Cross River Rail: The multibillion-dollar project no one knows about

It’s the multibillion-dollar project poised to revolutionise travel throughout southeast Queensland, but poll figures show most people don’t know what it is, where it will operate or even that the project will require tunneling beneath the Brisbane River.

IT’S the multibillion-dollar project poised to revolutionise public transport travel throughout southeast Queensland.

However, most people don’t know what Cross River Rail is, where it will operate or even that the project will require tunneling beneath the Brisbane River to provide new inner-city stations.

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The lack of public awareness about the Palaszczuk Government’s signature infrastructure project has been exposed in a new poll of Brisbane and Gold Coast residents conducted for The Courier-Mail.

Undertaken by YouGov, the poll has revealed 55 per cent of residents have heard of the 10.2 kilometre rail link but don’t know what it will do. A further one in five had never heard of the project.

The findings come despite Cross River Rail being caught up in Deputy Premier Jackie Trad’s integrity crisis and comes amid mounting concern that the project will significantly blow its $5.4 billion.

An artist’s impression of the Woolloongabba station.

Significant earthworks on the project, which will link Dutton Park to Bowen Hills and include four new underground stations when completed in 2026, have begun at Woolloongabba along with demolition in Brisbane’s city centre at Albert and Roma streets. The poll shows only 44 per cent of people knew Cross River Rail would require tunnels with 12 per cent believing it required a bridge to be built.

Presented with alternative maps, just 21 per cent of respondents named the correct Cross River Rail route. However, while most people were ambivalent about the project’s potential, very few were opposed to its construction.

Gold Coast residents were most uncertain with 62 neither supporting or opposing the project while support was strongest among residents who lived along the route.

Shown were the rail link would snake through Brisbane suburbs and provide new stations, 50 per cent of people voiced their support for the project however 41 per cent remained undecided.

Cross River Rail Minister Kate Jones said the project was vital and the polling showed Queenslanders supported it when aware of its many benefits.

“We have to build this project to avoid a bottleneck in 2030,” she said. “It’s great to see Queenslanders getting on board - they understand how critical this infrastructure is to keep our city moving.

“Cross River Rail allows us to run more trains more often across the whole of southeast Queensland. We expect that with Cross River Rail in place, an extra 47,000 people will choose rail instead of road by 2036.”