I think once Cross River Rail is activated we should introduce a Night Train service. Basically on Friday and Saturday Nights, as well as public holidays, except for during trackwork, there would be services all night on the Rail network as well as on the Gold Coast Light Rail. Additionally I would also like to see Brisbane City Council up their game and do the same for both Metro, Ferries and select Bus Routes, particularly those serving areas like the city and the valley. During the Olympics however for those two weeks it would be all night every night due to events.
Expand on the NightLink Services essentially and beefen it up is what I’m hearing.
Can they afford to pay the drivers, guards, security, station staff needed though?
Brisbane City Council’s Transport for Brisbane division (and other bus operators like Redland’s Transdev) already provides Nightlink services, including 24/7 weekend services for routes M1 & M2.
However, I must stress that the current Nightlink network still feels something out of the 2010s. You’ve got routes such as N413 St Lucia and N385 The Gap operating in both directions, whereas other Nightlink routes only operate in an outbound fashion. Its this discrepancy in service (and limited network coverage to the suburbs) that limits its usefulness.
Not all of them run frequently. Most of the Nightlinks’ run hourly, whereas some run more frequently (15-30 minute headways) such as M1, M2, 60, 61, N199.
Here’s the Nightlink network map from 2014 (as seen below):
If you compare it to today’s (a decade later), you’ll find that very little has changed: N464 Forest Lake has been truncated to N449 Riverhills West, M2 has been added, and N111 has evolved into route M1. N555 also now services Rochedale busway station.
even that fine. I didnt know we had night buses
hiring blitz
Sydney operates buses on weeknights as a night network, replacing the train network.
This is for all weeknights, not just Friday and Saturday. Toronto, Canada has something similar.
Sydney NightRide Buses Network (click to enlarge)
Sydney
A number of bus routes operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
NightRide buses replace most train services between midnight and 4.30am, stopping at railways stations or on main roads near railway stations.
Some regular bus routes run later services after midnight on weekends only.
Some Intercity train services run after midnight.
The last service on some ferry routes depart between midnight and 1am.
Notes
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Toronto Blue Night Network
Blue Night Network
Overnight service operates on most major routes from approximately 1:30 a.m. to the start of subway service. Service is provided every 30 minutes or better, seven days a week. Blue Night Network routes have white and blue route lozenges and 300-series route numbers.
Notice how the service is not mode share, but a % access catchment metric and a frequency standard.
The overnight network is designed so 95% of the population and employment is within a 1,250 metre walk (15 minutes) of transit service. Consequently, overnight services may be provided on different routes than the base network in order to meet these requirements. Where possible, however, overnight routes will follow daytime routing and be identified in a manner consistent with the daytime route. The overnight network is an important part of the TTC’s commitment to maximizing the mobility of people in the City of Toronto and meeting all of their diverse travel needs.
Hours of service: 1:30am to 6:00am (8:00am Sunday)
% of population and employment served: 95%
Within walking distance: 1250 metres
Within walking time: 15 minutes
Minimum service frequency: 30 minutes
Headway performance: Service is considered to be on time if it is no more than 1 minute early and no more than 5 minutes late. TTC’s goal is to have 60% of all trips meet the on-time performance standard.
Notes
A Review of Blue Night Services May 2025 (Part I)
Wikipedia Blue Night Network
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Night Services for Brisbane, and SEQ Regions
- “World Class” cities generally have some form of 24/7 public transport
- Gold Coast has Route 700 which runs 24/7 and extends to cover the GC LRT when it is not operating
- Sunshine Coast could be a candidate (for investigation)
- Key Decision to Make - what would be a good approach?
- Separate network and market that (another brand, different routing)
- Just adding service to the existing network (and using a supplementary logo or identifier with the route, similar to Melbourne)
- Just extending the existing Nightlink network so that some services also run on weeknights
- Both Melbourne and Toronto use a moon symbol to supplement route numbers, identifying which routes form part of the night network.
Brisbane
Here’s how a night network could look for Brisbane, keen to hear your thoughts. All services would pick up and drop off in both directions.
Group 1: High Priority (Core Network)
- N1/N3 Eight Mile Plains - CBD - Chermside via INB (Single route showing N3 when travelling to Chermside, N1 when travelling to Eight Mile Plains)
- N20 Carindale - CBD
- N40 Centenary - Indooroopilly - CBD
Group 2: Priority
- Blue CityGlider West End to Newstead
- N10 Inala - CBD (would need extra security, as Route 100 has been in the media for safety incidents)
- N14 Browns Plains - CBD via SEB
- N17 Upper Mt Gravatt to CBD via Logan Road
- N19 West End - CBD - New Farm (just run more services)
- N30 DFO Brisbane Airport - Toombul - CBD via Kingsford Smith Drive (essentially Route 300 with an extension to DFO)
Group 3: Nice to Have
- Your thoughts
- Probably running some more BUZ services later into the night/early morning
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With the extension of the SEB to Springwood, I don’t support services terminating at 8MP. Send it to Springwood.
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Would be good to make Brisbane Metro 24 hours on all days of the week.
