Four deathtrap level crossings on Beenleigh line ‘must go’ to prevent road gridlock from Cross River Rail
A transport advocacy group is calling for four ‘death trap’ level crossings to be removed on a busy passenger train line ahead of the planned Cross River Rail.
Logan
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Brisbane-bound road traffic from Logan’s emerging suburbs could face hefty peak-hour delays after Cross River Rail is built.
EARLY MORNING TRAIN FOR BEENLEIGH LINE
Transport advocacy group Rail Back on Track said road traffic from suburbs including Woodridge, Logan Gardens, Kingston and further north at Sunnybank, could be held up for 40 minutes every hour during peaks.
Spokesman Robert Dow said for Cross River Rail to work on both rail and road, the state needed to remove four of the southeast’s most dangerous train level crossings, all on the Beenleigh and Gold Coast lines.
Mr Dow said after the new river link was built, Beenleigh line train services would be ramped up to every five minutes and the added train frequency would put pressure on the four “death trap crossings”.
He singled out Trinder Park station for a potential “catastrophic” train and car collision.
The crossing, which links parallel roads metres from shops and the busy station carpark, is ranked as the state’s third worst level crossing behind Warrigal Rd at Fruitgrove station, Old Beaudesert Rd at Salisbury, with Stones Rd in Sunnybank the fourth worst.
“Those extra train services on the Beenleigh line will be profound and possibly lead to a catastrophic crash or loss of lives,” he said.
“Trains run in both directions at Trinder Park station and there is a danger impatient motorists will not wait for the boom gates to fully lift or for the flashing lights to stop.
“When you take into account the Gold Coast services, the Beenleigh all-station trains, and the counter-peak services, it is likely that the boom gates will be down for around 40 minutes at a minimum in the hour during peaks and that’s clearly unmanageable.
“Motorists might see one train pass safely and then start going across the track not realising that there is another train coming from the other direction.”
Last week, the state announced plans to remove level crossings at Beams Rd, Carseldine; Boundary Rd, Coopers Plains; and an investigation into the crossing at Lindum.
They will be the first crossings to be removed since 2014 on southeast lines, where there are 52 level crossings on the Queensland Rail Citytrain Network south of Caboolture.
The state government said removing the Coopers Plains crossing would cost upwards of $200 million.
Rail Back on Track and the state’s peak motoring group, RACQ, welcomed the announcement but pushed for further upgrades at all level crossings with Mr Dow calling for at least two removals a year.
RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie said the boom gate rules applied to motorists and cyclists and fines for breaches were $1,067 and four demerit points for obstructing a train.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re in a car, on a bike or on foot, everyone needs to be patient and wait for the train.”
Last year, pedestrians and motorists had 127 “close calls” with trains at level crossings in the southeast, up from 120 in 2018.
The state government in Victoria has removed 35 level crossings in the past three years and plans to remove 75 by 2025.