Does anyone have the figures for the TPH the subs can do through Eagle Junction? How much free capacity is there currently?
Only Airport and Shorncliffe share the track with Doomben from Bowen Hills through to Eagle Junction. Currently the Airport is limited to a maximum 4tph due to it being single track, and Shorncliffe probably can’t do more than 8tbh due to its single-track section between Shorncliffe and Sandgate (correct me if I’m wrong). Is the Doomben Line really causing that much of an issue currently other than the fact that outbound trains block the subs when the inbound train is late? I don’t think we need to radically change the mode of the line. Simply selectively duplicating portions of the line (for instance duplicating between EJ and Sandgate Road so the outbound trains can at least wait off of the subs if the inbound train is late) would solve the current issues and even allow it to be a more frequent service. I know some people who live in the area that would catch it if it were more frequent.
It is my fastest rail connection to the CBD. The issue is that it doesn’t run anywhere frequently enough to be what I take. I would 100% use the line more if the frequency was better – I think the core issue with this line. Not to mention that decades of underfunding and no vision (i.e. a station in Hamilton). Doomben is a clear image of the systematic failures of transportation projects in QLD – no future proofing or planning and trying to play catch up when the system fails.
I would like to see the upcoming $50 million Brisbane Metro business case, which will examine the Doomben line as part of its scope, consider all main modal options and evaluate these. Would you use the Gold CityGlider BCC is planning?
I’m not sure it’s a fair characterisation that the occasional freight service is (and it’s less often than twice a week, its seasonal at best) is responsible for the Doomben line situation as it stands. Governments have had the opportunity for decades to upgrade the infrastructure to support better frequency… Or to even put services on a Sunday. They simply aren’t interested.
If you converted it to another mode, there’s still no guarantee Graincorp will find another site. Better odds they’ll just run 30-40 trucks instead for each train they don’t or can’t operate. I don’t live in that area, so that’s really a matter for the local community to consider whether that’s palatable for them as part of the process.
No, I wouldn’t, it doesn’t serve me or my suburb. I also don’t necessarily just want to go to the city. The thing about Doomben is that it gets me to the train network which I use frequently to get the Gold Coast. No bus would serve me as well as an improved Doomben line.
Yes, but converting the Doomben Line to BRT would cost quite a fortune compared to just keeping it mostly as is. The corridor is not a priority right now and there is minimal benefit to making it a BRT route.
I reckon a targeted duplication in key areas along the line to allow increased frequency in peak would be sufficient in the short term, and it would probably be cheaper than a full on conversion.
Another point to note about the Doomben line is that it holds potential to be a starting point for a suburban rail loop. It could in theory be extended by going south to Hamilton and under the river to form a link with the Cleveland Line.
Is this going to happen anytime soon, if ever? Probably not, but I do think there is value in having the option given how painful it currently is to go from the Northside to South East Brisbane, Redland Bay regions.
The Outer Doomben line has more benefits if it were converted to LRT terminating at EJ.
The bus-brain solution doesn’t work in a city where growth is constrained by buses. It is not sustainable to throw more buses at the problem. The GoldGlider will not improve things; the fake-metro expansions will not improve things.
Removing buses and upgrading to higher capacity mode is the solution. There won’t be any BRT expansions in the future, that fad is over. Painting lines on roads and ripping up a rail corridor are two different things.
A converted Doomben line would connect to trains at Eagle Junction (including Gold Coast), and both LRT and BRT options would give higher service level all day than the heavy rail option.
In addition to this, both LRT and BRT options would avoid the flyover ($ a few hundred million) that would be required for rail to enter Hamilton.
LRT and BRT options allow use of existing surface streets or a simple at grade signalised intersection.
So for this reason, any consideration needs to be a MECE evaluation ( mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive) analysis of all options.
I think we can all agree MECE evaluation is the minimum that an investigation should look at.
I just don’t see the benefit in turning Doomben into an isolated Light Rail line running from Doomben to EJ.
Doing so would entail a massive amount of expense - ripping up the existing rail line and relaying it as light rail, ordering the light rail vehicles, setting up vehicle maintenance facilities and contracts, etc for what? A ~4km route that would he lucky to have moderate patronage?
And lets not kid ourselves - it wouldn’t be converted to LR, it would be a busway running Brisbane Metro.
I agree in principle that all options should be examined; but emphasise the importance of considering the non-public transport implications of these options as part of the process.