This already happens in Sydney - night buses are used to fill in for trains when they are not operating overnight.
The bus could perhaps run half hourly or every 20 min. Or every 15 minutes and scaled back if required. This could also be trialled.
Timetable
Notes
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We are a week away from the 12 month mark of the Friday/Saturday extended hours trial on the Sunshine Coast, which has the busy 600 and 616 routes departing from Maroochydore until 3:09am on Friday and Saturday nights with security on board each service.
Not sure what patronage was like, but it would appear council have extended their funding in the recent budget to renew both extended services for another year at a cost of $42,000 to council.
Seems like an easy win to apply this to other main routes if Translink are willing to jointly fund. I can imagine services like the 620 to Noosa (could divert via the airport) or 610 to Nambour would be suitable.
Not sure why there haven’t been any announcements about the trial extension though…
Note: TL’s website says this is fully funded by council but council’s budget says it’s co funded by TMR.
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I like this idea. Try progressively extending the hours. A bus every fifteen minutes until 2AM is more useful than a bus every thirty minutes all night IMO.
And the extended 600 and 616 has been scrapped.
The Sunshine Coast late night services trial will end on Sunday 2 August.
We’ve completed our evaluation of the 12-month trial and no further funding is available to continue the services beyond its end date.
This means there’ll be changes for late night route 600 and 616 weekend timetables.
The trial was funded by Sunshine Coast Council’s Transport Levy, with support from Transport and Main Roads (TMR). The outcomes of this trial will be considered in future planning for the Sunshine Coast public transport network.
Sunshine Coast late night services trial ending - route 600 and 616 timetable changes | Translink
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Has someone told Sunshine Coast Council?!
Trial in partnership with Translink/TMR for a period of 12 months, the provision of a late night transport trial supporting the Maroochydore Entertainment Precinct. Trial Route 616 commenced in July 2025 and will continue over two financial years. This funding is required for the 2026-27 portion of the trial.
I guess in this case the $42k is money they are spending this year up until the trial end.
I do love the statement that they’re continuing to invest in the Sunshine Coast - the unused bus stops that are sitting there ready for use by non existent buses across Caloundra South tell a different story 
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Will there be a data evaluation? I also think they should evaluate the 6 months after they stop the trial extension. It would likely show that removing late service also causes a drop in daytime patronage.
Very strong disagree here. I would say only the blue cityglider warrants anything above every 20 minutes after 12am. M1 and M2, maybe the 333 and 140 could have 20 minute frequencies, but for most routes having a reliable every 30 minute frequency all night is a far better use of resources than having 2 people on the 1:15am 120 bus that runs at high frequencies.
I don’t even know of a single 24 hour city that runs any public transport line or route at that level of frequency on any night of the week. I’m sure theres a few routes out there, but they sure aren’t anywhere near the norm, even in those cities
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I really don’t see much savings that would be gained in running a 20 minute frequency rather than a 15 minute one, especially for the M1 & M2 which already run 15 minute frequencies on Friday and Saturday nights and so would have a recharging schedule to match.
20 minute frequencies also messes up the interchange to any other half hourly services that might be run at night, like trains for example. I’m generally not a fan of 20 minute frequencies for this reason.
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"Existing late-night bus services operate in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Townsville and Cairns, with Nightlink rail services operating between 1 am and 4 am on the Beenleigh, Caboolture and Ipswich lines in South East Queensland.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) provides these services at significant operating costs, despite low patronage. The Queensland Government supports increasing awareness of existing Nightlink Services before committing to further increased investment. Any proposed expansion to transport options would need to be informed by uptake of existing Nightlink services. The Queensland Government does not support expanding transport options or conducting a pilot program to extend train services from the Fortitude Valley on weekends."
(p.16, Queensland Night Economy Action Plan 2026-2032)
So! It seems like we’ll be a long hike away from actually getting 24/7 public transportation, since the state government is not keen on either funding night-time trains or a more comprehensive nightlink bus network.
Access to the PDF can be found here: https://www.housing.qld.gov.au/news-publications/strategies-plans/queensland-nightlife-economy-action-plan
Note point 33: "Increase awareness of existing public transport services and explore opportunities to enhance accessible and expanded transport options across South East and regional Queensland, with a particular focus on improving services in regional areas.
33.1 Conduct a pilot program to extend train services from Fortitude Valley on weekends, targeting the 1 am to 4 am period to address the current gap in services during peak egress from the Valley SNP."
Nightlink is a very lame excuse for a night network - trains are practically nonexistent save for a few.
Run 3-car services on all lines hourly if you want barebones trains.
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It’s an error to judge night services to a patronage standard. They are coverage and welfare goal oriented services, in the same way that roads and night lighting are provided to suburbs that have light traffic…
Sydney runs night buses as a replacement for the train network and light rail every night of the week.
I do agree though that night services are hampered somewhat by restrictive trading hours, which should be looked at for deregulation.
Work at night is already compensated though shift loadings and overtime provisions within Modern Awards so there is an element of duplication to then also restrict retail trading hours as well.
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