Brisbane Cross River Rail mobilises for construction 22 Aug 2019

With the Cross River Rail contract finalised, the major contractors are moving to mobilise their workforces. Construction will commence later in 2019 as scheduled.

The Cross River Rail route, which will integrate with Brisbane Metro services

Pulse, the consortium selected as the preferred proponent in April 2019, will deliver the Tunnel, Stations and Development major construction works, as part of a public-private partnership package. Comprising the CIMIC Group companies, Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors, and UGL, with international partners DIF, BAM, and Ghella, the consortium will deliver tunnelling works, new underground stations, and ongoing maintenance services. CPB Contractors will deliver the design and construction in a joint venture with Ghella and BAM International, with UGL delivering the mechanical and electrical works. UGL will also provide maintenance services for the project over 24 years.

The State Government is providing an AU$5.4 billion capital contribution for construction. The Pulse consortium sponsors and equity providers are Pacific Partnerships (49%), DIF (26%), BAM PPP PGGM (15%), and Ghella Investments and Partnerships (10%).

The rising population in South East Queensland has put its transport network under pressure, constrained by a single rail river crossing in Brisbane with all lines running through the same four city centre stations. Driven by population and employment growth in the region, demand for passenger rail services is forecast to almost triple by 2036. The Cross River Rail project will unlock the bottleneck into the Brisbane Central Business District (CBD) by delivering a second river crossing, allowing more trains to run more often and integrating with new roads and bus services to enable an easily accessible public transport system across the entire region.

As the largest infrastructure project in South East Queensland, Cross River Rail includes design and construction of a new 10.2km rail line from Dutton Park to Bowen Hills, including 5.9km twin tunnels under the Brisbane River and the CBD, and four new underground stations at Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street and Roma Street.

Albert Street station in the CBD will span 294m – effectively two entire city blocks underground. As the first CBD train station built in the city in over 120 years, it will also be the deepest station on the network at 31m below street level. The new station is expected to be the busiest of the four new underground stations, with almost 70,000 passengers projected to use the station every weekday by 2036. Woolloongabba and Roma Street stations will both be 27m below street level and will have 220m platforms to accommodate nine-car trains to provide for additional future capacity, while Boggo Road station will be 19m below street level. The Woolloongabba site will become the staging area for the TBMs and roadheaders before becoming the location of the new underground station.

Construction of Cross River Rail is due to complete by 2024, after which a detailed commissioning and testing programme will begin.