The State Government will be investing billions of dollars for rail and passenger transport infrastructure, including train station upgrades at Boondall, Geebung, and Virginia.
More than $6 million has been allocated towards train station upgrade projects at Boondall, Geebung, and Virginia. A total of $5,626,000 in funding will go towards the design and construction of station accessibility upgrades at Boondall train station.
On the other hand, Park “n” Ride facilities will be constructed at Geebung train station (additional 70 car parking spaces) and at Virginia train station (additional 47 car parking space) with budget values of $427,000 and $370,000, respectively.
Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program
Regional Queensland will benefit immensely from the State Government’s investment on infrastructure projects under the Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program (QTRIP) 2019-20 to 2022-23.
The State Government has allocated billions of dollars for rail and passenger transport infrastructure projects, Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said, including $160.8 million from the Queensland Government for the North Coast Line as well as train station upgrades and other network improvements.
“A centrepiece of that work will be the $250 million high-capacity underground interchange for the Inner Northern Busway to the Cross River Rail Project, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the Roma Street Station precinct,” he said.
The government will also invest in bus stops and train stations to make stations more accessible and upgrade key commuter roads to create priority bus lanes.
A total of $21 million has been set aside to deliver 600 new car parking spaces at Greenbank bus park ‘n’ ride and $4.5 million to expand the Eight Mile Plains bus station park ‘n’ ride, adding 340 extra car spaces.
New Generation Rollingstock
Minister Mark Bailey said that the government will continue to deliver the New Generation Rollingstock project. The largest single investment by Queensland, the $4.15-billion project aims to increase SEQ’s fleet of passenger trains to meet growing demand.
The project involves the design, construction, and maintenance of 75 new trains for SEQ. The purpose-built Wulkuraka Maintenance Centre was already completed in 2016 whilst accessibility upgrade works on the first NGR train will commence late 2019.
“All 75 six car sets are expected to be available for service in the 2019-20 financial year, and Maryborough rail workers will start work in the coming months to ensure the new trains comply with national disability standards.”
Job-creating projects
The State Government will continue its focus on job-creating infrastructure project investments, Mr Bailey said. Queensland government will spend a record $23 billion investment in roads and transport projects, supporting 21,500 jobs.
“More than $14.5 billion of this record QTRIP will be spent outside the Brisbane City, Ipswich City and Redland City local government areas.”
“Our investment will make the Bruce Highway safer and more flood-resilient between Brisbane and Cairns,” he said.
The Queensland Budget for Brisbane and Redlands region alone include infrastructure spending of $3.9 billion, which is estimated to generate around 11,500 jobs.