Blowout threat: Minister’s caution on $5.4b Cross River Rail

One of South East Queensland’s biggest infrastructure projects is at risk of a cost blowout, the minister responsible has admitted.

The Queensland government’s Cross River Rail project is facing a possible cost blowout, with an analysis underway to look at how market impacts could push up the price tag.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the advice to date was that the $5.4bn project remained on time and on budget, but he left the door open to a cost hike in the future.

“We are monitoring the impact of the market on the project. That is being looked at and examined,” Mr Bailey said on Sunday.

“We have always said that. And of course with 15 different sites, that’s actually not a simple equation.”

Mr Bailey said the project’s delivery authority had been examining costs for “a little while”, describing it as a “complex and thorough process”.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“We’ve got literally thousands of contractors and subcontractors (working on Cross River Rail), so it’s not an overnight sort of process,” he said.

Cross River Rail chief executive Graeme Newton said the project wasn’t immune to a number of challenges, but he insisted the delivery authority was looking to manage costs as effectively as they could.

“Over the last 12 months, we have seen impacts in the construction sector right across the board as far as escalation goes,” he said.

Cross River Rail chief executive Graeme Newton. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“But also earlier this year we had the flood and then we’ve seen supply chain impacts from the likes of the war in Ukraine.”

Mr Newton said there had been a lot of pre-purchases, with contracts already in place.

Opposition transport spokesman Steve Minnikin accused Mr Bailey of softening his language to prepare Queenslanders for budget blowouts in the future.

Mr Bailey visited the future Woolloongabba station on Sunday to announce the Gabba site and the future Albert Street station in the Brisbane CBD were now connected by underground train tracks in both directions.

“This is a huge milestone for the project and for South East Queensland as we continue to make progress on Queensland’s biggest rail project,” Mr Bailey said.

“All up, crews laid about 385 tonnes of rail between the two future stations, setting about 9400 blocks in roughly 2800 cu m of concrete.”