Cross River Rail (CRR) is an underground heavy rail project under construction in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The project will see the development of a new heavy rail line underneath the Brisbane River, together with the construction of four underground stations in Brisbane’s inner suburbs and the redevelopment of existing stations along the Beenleigh and Exhibition railway lines.
The business case for the project was released in August 2018, with construction commencing in September 2019. The project replaced the planned 2013 Underground Bus and Train project, later named the BaT Tunnel, which in turn replaced the original 2010 Cross River Rail proposal.BaT Tunnel scrapped as government looks for different cross river rail line Brisbane Times 6 March 2015 It is the largest infrastructure megaproject ever undertaken within Queensland.
Cross River Rail consists of a new line through the CBD from Dutton Park in the city's south to Bowen Hills in the city's north, connecting existing rail lines. The project includes of twin tunnels and will deliver four new underground stations at Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street and Roma Street, with Exhibition station also being upgraded. Tunnelling for the project was completed in 2021, with construction planned to be complete by 2025 and the new line operational by early 2026. It also includes seven upgraded stations and three new stations servicing the Gold Coast.
The project provides a second rail crossing of the Brisbane river due to concerns that the only inner-city rail river crossing, the Merivale Bridge, would reach capacity. According to the project's business case, without the new tunnel, overcrowding on most lines would be expected by 2026. Cross River Rail is considered to be the highest infrastructure priority by the Queensland Government. Infrastructure Australia evaluated the business case in 2017 and expressed concerns that the rail patronage projections may not be achieved and that the benefits in the business case may be overstated. However, Infrastructure Australia still listed Cross River Rail as a priority project.
Under the plan, Queensland Rail Citytrain will operate in three sectors, all connecting at the existing or new underground Roma Street stations. Sector One will connect the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast directly, operating trains from Varsity Lakes and Beenleigh through to the Redcliffe Peninsula, Nambour and Gympie. Sector Two will link the Rosewood and Springfield lines through Central to Brisbane Airport and Shorncliffe. Sector Three will run Ferny Grove trains through Central and Southbank to Cleveland.
Name The project has been known as Cross River Rail since its inception in 2010, with the exception of the Bus and Train Tunnel (BaT) proposal, which lasted from 2013 to 2015. In May 2024, the Liberal National Party (LNP) announced that, if elected at the 2024 state election, they would officially rename the Cross River Rail corridor the "Elizabeth line", in honour of Queen Elizabeth II. The LNP launched an online petition following the Queen's death in September 2022 to seek support for the name change, and later claimed to have received close to 5,000 signatures. The Labor Party opposed the proposition, arguing that Cross River Rail is not its own line and, therefore, should not be named as such. Then-minister for transport, Bart Mellish, stated that because Cross River Rail will be integrated into the broader South East Queensland train network, it would be inappropriate to designate the new corridor as a standalone railway line, and that this would possibly confuse commuters and overseas visitors. In May 2025, following the LNP's 2024 election victory, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie recommitted his party to the name change, which was affirmed by a government spokeswoman. However, the new transport minister, Brent Mickelberg, stated that although there were no immediate plans to rename Cross River Rail, discussions could take place once the project is finalised.
History 2010 Cross River Rail proposal A report titled the 2008 Inner City Rail Capacity Study predicted that the demand for Brisbane peak train services would double by 2016. The Infrastructure Australia review of the current project highlighted that the 2011 business case projected the 2016 rail patronage – without Cross River Rail – as 374,000 passengers per day. The Queensland Rail Annual Report for 2015–16 reports patronage of approximately 150,000 passengers per day for the Citytrain network in 2015–16. Between Salisbury and Dutton Park the existing line is used by freight trains traveling to the Port of Brisbane and a terminal at Acacia Ridge, and the expected rise in the number of passengers services may interrupt freight services unless a new line is built. The Merivale Bridge is the only inner-city rail crossing in Brisbane, and by 2016 it was expected to be over capacity, leading the Queensland Government to plan for this project.
The original plans for the project were released on 11 November 2010. The project included a tunnel, two new surface stations as well as four new underground stations. Upgrades to Moorooka and Rocklea were also proposed. Underground stations were proposed to include retail facilities, and a maximum of 120,000 passengers were claimed to be able to be moved during the morning peak period.
The city station was to be built under Albert Street, with two entrances and allowing for trains up to in length. Proposed stations at Woolloongabba and Exhibition were to be named The Gabba and The Ekka respectively.
Yeerongpilly was chosen as the southern portal because it had less impact on residents than a tunnel entrance at Fairfield. An entrance there would allow trains on the Ipswich railway line to use the tunnel via the Tennyson railway line. It also allowed the existing rail yards at Clapham to be used as stabling yards, negating the need to build a new storage depot for trains elsewhere.
