Secret state report shows Cleveland line duplication key to keeping Cross River Rail on track

The state’s prized $5.4 billion Cross River Rail project could be shown up as unreliable and chaotic if one of the busiest passenger train lines in southeast Queensland is not upgraded.

The state government’s prized $5.4 billion Cross River Rail project could be shown up as unreliable and chaotic if one of the busiest passenger train lines in southeast Queensland is not upgraded.

Secret documents, obtained under right to information, show parts of the new underground network would face bottlenecks without duplication of the suburban Cleveland line.

The 2017 study, The Park Road to Cleveland Rail Upgrade Planning Project, shows the number of trains at Park Road will decline when the new network opens in 2025 as trains on the Beenleigh and Gold Coast lines are rerouted into the new river tunnel.

When the new network is built, the dual-track Ferny Grove Line will be paired with the Cleveland line, which is single track from Manly to the terminus, restricting service frequency and reliability.

Commuter advocate group Rail Back on Track said the decrease in trains servicing Park Road would create a commuter bottleneck on that section of line, increasing platform waiting times.

Robert Dow has called for the Cleveland line to be duplicated before Cross River Rail opens to ensure train service capacity at Park Road interchange station.

Spokesman Robert Dow said the government document highlighted the need for the Cleveland line to be duplicated before the new network opened.

He called for urgent track duplication works to be carried out and additional platforms to be built.

“What’s the point in having a new network and spending all this money if there are not enough trains to service major sections,” Mr Dow said.

“The only way the network will be able to increase the trains to Park Road after Cross River Rail is by increasing trains on the Cleveland line now.

“The only way that can be done is by duplicating the line now instead of waiting five years for Cross River Rail to open.

“The government just does not want to spend the money now even though the duplication is likely to take years.”

Mr Dow said duplicating the track between Birkdale and Cleveland would allow eight trains an hour on the line and would be “a relatively straightforward” construction.

But Transport Minister Mark Bailey disagreed and said it was essential that Cross River Rail was built before adding extra tracks on the Cleveland line.

He said the Merivale St Bridge would not be able to cope with extra trains before a new tunnel and river crossing was built.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the new underground would shave up to 10 minutes off travel times to the CBD for Cleveland line customers. Photo: Richard Gosling

“Cross River Rail will remove the existing conflict point between Cleveland, Gold Coast and Beenleigh line trains that currently exists at Park Road junction, meaning more trains can run with greater reliability,” he said.

“Many Cleveland line customers currently alight at Southbank and South Brisbane stations and walk across the Goodwill or Victoria bridges across the Brisbane River to access CBD workplaces and QUT and with Cross River Rail will no longer have to do so.”

Mr Bailey said the new network would shave up to 10 minutes off commute times for Cleveland line passengers heading into the CBD with reduced walking times between train stations and better connection time frames.

He said the new tunnel would also remove an existing train bottleneck between Cleveland line trains and Gold Coast-Beenleigh trains at the critical Park Road junction.

Cleveland line customers will also have a new option to change trains at Park Road and use the new Boggo Road underground station for direct access to new stations at Woolloongabba, Albert Street, Roma Street and a new full-time Exhibition Station.

Final journey times are yet to be determined.