SEB Capacity Upgrade - What's Next

[Metro]

@SurfRail

^ Except much of that capacity would already be taken up with Gold Coast and Beenleigh passengers. In practice it would not be adding that many, which is part of why I have gone completely away from the idea. If you want to make GC/Beenleigh services faster, they do not have to follow the M1 alignment. I’m also completely unclear how this can hook into CRR without an enormous amount of cost and effort - probably dramatically more than it would take to make the busway corridor suitable for high-floor LRVs.

Let’s consider and reflect:

Concept: R1 Gold Coast Regional Rapid Rail:

Gold Coast Regional Rapid Rail (R1) (Discussion Concept) - #2 by Metro

Challenge 1: Entering the Brisbane CBD from the South

Light Rail needs its own river crossing into the Brisbane CBD (either Bridge or Tunnel) plus platform lengthening of most busway stations. It also needs to go somewhere when it lands in the Brisbane CBD, and this is unlikely to be the Adelaide St tunnel (due to gradient and design). LRT is going to come with its own high costs if it takes a southside approach.

Heavy Rail can use the existing CRR tunnels. A short tunnel is required to take trains out of the M1/M3 Corridor and into CRR between Fairfield and Dutton Park (see concept image).

There are a few of these types of tunnel already in Perth (e.g. Rockingham, Joondalup).

Fairfield Connecting Tunnel [Concept]

Challenge 2: Long-Term Capacity

Even with LRVs operating in consists, carrying say 750 pax each, the overall capacity would be similar to what the SEB does already, say - 18,000 pphd.

So, Heavy Rail is the better option on capacity.

You could run 20-25 trains/hour, possibly 30 trains/hour with advanced signalling. You could also run 9-car trains, which also increases capacity massively.

Light Rail carry 750 pax, but a 9-car train would carry 1,500 pax.

At 20 trains/hr that would be about 30,000 pphd.

And because it is rail, provided the corridor was well built, that train would be going at 130 km/hr. An LRT service is not going to match that (or deliver region-wide benefits from speeding up Gold Coast and Beenleigh trains).

Let’s look at some timetables

Train Departures ex. Beenleigh

Between 6 am - and 7 am, about 5 Beenleigh line trains depart for Brisbane, and 5 Gold Coast trains.

That is about 10 trains. This implies that if capacity issues were sorted out, you could essentially run say another 10 trains in peak, possibly more. So, 1,500 pax trains x 10 added trains = 15,000 which is a similar peak capacity to an new busway.

Overall Comments

Overall, the Heavy Rail upgrade option is worth including in any options assessment for relieving SEB capacity. A lot of buses originating in Logan, for example, could transfer their passengers to QR trains at Westfield Upper Mt Gravatt.