Brisbane Metro: $450m expansion into suburbs approved by feds

A bold plan to extend Brisbane Metro to the airport and South East Queensland suburbia in time for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games has received the backing of the federal government.

A bold plan to extend Brisbane Metro to the airport and South East Queensland suburbia in time for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games has received the backing of the federal government.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King is supportive of the Brisbane City Council and state government plan, and has vowed to keep $150m in federal funding on the table.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Premier Steven Miles last month joined forces, alongside the Council of Mayors SEQ, to lobby the federal government to fast-track a business case for the extension.

The pair proposed redirecting $450m in funds originally slated for a new top-notch Woolloongabba station which has since been scrapped.

A spokeswoman for Ms King said she was supportive of the idea.

Map of proposed extension to Brisbane Metro

“The Minister supports the proposal by the Queensland government and Brisbane City Council to redirect their funding contribution for the Gabba station into the metro expansion,” she said.

“The Commonwealth remains committed to its $150m contribution under the South East Queensland City Deal and is considering this proposal alongside other relevant funding requests.”

Twenty-two new stations would be built on an extended network to Carseldine, Capalaba, Springwood and the airport, through Airportlink, Doomben and DFO.

The first stage of Brisbane City Council’s Brisbane Metro, linking Eight Mile Plains and the University of Queensland, will open on October 21, before the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital is connected through Roma St months later.

Expanding the electric service to deliver high frequency and high-capacity public transport is seen as the quickest way to improve the city’s public transport offering before the 2032 Games.