Cross River Rail - A Step in the Right Direction

Kirsten Fry
Urban Design

The proposed Cross River Rail plan, released last week, (click on the image for a larger view of the plan and it's proposed catchment areas) is a move in the right direction towards creating a sustainable future for Brisbane, but is it too little, too late?

With South East Queensland’s population expected to all but double in the next 20 years, the only way to reduce congestion in the CBD is through prioritising public transport – bus, rail and ferry. However, projects such as Clem7 are prioritised, sending the community the message that cars are the future of transport in Brisbane – something the experts agree is just not sustainable.

Demonstrating these mixed-up priorities, the $2.2billion Clem 7 vehicular tunnel was proposed, approved and entirely constructed before plans for the expansion of Brisbane’s public transport network surfaced. While the goal of Clem7 was to reduce congestion within the inner city, something it has achieved in the short term, it does not take a long term view of Brisbane’s inherent public transport issues, something the Cross River Rail plan goes some way towards addressing.

The proposed rail will service the previously neglected South end of the Brisbane CDB including QUT Gardens Point and the Woolloongabba Sports Stadium. The total length of the proposed new line would be 19km, with the tunnel possibly stretching from Bowen Hills to the Fairfield-Annerley area. The ambitious project, expected to become a reality by 2016, also may include a new underground station at Woolloongabba, an underground platform at Park Road, possible underground platforms at either Roma Street or Central in the city, and upgrading the Exhibition and Bowen Hills stations ( www.crossriverrail.qld.gov.au).

If we were to look at a possible future Brisbane that included a more encompassing commuter rail network, we would need to consider the cities of the world which are considered to have the best public transit orientation. Celebrated cities such as London, Tokyo, Paris, New York, Moscow and Seoul top the list. Below are the key statistics for these cities (see this link for a detailed explanation of each network, including maps and photos ):

LONDON:
Track Length (km) - 400
Service (users daily) - 3.4m
Maturity (years in service) – 147
No. of Stations – 270

TOKYO:
Track Length (km) - 329
Service (users daily) – 4.5m
Maturity (years in service) – 110
No. of Stations – 300

PARIS
Track Length (km) - 214
Service (users daily) – 4.5m
Maturity (years in service) – 110
No. of Stations – 300

NEW YORK
Track Length (km) - 369
Service (users daily) – 4.9m
Maturity (years in service) – 106
No. of Stations – 462

MOSCOW
Track Length (km) - 299
Service (users daily) – 6.6m
Maturity (years in service) – 75
No. of Stations – 180

SEOUL
Track Length (km) – 314
Service (users daily) – 5.6m
Maturity (years in service) – 36
No. of Stations – 291
(source)

One might argue that these cities which have successful systems of sustainable public transportation service a much higher density than Brisbane City currently does, and as such we do not have the economies of scale to support such large-scale infrastructure. This is true, however with projections prepared by the Department of Infrastructure and Planning indicating that by 2031 South East Queensland will be home to 4.2 million people, it will not be long until we will be forced to support growing populations by thinking smarter. We must also remember that Brisbane is only very young (150 years old) and that planning and preparing for higher density though the expansion of our public transport will deliver vital opportunities for the inevitable future growth of our River City.

Public transport, especially rail networks, could address the issue of urban sprawl that is thought to be an unavoidable problem in the development of cities, containing the missing link to creating a balance between our work and home lives; improving lifestyles and creating great communities. For example, if a high speed rail line (350km/hr) ran from the Sunshine Coast to the Brisbane CBD (100km as the crow flies), you could live near the beach, and be at work in the CBD of Brisbane within roughly 20 minutes to 30 minutes (depending on stops).

Further to this discussion of alternatives to vehicular transport in cities, an emphasis should be put on pedestrian and bicycle transport. Cities such as Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Paris, Barcelona and Berlin all are renowned for their encouragement of using this environmentally friendly option and provide assistance through route maps online, tours, dedicated road allocation and ‘bike-share / bike-hire’ opportunities.

Ultimately, a focus on public transport will result in less congestion, an improvement in lifestyle and will build the foundations for a sustainable CDB – not to mention South East Queensland. It would improve frequency and reliability and encourage both residential and commercial developments to cluster around new hubs of activity, creating better places for us to live and work.