‘Game-changer’: Construction finishes on upgraded Exhibition station

People catching the train to the Caravan and Camping Supershow on Wednesday will be the first to experience the much-anticipated revamp of the train station at Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds.

After years of construction, the Exhibition station upgrade includes new lifts, wider platforms, more shade, and accessibility features such as hearing aid loops.

But the station will only operate for major events – including Brisbane’s annual agricultural show, the Ekka, and this week’s caravan and camping show – until Cross River Rail opens in 2029.

Exhibition station has been upgraded to better accommodate large crowds.Credit: Queensland Government

RNA chief executive Brendan Christou said the facilities would be a game-changer for his organisation and the events precinct around Bowen Hills, which was set to host an athletes village for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032.

The station was still under construction during last year’s Ekka, but would be operational for this year’s event, in about 10 weeks.

“It’s been a tough couple of years, and we’ve worked really well with Translink in particular and QR on the alternative plans, but there’s nothing like coming to the show on a train,” Christou said.

“We look forward to everyone coming and enjoying the experience of this new station. I’m sure they’ll see what we see, which is this fantastic, much more accessible, easy to access station for all those patrons of the show.”

Queensland Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said the station would be open year-round when Cross River Rail opened in 2029.

“We have a considerable amount of work still to finish on Cross River Rail, both construction and then certification of all the systems that are required to operate the network, and this particular infrastructure, safely.

“We also need to realign timetables, and there’s a considerable amount of work that Queensland Rail, in conjunction with my department, needs to do … to deliver the benefit for Queensland commuters in the south-east.”

Exhibition station will only operate for major events, such as the Ekka, until Cross River Rail opens in 2029.Credit: Cross River Rail

Exhibition station was originally due to open ahead of last year’s Ekka, and the Cross River Rail in 2026, but Mickelberg said the previous government had waylaid the projects by focussing too heavily on “the announcement at the start”.

In January, he revealed the revised Cross River Rail opening date, as well as a $12 million cost increase, saying at the time that the project would need at least two years of independent testing, which would push out the 2026 date.

But the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator rejected Mickelberg’s claim that independent testing was required, saying this is the role of the project manager, so the timeframe for this process is a matter for them.

The Cross River Rail project was put on hold several times last year as CFMEU members working on key construction sites – including Roma Street station and the Exhibition station – took industrial action.

The first test trip through the new line’s 5.9-kilometre twin tunnels – from Bowen Hills to Roma Street station across two days – was completed last September as “proof of concept”.

Seven other existing stations in Brisbane’s south have been upgraded to accommodate Cross River Rail services, including Rocklea, Fairfield, Dutton Park, and the recently reopened Yeerongpilly station.

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