While Platform 3 at Cultural Centre wasn’t ready in time for the Busway Extension and Rochedale Station start of operation today (I would have been really surprised if it was, tbh), I was plesantly surprised to see that the extended platforms in Buranda were operational. There is still a bit to do there to finish up (etc lining the piles to the bridge above), but it was a nice surprise nonetheless.
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Buranda this morning on my 30 sec transfer just before 08:40. Queues essentially gone but still congestion from Gabba Junction lights and inbound.
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^^ Great minds! Here are a couple of shots from my bus, coming through about 15mins before you. Congestion coming inbound was still a little heavy before the station, but has definitely improved this week.
iPhone Photo 13.05.2025 by Nathan Murray, on Flickr
iPhone Photo 13.05.2025 by Nathan Murray, on Flickr
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Thanks for the photos guys, used to transfer from train to bus at Buranda every day, haven’t been through since the train station closed for disability upgrade. Great to see the busway upgrade finally up and running.
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It’s getting closer to opening. Landscaping has progressed as well as new traffic management for platform 3. It could likely be open early June, I reckon.
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Can I ask what is the purpose of this lane on the left?
I can’t quite be sure from the pic but I know there’s two outbound lanes crossing Grey St, the left lane goes to P3 and the right lane goes to the tunnel.
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The left lane out of Cultural Centre goes to the right lane across the road (to enter the tunnel). The right lane at Cultural centre is for buses stopping at Platform 3.
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Some pictures I took just now.
The PID and PA are already operational on Platform 3. I don’t think it’ll be long 'till it’s open for business. The new bikelane also is a welcome sight, although it’s still needing a fresh layer of asphalt.
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As per the video the left lane outbound is for platform 3 and the right is for through traffic to the tunnel.
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I had no idea the Metro ran 24/7 over the weekend! It’s wild that a fancy bus can run 24/7 between a University and a Hospital, yet the trains can’t! what are you going to do… transfer to the Knight Bus? 
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It’s a major upgrade in service. I think in the past there were no Route 66 buses past 8 pm or so.
Sydney has a night bus train replacement service that runs every night, not just Friday/Sat.
If anything, key BUZ routes should run 24/7.
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Last 66 out of UQ left at 9:30pm for a long time (guess who had choir rehearsal ending at 9:30? this kid) but that was extended a few years back already.
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I love the thought of the M2 coming back to life at 12am on a public holiday after a 30 minute pause.
I’m sure they’d just run the extra service in reality… right?
The 66 stopped running at about 7pm on weekends.
It was particularly bad when track closures were in place in the southside (like Boggo to Cleveland and/or Varsity Lakes) making it impossible to reach Boggo Road by any other mode but rail.
I’ve noticed that quite a few railbus passengers now use the Metrobuses to reach the city when dropped off at Boggo.
Platform 3 at Cultural Centre is opening on Monday 2nd of June.
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That video is outdated and no longer representative of the actual layout. That one still shows Platform 2 & 3 in tandem.
The actual layout has the two lanes crossing over while crossing the intersection. The left lane (Platform 2 stopping lane) crosses over to the right for the turn into the SEB tunnel, and the inside right lane crosses over to the left for Platform 3 access.
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Interesting the amount of services using it.
“[Swiss-based bus manufacturer] HESS’s base design has not taken into consideration the ambient operating conditions for Brisbane environment, i.e. passenger cooling is compromised to prioritise battery cooling even at higher ambient conditions,” the council documents show.
A council spokeswoman said HESS updated CC200 software so it could better balance the load between air conditioners and vehicle battery cooling systems."
It will be interesting to see how the AC on these units performs in summer. Murphy claiming the problem is fixed, but this kind of issue doesn’t just go away with a software update. There’s a finite amount of power available, and batteries need to be kept cool to prevent damage.
One would think ambient temperature of operation would be taken into account at the design/procurement phase, but apparently not.
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