Brisbane Airtrain: Half-price fares but no changes to timetable

The Queensland government spending $10m to halve fares on Brisbane’s Airtrain, but the six-month fix does nothing to address one of the biggest failures of the much maligned line.

A permanent fix for Brisbane Airport’s public transport woes is still being sought by the state government, despite it stumping up $10m to slash Airtrain fares ahead of the October election.

Despite the significant cash injection, no additional services will be added and the timetable will not be extended.

Transport Minister Bart Mellish said half-price fares would be welcomed by the more than 20,000 people who worked at the airport and travellers who used it.

“While the details of the agreement with Airtrain are commercial in confidence, the payment is based on patronage data,” he said.

“We will continue to work closely with Airtrain on a permanent deal that is better value for money for Queenslanders.”

Industry sources say buying Airtrain would likely cost some $300m, but Mr Mellish’s office declined to comment on the speculated figure.

The first train leaves the airport at 5.04am on weekdays and 6.04am on weekends, while the last departs at 10.04pm.

On Thursday, 14 domestic flights and four international flights are scheduled to land after the last Airtrain leaves. 

Airtrain told the state government its existing timetable met 95 per cent of all flights.

Transport Minister Bart Mellish announces half-price Airtrain fares at the weekend.

TransLink noted other transport options connecting to the airport included taxis, rideshare and bus services to the Skygate complex – accessible via shuttle buses between terminals and Skygate.

Robert Dow of transport advocacy group Rail Back on Track said there remained major concerns with Airtrain, including poor service frequency.

Mr Dow’s analysis of Perth’s airport rail line found it had 1019 services a week, compared with just 632 for Brisbane.

He called on the state government to improve the frequency to maximise patronage.

“We expect that there will be a very significant patronage increase on the Brisbane Airtrain as passengers take advantage of cheaper fares on the Airtrain, and seek to maximise their travel using the 50c flat fares on the rest of the TransLink network,” he said.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli revealed he would consider buying back the Airtrain if the LNP won the October state election.

Mr Crisafulli on Sunday hinted at his intent to pay for the service, declaring it could be a legacy of the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“I always talk about road and rail and the ability for people to be able to afford to use that line would generationally be a legacy for Queenslanders to look back on,” he said.