Lord mayor wants Brisbane Metro to extend to airport

Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner has proposed expanding the Brisbane Metro project to Brisbane Airport, despite the first stage of the $944 million project not yet having broken ground.

The exact design of the metro vehicles has not yet been finalised nor a successful tenderer announced, but Cr Schrinner on Sunday said he wanted them to run all the way to the airport.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner wants the Brisbane Metro to extend all the way to Brisbane airportCredit: Tony Moore

“People who are arriving as tourists at the airport have an option of catching a taxi, an Uber or the Airtrain, but for people who work there every day it’s not affordable,” the lord mayor said.

He called on the state government to either revisit the Airtrain contract, which is in place until 2036, or agree to extend Brisbane Metro services to the airport as a low-cost alternative.

The vehicles would run on wheels and could therefore use the Airport Link tunnel to approach the airport, rather than any new infrastructure having to be put in place, Cr Schrinner said.

The call came after a stoush between the council and the state government earlier this year, when the project was again delayed because the state insisted the Cultural Centre station be redesigned and moved under the Brisbane Convention centre.

Concept images for the proposed metro station at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, preferred by the state government to the original location at the Cultural Centre.Credit: Queensland Government

Cr Schrinner blasted the state government at the time because council was finalising tenders on the existing planned station, without final state government approvals.

The council was cleared of any wrongdoing in August after Labor referred the matter to the Auditor-General.

Despite the ongoing delays and the risk of cost blowouts on the project, Cr Schrinner said he wasn’t getting ahead of himself by suggesting the airport extension.

“Brisbane Metro will happen. It’s fully funded, it’s not a question of if, but when,” he said.

“We’re keen to get cracking on it but we’re also not just thinking about stage one and two.

"We’re thinking about stages three and four, and that includes options to go to Brisbane Airport.”

For his part, Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff welcomed the proposal.

“We have been very vocal about the need for similar investment in roads and public transport infrastructure between the airport and the city and region to ensure Brisbane is ready for the global opportunities coming our way,” Mr de Graaff said.

State government minister Kate Jones on Sunday announced another key milestone relating to the government’s signature infrastructure project, Cross River Rail.

Ms Jones announced long-distance coach services would begin from this week at the newly constructed Brisbane Coach Terminal on the northern side of Roma Street station.

The change paves the way for the start of demolition works on the existing transit centre early next year to make way for the Cross River Rail station at the site.

While she was not asked specifically about the calls for Metro services to be extended to the airport, Ms Jones said she would be sitting down with the mayor in "the coming weeks" to talk about both projects.

“The designs of Cross River Rail complement [Brisbane] Metro and we are working closely together through the city deal on the transport infrastructure which Brisbane needs for the future,” she said.

Ms Jones was recently put in charge of the government’s marquee infrastructure project after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk stripped deputy premier Jackie Trad of responsibility.

The Crime and Corruption Commission assessed corruption allegations over the purchase of a house near one of the proposed Cross River Rail stations, but decided not to launch a formal investigation. However, the scandal was enough for the Premier to remove Ms Trad as the minister overseeing the project.

LNP state opposition transport spokesman Steven Minnikin on Sunday called for the state government to back Brisbane Metro.

“The Palaszczuk Labor government need to get with the program and start working with the council on this very important project,” Mr Minnikin said.