2012 revised plan In June 2012, the newly elected Newman Government announced plans for a scaled down version of the project estimated to cost $4.5 billion. The revised plan excluded upgrades to existing stations and extra above-ground train lines south or north of the new tunnel. The revised plan was expected to be completed by 2020. Thirty-nine commercial properties were to have been resumed for the project, including the Royal on the Park hotel and another nine properties in the central business district. One hundred and five residential properties at Yeerongpilly were to have been resumed for the expansion of the Yeerongpilly railway station.
2013 Bus and Train Tunnel proposal
In November 2013, the Queensland Government announced a revised plan for the BaT (Bus and Train) project as an alternative to the previous Cross River Rail proposal. The revised plan involved a external diameter ( internal diameter) tunnel to accommodate both a dual track rail line on the lower level and a two lane busway above. The cost was expected to be $5 billion with construction proposed to start in 2015 and completion in 2021.Double-deck rail and bus tunnel proposed for Brisbane Railway Gazette International. Citytrain patronage is quoted as having increased at an annual average of 3.4% between 2006 and 2012, compared to an average annual population increase of 2.4% over the same period, confirming forecasts that the Merivale Bridge will reach capacity some time between 2016 and 2021. However, this capacity constraint may be over pessimistic as doubt has been cast on the pre-2009 figures supplied by Queensland Rail due to double counting of patronage figures.Australian Government, Department of Infrastructure and Transport, Research Report, No 131, 2012, p48
Project description The current 2016 proposed rail link involves building a new tunnel under the Brisbane River and the Brisbane central business district, creating five new inner city station precincts, and increasing the core capacity of the rail network. The alignment will extend from Dutton Park, through four new underground stations at Boggo Road (adjacent to the Boggo Road busway station), Woolloongabba, Albert Street and Roma Street, towards upgraded stations at Exhibition and Bowen Hills. A new line through the city centre was needed because of the centralised nature of the existing inner-city network of stations. If any inner-city services were interrupted it led to traffic bottlenecks that rippled across city-wide services.
The tunnel will utilise the European Train Control System, and Automatic Train Operation. The maximum capacity is 24 trains per hour in each direction. According to the project's business case the desired design speed is . The four new underground stations will have platform screen doors, a first for Brisbane. Platforms will be long to accommodate future nine-car trains, though the tunnel will initially run six-car trains. The project will utilise a combination of construction methods, including cut-and-cover station box construction for some stations, mined station caverns for the CBD stations, and both Tunnel Boring Machines and Road-headers for tunnelling.
In December 2019, work commenced on the demolition of the Brisbane Transit Centre.Major demolition for Cross River Rail ramps up at Roma Street Minister for Innovation & Tourism Industry Development & Minister for Cross River Rail 18 December 2019 With an estimated capital cost of $5.4 billion it is expected to be the largest transport project ever built in Queensland. In addition, the project's detailed business case identifies the project will result in costs of $4.9 billion for additional services and complementary growth projects, and $4.4 billion for operation and maintenance costs over a 30-year period.Cross River Rail Detailed Business Case 2016, Executive Summary, pp 30–32 On 13 June 2017, the Queensland Government allocated $2.8 billion to start building the rail link. The remaining $2.6 billion of capital costs and other project costs is proposed to be allocated in future budgets. Infrastructure Australia has observed that early project designs formed the basis of the project cost estimates and are prone to design maturity risks. Construction started in September 2017, with completion scheduled by 2024. The Labor Government has stated the project will provide more than 1,500 jobs each year during construction, and boost the Queensland economy by $70 million.
The New Generation Rollingstock fleet will operate in the tunnels. The Queensland Government has also initiated a process of building a new fleet of 65 Electric Multiple Units (not to be confused with the EMU class trains that were retired by Queensland Rail in 2025) capable of operating on the new corridor, with the government committing $600 million to the first 20 trains in 2020. In 2021, three manufacturers were shortlisted for the project and the Queensland Government committed $7.1 billion to build all 65 trains, with construction to take place at a purpose-built facility in Maryborough. The design of the trains, and the eventual service plan for Cross River Rail, have not been detailed by the government.
Delivery The project is being delivered through public-private partnerships and contracts, and is arranged into three major infrastructure packages. The first is the Tunnel, Stations and Development public-private partnership to deliver the main underground and tunnelling works, the Rail, Integration and Systems alliance to deliver the rail system upgrades, and the European Train Control System contract to deliver the new signalling system. These contracts were awarded in 2019.
Sectorisation