If people want Graincorp to move elsewhere (for example) because 30-40 trucks for every train is unacceptable in the current location, expect them to put their hand out to the government to chip in, and chip in handsomely.
For another example, the car-dependent SEQ community might also not be fond of the idea of a new at-grade crossing for LRT across Kingsford Smith Drive, since presumably LRT will get signal/lights priority for an already congested road.
Any review needs to be upfront about these sorts of questions and not limit the scope to purely ‘public transport’ things.
It would be a difficult case for the company to argue IMO:
(a) if they have another alternative facility at the Port of Brisbane or could build one.
(b) In addition, the Queensland Government has kept this line open - at great public expense - primarily for the benefit of this 1 for-profit private company for what appears to be occasional/ seasonal demand.
(c) They also have road access as an alternative, and plenty of trucks and heavy vehicles enter and exit the Tradecoast area daily already. It would be a different case if rail was the only access to their site, but it isn’t.
KSD already has multiple signalised intersections, and there are many locations where buses at very much higher frequencies cross busy roads (e.g. Grey St busway exit at South Brisbane, Queen Street Station busway entrance next to King George Square, The INB turnoff which crosses the ICB ramp at Normanby which buses such as 390 and BUZ 345 use).
You don’t really expect taxpayers money given to a billion dollar company that infrequently uses the line, the time of day. They don’t own or operate the line. The lines’ closure will not impact their operations when they can switch to trucks.
If this is so vital to hold on to then why aren’t other campanies in the TradeCoast area not lining up to have the freight line access extended to them? Why is the opposite true?
The Outer Doomben line is so outdated that even if it was possible to duplicate and extend the line to either Luggage Point Cruise Terminal or Hamilton, it still would not be save it from closure.
There’s a difference between the company putting their hand out and the government actually paying. I suggested the former of these, just to be clear. If the community is fine with increased truck volume, they don’t have to move. If they can’t do that, the site is effectively worthless to them. If they have any legal recourse to seek compensation, I would expect them to pursue it. I am not a lawyer, so will not venture an opinion on that question.
I don’t recall there being definitive evidence presented that the line is being primarily kept open for this now in 2025, but am happy to have this demonstrated to me. Circa 1993 and Goss government rail rationalisation that may have been the case, but I would like to be assured that remains the case today. Are the racecourses beneficiaries of services on Saturdays? That could, technically, be a reason too, and seeing as Saturday race services were intially what there was post rail rationalisation, it would seem decision-makers thought similarly. The racing industry and associated gambling lobby wield significant power, arguably substantially more than the agriculture sector.
To be clear, I don’t have a strong preference about public transport mode in this corridor, but I think it’s important to highlight not only the opportunities, but also the risks. But I think since we have buses (including bi-artics) and trains as standard, that an isolated section of LRT with no plan for a broader network comes across as illogical.
Eagle Farm and Pinkenba are quite unsuitable for residential development. We have enough people complaining about aircraft noise already, in suburbs that don’t have planes literally about to land flying overhead.
There’s also fairly large a sewerage treament plant at Pinkenba. I can’t imagine too many people wanting to live next door.
In addition to all this, there is a continued need for industrial land in Brisbane.
You’re assuming that more freight won’t be sent along this branch in the future. I expect that there’s a good chance that there will be more demand for freight on this line in the future.
The Doomben line isn’t a particularly useful corridor as a commuter line anyway. Most of the corridor is low density single dwellings. It would be far more useful to have BRT on KSD. The two outside lanes should be made 24x7 bus lanes IMO. Run the Gold Glider along them. That would pick up most of the density in the area.
100% Total Rubbish! It’s the 2st Century mate…well not increasingly in SEQ…but well past time all the old “we can’t do it” dinosaurs were put out to pasture…wherever that would be! Too many bus-freak “we can’t do anything else” types in Qld for the past 2 decades!
The Doomben line has a lot of issues, between the single track and the failure to hit any major destinations after Eagle Junction. These could be fixed by duplicating and extending it to Hamilton. But what can’t be fixed is that it’s indirect. I think it’ll always have the issue that it would be way slower to get people from the city to Hamilton compared to adding bus lanes to KSD. And it will always be limited
But indirect lines are good for one thing: orbital travel. If I was given a blank cheque and told to make this line useful, I’d separate it from the NCL altogether and make it the above-ground portion of a Brisbane Suburban Rail Loop.
Though looking at how the SRL is going in Melbourne, no politician would be keen for that.