The major CBD eyesore that’s been forgotten
A buried Brisbane CBD landmark is in need of an urgent upgrade before the 2032 Games, according to experts.
A buried Brisbane CBD landmark that has not undergone a major renovation in nearly 30 years is in urgent need of an upgrade to increase capacity and its visibility before 2032, according to a global design firm.
Sydney-based transport architect Troy Uleman said Brisbane’s 136-year-old Central Station was looking tired and had platforms overcrowded during peak times.
He said even with the addition of Cross River Rail’s Albert Street and Exhibition stations, Central may exceed capacity by 2032.
“There is enormous potential to transform Brisbane by upgrading stations to connect key precincts where people live, work and play,” says Uleman.
“I think Central is so well placed within the CBD, it should be representing Brisbane and celebrates that sense of arrival.
“At the moment, you get off at Central Station, you don’t really know where you are.”
Mr Uleman is a director of John McAslan + Partners, an international design practice delivering transport infrastructure around the globe including London’s King’s Cross Station and New York’s Penn Station.
He said the 2012 Games were the catalyst for the King’s Cross station renewal, which included a waveform roof that created a new public space and became the gateway to a development precinct now considered a global benchmark.
He said the 2032 Games equally provided a critical moment to reimagine Brisbane’s infrastructure, creating a lasting legacy that benefitted generations, and Central Station was an opportunity yet to be unlocked.
“The station is buried beneath the Sofitel and the Queensland Rail office building, there is no real signage and it’s disconnected from its surroundings,” he said.
“But it has great heritage bones and sits right on Anzac Square, a significant public open space.
“Redesigning the station to better integrate into the surrounding precincts will open up movement from the CBD to the north and drive investment.”
Mr Uleman said the existing Roma Street station was similarly hindering cross-city movement, blocking access to the significant amenity of the neighbouring parklands.
He said now that the proposed Brisbane Arena had been moved to Woolloongabba, a land bridge over the station should still be explored.
“What Roma Street is missing is that connection to the parklands to the north, and that could become such a great lung of the city if it was properly connected, and that means going over, not under or through the station,” he said.
Roma St is getting a new entry plaza and underground station as part of Cross River Rail.
The last major renovation at Central was installing platforms five and six in 1996 followed by a $67m modernisation refurbishment from 2016 which had key design elements scrapped to cut costs and took more than five years to complete.
At the Brisbane Economic and Growth Forum in March this year, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie was asked what plans there were to lift the standards of Central and Roma St.
He said at the time his focus was the Victoria Park and RNA precincts but he would talk to Transport Minister Brett Mickelburg about the two stations.
Six months later, there has been no further details.
A spokeswoman for Mr Bleijie said the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority was getting on with the 2032 Delivery Plan and the state government was delivering “new and upgraded transport infrastructure for 2032 and beyond”.
A Queensland Rail spokeswoman said the government-owned statutory authority was working with the state to ensure the South East Queensland transport network was “Games-ready”.
