SEQ western suburbs rail hits the brakes despite population growth

No new train services will be added to the fastest-growing rail line in south-east Queensland despite an extra 310,477 commuter trips in the past 12 months.

At 1.1 million trips in 2022-23, patronage on the line – which include stops at Springfield Central, Springfield and Richlands – has almost doubled in a decade.

Trains to Springfield Central are becoming more crowded as rail commuter numbers jump.Credit: Tony Moore

The Translink figures show people returning to trains with strong, post-Covid patronage growth on Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane Airport line.

But high patronage growth on the Springfield Centre line began in 2017, well before Covid, and growth after the pandemic began a year earlier (2021-22) than other lines because Springfield’s and Ripley’s population growth rates are well over Brisbane’s growth rate of 1.24 per cent.

Now Queensland’s peak rail lobby group says there will not be enough trains to provide the promised 24-trains-an-hour frequency in the tunnels of Brisbane’s Cross River Rail, outlined in the original business case.

“Remember they said they were going to run trains every five minutes at peak,” Rail Back on Track’s Robert Dow said. “I don’t think that is going to happen because they won’t have enough trains.”

Queensland Rail was upgrading 12 trains that should have been retired in 2018, as questions arose regarding train numbers on the new Citytrain network after Cross River Rail opened in 2026.

“Obviously they’ve crunched the numbers, and they’ve had to do the life extension works on the 12 EMU [trains] because they’re a little bit short,” Dow said.

“It just gives them the buffer to keep going into late 2026 until the new NGR [New Generation Rollingstock] trains start to arrive from the Queensland Train Manufacturing Program.”

Translink was waiting until late 2024 for the remainder of the 75 NGR trains to have disability upgrades completed, and then until late 2026 for the first of 65 NGR trains from the cost-overblown Queensland Train Manufacturing Program.

Dow disagreed new trains would be available from late 2026 because they still needed testing and new signalling system upgrades.

“It will take at least until 2028-29,” he said.

“Without the Queensland Train Manufacturing Program, it is going to be pretty thin, isn’t it?

“And I think that is why they are working on those EMU trains – to give themselves some breathing space until extra trains from the Queensland Train Manufacturing Program start to kick in.”

Population growth – Springfield line is early test case of keeping pace

Between Springfield Central station and the Brisbane CBD, an extra 362,901 trips have been taken by train as the population of Springfield, Springfield Lakes and Brookwater grew by 6.8 per cent to more than 40,000 people.

“Passenger rail demand is forecast to double from 2015 to 2026 and nearly triple by 2036.”

Cross River Rail 2017 Business Case

Nearby Ripley – described by the Queensland government as the fastest-growing region in south-east Queensland – now has 18,000 residents and will grow by an extra 104,170 by 2046.

Queensland’s Transport Department said it was watching the population growth but had no plans to add new trains to the Springfield line even after the new Cross River Rail opened.

“While there are currently no plans to add more train services on the Springfield line at this time, Translink and Queensland Rail will continue to monitor patronage levels and loading on board individual services.”

Improved train services are the No.1 priority for Ipswich City Council in their 2024 state and federal budget submissions.

Dow said the Springfield rail line was “a victim of its own success”, but warned population growth in the Ipswich corridor was affecting the service.

“I think they do need additional train services out there,” he said.

“I think they are a bit limited with the peak-hour travel.

“They can probably put a few more in earlier and a few more in the late peak.”

In 2021, Labor’s then-shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers (left) and Blair MP Shayne Neumann pitched the planned Springfield Central to Ipswich Central rail corridor.Credit: Tony Moore

Translink said trains ran every 12 minutes on the Springfield line in peak hours.

“Trains [are] currently departing from Springfield Central station to Central station every 12 minutes or better between 6.30am and 8.30am, and every 12 minutes or better from Central station to Springfield Central station between 4pm and 6pm on weekdays,” it said.

Transport Minister Bart Mellish said the first of 65 trains from the Queensland Train Manufacturing Program would be ready for testing from late 2026 and all would be in place by the 2032 Olympic Games.

However, he did not answer how Cross River Rail would boost services on the line.

“Cross River Rail will unlock the very heart of our network, improving capacity and enabling more trains to run more often,” Mellish said.

Dow said Queensland Rail planned to overlap 30-minute trains on the separate Ipswich and Springfield lines out of peak hours to get 15-minute frequency between Darra (where the lines meet) and the CBD.

However, population growth was pressuring the Springfield service, he said.

A group of 75 NGR trains built overseas have been upgraded for Queensland Rail’s disability standards since 2020 and will be available later in 2024.