Council promises January Metro relaunch following CBD tunnel milestone

As drilling under Brisbane’s CBD for the council’s Metro network wraps up, the Brisbane City Council has promised a permanent return of services through city routes from January 28 next year, citing a “landmark” deal with the state government.

The services were expected to run the 66 bus route in five-minute intervals along the existing Queen Street Mall tunnel from January 28, then reroute through the new Adelaide Street tunnel in the second half of 2025.

Brisbane City Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said it was “really exciting” to reveal an opening date for the Brisbane Metro “for the very first time”.

The excavation of the Metro’s Adelaide Street tunnel was completed last week, although the tunnel was not expected to open until the second half of 2025. Credit: Brisbane City Council

The announcement comes after last month the Metro’s one-month trial running services along the 169 route rolled to a quiet stop at the end of the university semester, leading to criticisms that the Brisbane City Council had not properly labelled the trial.

The council transport chair Ryan Murphy apologised to “anyone who feels that they’ve been misled” on 4BC following the trial’s end.

Schrinner said negotiating with the state government had contributed to a lack of transparency around the Metro’s rollout.

“Last year, we were hoping to strike a deal with the former government to get these services up and running, and the time frame was never locked in,” he said.

“Thankfully, the new premier has come in, the new transport minister has come in, they’ve rolled up their sleeves and done the deal, and we’ve got a date.”

Premier David Crisafulli said he “couldn’t think of a better person to work with than the Lord Mayor”.

“We’ve promised a fresh start when it comes to working with local government,” Crisafulli said.

“To know the vision that [Schrinner] has to ensure that people can move around a growing city and do so with minimal impact in our life is something that we want to get involved with.”

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the lack of transparency surrounding the Brisbane Metro’s opening timeline was a result of the former Labor Government. Credit: Brisbane City Council

Crisafulli added the Metro was part of his government’s goal to deliver public transport across the state that was “not just affordable but also reliable, frequent and safe.”

The council reported the “highly successful” 169 Metro trial had transported more than 90,000 passengers across the four-week period, where 94 per cent of services ran on-time.

Opening its official Metro launch with the M2 route, Schrinner said the M1 would open from the second quarter of 2025 alongside an upgrade to Brisbane’s bus network which was expected to add 160,000 bus services across the city.

“In quarter three, we’ll also make a switch from five-minute frequencies during peak to three minute frequencies,” Schrinner said.

“So, this will be the highest frequency service that Queensland has ever had … this will be a real game changer.”

Beyond 2025, the council planned to begin business cases to expand the Metro to Carseldine, Springwood, Capalaba and the airport.

The Metro rollout timeline follows the state government following through on its election pledge to make 50¢ fares permanent across the state – which was expected to include Metro services.