Given the required headway in the long run I expect all trains would run all stations from Boggo Road to Yeerongpilly in the AM counterpeak, and all trains would run all stations from Yeerongpilly to Boggo Road in the PM counterpeak (including Gold Coast trains). Beenleigh trains are currently timetabled to do Boggo Road to Yeerongpilly in 8 minutes (2 minutes for each station). Assuming about the same travel time from Boggo Road underground vs surface to Dutton Park, you would be adding a few minutes to Gold Coast trains, as would adding Hope Island and Merrimac, but you would be picking up time overall on a trip from the CBD to Varsity Lakes due to the combination of:
ETCS Level 2 roll out for the entire length of CRR and south to Varsity Lakes, allowing closer separation between higher numbers of trains and so better acceleration / deceleration and higher speed limits than the current lineside signalling allows.
Faster trip to the CBD (Albert St) via CRR compared with Central / Roma Street via the Merivale.
LGCFR allowing uninterrupted express running from Kuraby to Beenleigh (and facilitating a better timetable for express running on the third track from Dutton Park to Kuraby).
Eventually - future amplification between Kuraby and Yeerongpilly. There is adequate room for a fourth track, and I doubt we are getting any sort of whizzbang bypass tunnel much as weâd like it.
Loganlea likely wouldnât have the capacity to handle terminators pre-LGCFR.
The current works underway on the new Loganlea Station will see it built as a 2 platform station only. The additional 2 platforms will be added as part of LGCFR works.
Depends how they do the track configurations, but that station would be ideal for turnback considering its location and surrounding health and educational services.
Track configuration initially will be the same as the current station - one line in each direction. This is probably all academic, as when CRR comes on line LGCFR works will be in full swing so the line will be a ripped-apart mess.
Iâm hoping that LGCFR can be built in a half and half fashion as much as is practical, so that the existing 2 tracks can remain operational while the new tracks are put in, then switch over to the new tracks while the old lines can be adjusted.
When the tunnel approaches full, all counter-peak services must run at all-stops speed. Until that point you need at least one extra slot for each all-stops service (assuming all out-of-service running can be at express speed).
It still blows my mind they didnât either tunnel to Yeerongpilly or at the very least quad track the surface corridor. What a missed opportunity.
Having said that, from what I can see on Google Maps there is sufficient room in the corridor at Yeerongpilly station to have some reconfiguring so that the express and/or dead running counter peak services could overtake the all stoppers there. Japan has lots of lines like this and they make it work efficiently. I know theyâve just redone Yeerongpilly station but it might be a relatively cost effective solution.
Significant progress is underway at Albert Street station, with the station canopy taking shape alongside Queenslandâs longest escalator and a new subtropical plaza.
Major engineering works are continuing, with high productivity returning across the site.
This milestone is part of the Crisafulli Governmentâs broader rail transformation, including essential works across all lines during the holiday period.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering a plan for Queenslandâs future after a decade of decline under Labor.
The spin is doing my head in. Iâm not the biggest fan of either major, but anyone quickly wanna remind me if it was the red team or the blue team that started CRR, GCLR, B2N, LGCFR, the QTMP trains, and so on?
Our networkâs progress to something great is slowed drastically by this stupid finger pointing of both major teams. Drop the pitchforks on transport!
Again peddling that the tunnel now costs $19 billion.. I canât help but feel like the previous Government could have shielded some of this nonsense by being more upfront about all the other projects happening that were separately budgeted.
Itâs a dumb media strategy. There was one media statement spin free on Gold Coast Light Rail stage 3 Gold Coast Light Rail - #240 by Ozbob Thatâs the only recent statement that has been done right in my view.
I think they way things are going the stations will be finished long before testing of trains will be completed.
