The corridor originates near Gympie Road and Strathpine Station in the northern extent and continues south through Bridgeman Downs, McDowall and Everton Park to connect with Alderley Station and Shand Street in Alderley.
The corridor’s origins date to the 1960s in the landmark Wilbur Smith and Associates Brisbane Transportation Study. The study recommended a North West freeway between the Brisbane CBD and Aspley via the suburbs of Grange and Everton Park.
While the freeway concept was abandoned in the 1970s, this section of the original freeway corridor was kept for future use as an arterial road.
The corridor was preserved in the early 1980s based on current planning standards for a 4-lane median-divided road.
Oh for sure. I mean, my grand idea would to have a line in tunnel branching from the CRR platforms at Roma St going up to Everton Park with stations at Kelvin Grove, Newmarket Shops and Alderley. The bus network could achieve so much more in the outer areas there if the train was there. Even with it using the Ferny Grove line, bypassing the Everton Car-Park in the peak hours would make the journey time by train at the very least competitive if not advantageous.
It would allow better frequency for feeder services around the Albany Creek, Bridgeman Downs and McDowall areas. If you design it right, you could have the services run cross country to places like Chermside, Aspley or even Toombul which would also improve overall network connectivity. Without supporting infrastructure like a busway, running long bus services out past the old zone 3 (about middle of current zone 2) can start to cause problems that a trunk service like a train could fix.
I used to be a believer in the “NWTC from Roma St” grand plan but I’ve changed my mind because of Exhibition.
We can’t just stop running service to Ekka station
Sectorisation says that with grand-NWTC, all CRR services should run through NWTC
Ekka as a one-stop branch is possible but wastes CRR capacity
Roma St P10 does exist but we might want that for, e.g., Toowoomba services
Also grand-NWTC had this very ambitious mixed use applied to it (needed 3-4 tracks north of Everton Park for express service).
In the alternative is mini-NWTC, which has local service branching with the Ferny Grove line. This is convenient because post-CRR there’s heaps of spare capacity on the subs through the city.
And as for a tunnel from the north once we need more than four tracks Albion-Northgate? Go via Chermside. The Northern busway (or its upgrade) is the all-stops service!
The tolled motorway option isn’t feasible, and it sounds like a heavy rail option has its own problems that haven’t been fully analysed.
It doesn’t help that the BCC is acting like a despotic de-facto transport agency, proposing rail and road projects with zero intention of following through.
Gonna say this, not a fan of strathoine as north end. Best if go bald hills and consider tunneling under or alongside the m1 for griffin,mango hill. North lakes, dbay, uhlmann, beachmere, sandstone point & bribie
Plus factor in green bridges linking communities at dbay, uhlmann/burps east & beachmere therefore complete missing link of mbc for the north side
My Proposal for a rail line, build a new interchange at Bowen Hills or Albion, with a tunnel going to Alderly, continuing above ground to a new station at Everton park. Then tunneling to an above ground station at Bridgeman Downs, continuing to the Sunny Coast from Strathpine and Petrie.
While there would be tunneling, I don’t believe using the trouts road corridor would be appropriate, and without any underground stations the cost can be reduced.
The current north coast line through Brisbane is not in the right alignment nor have the capacity to support regular fast rail to the Sunny Coast (Maroochydore and Nambour with duplication)
Again!