballooned to $2.2 billion or something.
It would have been an absolute disaster. My partner lives within spitting distance of there, so I would have had a front row seat to that disaster, provided I would have been able to get to her place had it gone ahead.
I know a lot of people are strongly opposed to the Victoria Park plan for various reasons, but I have to give the LNP credit for their Victoria Park/RNA triangle - I think it is a sound plan.
Nathan wasn’t a new stadium. It was a bunch of temporary stands that would have been dismantled after the Games.
I’ve voted Green a good many times, but it’s stuff like this that drives me nuts. Then again it’s the same thing that all politicians do - twisting or ignoring facts to suit an agenda.
It was more or less a complete rebuild of the current QSAC stadium to create a 14,000 seat legacy venue, for a price tag of $1.6 billion (so $115,000 a seat for the 14,000 seat stadium). Apart from the one permanent stand, all existing seating, including the roofed section opposite the permanent stand, were to be demolished and replaced. The remaining permanent stand would need to be substantially rebuilt, because QSAC, as it currently stands, does not meet modern accessibility standards, and is further away from meeting them than the Gabba is, given that it is an older stadium.
*”(*Former Infrastructure Minister Grace) Grace said “questions” had been raised over the need for a flat, concrete podium to underpin QSAC, which would account for $1 billion of the estimated cost. The other $600 million, she said, was the cost of replacing the current western grandstand.”
It is also on the record that this $1.6 billion cost did not include the cost of the temporary stands:
*
”*Under questioning from Deputy Opposition Leader Jarrod Bleijie on Wednesday, Grace said the $1.6 billion pricetag, which remained untested, did not include the temporary seating.”
That’s gotta be one of the stupidest decisions Labor have done. No wonder no one besides the people fighting to save East Brisbane school liked it.
They could have easily proposed a new vertical school + new park in the area, but noooo let’s demolish the Gabba, the school and send kids god knows how many kilometres away.
To be fair, part of the Gabba plan was to build a new primary school on the Coorparoo Secondary College campus - 1.5km away from the current EBSS (just on the other side of Norman Creek). Effectively, the school would have gone from being on the western most edge of the suburb of East Brisbane, to just across the eastern most border of East Brisbane - a move I think could have been accommodated with school buses.
That said, I believe the Victoria Park Stadium is the right overall solution.
Government Statement: Delivering for 2032 and Beyond: Global expert appointed to lead Victoria Park Precinct Master Plan
... The Crisafulli Government has delivered another milestone ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games with the appointment of Arup as the principal contractor for the Victoria Park Precinct Master Plan.
Arup, which is a global built consultancy, brings a wealth of experience in developing complex master plans on major projects to kickstart the integrated Master Plan for the Victoria Park precinct, including the Brisbane Showgrounds and the National Aquatic Centre.
It comes as momentum continues to build for the 2032 Games with less than seven years to go until the opening ceremony. …
