Cross River Rail: Boggo Road to become major hub
It represents a dark chapter in Brisbane's past, but this notorious landmark is about to be put on the map again for all the right reasons as it becomes the city’s biggest suburban public transport hub.
Future QLD
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The train station that shares its name with a notorious prison looks set to become Brisbane’s biggest suburban public transport hub with the opening of Cross River Rail.
Boggo Road is the southern end of the underground line, and is expected to be handle more than 23,000 passengers every weekday by 2036 at the station that hooks up the University of Queensland green bridge routes, the Brisbane Metro and overland rail routes.
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It will serve PA Hospital as well as the UQ Ecosciences precinct, home to some of the nation’s largest research institutions and more than 7500 health and science professionals, as well as the historic former prison site.
The Courier-Mail, in conjunction with the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority, is presenting a series looking at the project and what it will bring to the state.
Being at the point where other rail lines and routes cross makes for some engineering challenges, according to Cross River Rail’s builders.
The delivery authority’s project director (tunnels, stations and development) Jeremy Kruger said vibration from passing trains was the biggest challenge for tunnellers.
Emergency vibration alarms will be installed at the work site – they are already in place at Roma St, where the first tunnelling began last week – that shut down the work if early warning levels are reached.
“It is quite a congested rail corridor,” Mr Kruger said.
“As you tunnel, you go directly under Park Road railway station.
“You have the challenges of tunnelling under a railway line.
“One of the critical technical issues is to control settlement and vibrations so that the trains above can continue to operate safely while we are mining underneath.”
More than 7700 people will work on the Cross River Rail project over the five years of construction, with 400 local suppliers signed up and more than 160 apprentice and traineeship positions filled of 450 to be created.
The 10.2km rail line will run from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills, including 5.9km of twin tunnels under the Brisbane River and Brisbane CBD, creating a second river crossing for the rail network that means more trains more often across the network.
Major construction works have started and are due to be completed in 2024.
Light at end of tunnel for attraction
THERE’S no escaping the fact one of Brisbane’s iconic tourism experiences was facing a bleak future at the peak of the city’s pandemic lockdown.
In the words of Boggo Road Gaol managing director and well-known ghost and crime historian Jack Sim, it was looking “pretty grim”.
But there is light at the end of the tunnel.
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Bookings for the daily history tours at the jail are picking up, the recent holidays were busy inside the old prison walls, and school groups will be returning this term.
Beyond that, the $5.4 billion Cross River Rail project, with its underground station a stone’s throw from the jail’s front gates, promises to put Boggo Road on the map again.
Mr Sim, who has been running prison tours for over 20 years, said the area needed a modern transport service.
“When I started here in 1998, the jail was a long way out of town, it was a challenge getting people here,” he said.
“The local population has really increased since then, and there’s now a need to make it easier to get people to this precinct.
“We get international visitors from Europe and Asia – less so at the moment, obviously – and they expect to use first class public transport.
“That’s what Cross River Rail will be, and we think it’s a great investment for this area.”