A Shorten Labor Government will help end the gridlock in South East Queensland by investing $2.24 billion towards the congestion-busting Cross River Rail project.

This is South East Queensland’s number one infrastructure project – that’s why Labor is making it a priority.

This will allow more trains, more often. It will take cars off the road and get traffic moving. And it will provide a major boost to the economy – with 7700 jobs in the construction phase alone, and 550 ongoing operating jobs.

Labor will partner with the Queensland Government on the project, which will build a new 10.2 kilometre north-south passenger rail line from Bowen Hills to Dutton Park.

The project will incorporate 5.9 kilometres of tunnelling under the Brisbane River and CBD, as well as four new underground stations constructed at Boggo Road, Woolloongabba, Albert Street and Roma Street, and the upgrade of the existing Dutton Park and Exhibition stations.

When completed, the Cross River Rail will remove current bottlenecks by doubling the capacity across the River and allowing more trains to run more often – along every major train line.

And it will mean commuters spend less time in transit and more time doing the things that are important to them. Passengers will save 15 minutes commuting from Beenleigh or the Gold Coast to the Southern CNB.

This is a critical project for South East Queensland’s future – with the population of the region forecast to grow from 3.5 million today to 4.9 million in 2036, investment in good infrastructure is critical.

Demand for passenger rail services is forecast to almost triple by 2036, and passenger train lines are already currently over capacity.

Failure to build the cross river rail will severely limit the region’s ability to grow, and will put more pressure on already congested roads.

Only an out-of-touch prime minister would ignore the critical need for investment in public transport infrastructure.

South East Queensland is crying out for investment in this project – but Mr Turnbull has been ignoring it. He hasn’t put in a dollar of Federal funding to get construction off the ground.

Labor knows that the solution to South East Queensland’s congestion issues is more roads and more rail – that’s why a Shorten Labor Government will build both.

In addition to this $2.24 billion commitment to Cross River Rail, a Shorten Labor Government will invest $1 billion to widen the M1 from Eight Mile Plains to Daisy Hill to eight lanes as well as widening the M1 to six lanes from Varsity Lakes to Tugun. 

In supporting the M1 upgrade but ignoring the Cross River Rail Project, Mr Turnbull and the LNP are only doing half the job. This will result in Queenslanders spending more time on a train platform or stuck in traffic.

Only Labor will build more roads and more rail – boosting infrastructure, creating jobs and cutting travel times for Queenslanders.

Benefits of the project:

• The CRR will double public transport capacity across the river into Brisbane CBD from the south, providing ultimate capacity for 24 rail services per hour in each direction
• There will be a 22% reduction in train crowding by 2036
• It will increase daily public transport patronage in 2026 by 9,000 passengers and 23,000 passengers in 2036.
• CRR will reduce private vehicle kilometres travelled by 526,000km per day – (a 24 per cent decrease in daily crowded hours in 2026 and 29 per cent in 2036)
• It will provide faster, more reliable travel times across South East Queensland, including to and from the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast