The Queensland Government has announced it’s latest Cross River Rail station with trains as frequent as 5 minutes.
Yeerongpilly residents should expect their property values to skyrocket following the Queensland Government’s announcement for a new four-platform station which will service Brisbane’s new subway tunnel as well as the suburban rail network. The station should expect train frequencies to be every 5 minutes during peak times. This is part of the Queensland Government’s ‘Connecting SEQ 2031’ transport plan (shown below).
New Yeerongpilly station
Transport Minister Rachel Nolan announced to Parliament the entrance for the southern portal would be located at Yeerongpilly.
The portal would comprise a new 4 platform station and entrance to the underground Cross River tunnel at the Yeerongpilly station. The plan would involve compulsorily acquisition of 66 properties on the eastern side of Fairfield Road, many of which are considered traditional ‘Timber and Tin’ character housing. The battle to save ‘Timber and Tin’ character housing has traditionally been confined to the inner 5 kilometres with the project set to be a further test of State Government resolve in the face of NIMBYist opposition. Several of the properties are considered ‘million dollar’ value.
The Minister confirmed 84% of land to be resumed was already zoned industrial and realignment of Wilkie Street on the eastern side of the line would also need to occur as part of the project.
Alternative options assessed were Moorooka, Yeronga and Fairfield stations with Moorooka discounted as the shunting yards, part of the national freight network, would need to be relocated requiring further resumptions. Any plans to place the entrance to the tunnel further north would also result in more acquisitions as existing stations would need to be duplicated to cater for increased capacity. The prospect of additional acquisitions would create an impost on the bottom line of the project which is yet to be fully funded. The State Government is relying on the prospect of a PPP in order for the project to advance and is seeking funds from both the Federal Government and the private sector.
Rail Back on Track spokesman Robert Dow praised the location as it meant the Ipswich line would be connected with Cross River Rail via the Yeerongpilly loop from Corinda station. The trip from Yeerongpilly to Albert Street is set to take 10 minutes aboard Cross River Rail, shaving almost 15 minutes off the current Ipswich – CBD trip.
Despite information sessions conducted in August, residents have complained about a lack of consultation from the State Government on the issue with formal public consultation on the plan set to begin in October. With the inner north facing supply exhaustion major infrastructure projects, including the Buranda TOD and Eastern Busway, have increasingly been focused toward the southern side of the CBD. Residents have questioned why the tunnel entrance will not be placed on the opposite side of Fairfield Road, site of the proposed Yeerongpilly TOD.
Although strategically favourable, repositioning the entrance to the opposite side of Fairfield Road would impact the ability to provide community open space as part of the Yeerongpilly TOD. A major redesign and possible elevation of Fairfield Road would also be required to occur in order for the entrance to connect into the network from the western side of Fairfield Road.
The new station would be the last station before the Cross River Rail tunnel, which is proposed to surface just north-east of the existing station.
It is proposed the new station would include:
- new public space for the community
- better facilities
- longer and wider platforms.
The new station is proposed to be located on the eastern side of the existing tracks with an entrance on Wilkie Street.
More information about the preferred location for the southern tunnel portal and the new station at Yeerongpilly is available in the Salisbury to Fairfield local area update.
