The next stage of the Brisbane Metro will begin on June 30 and bring with it 24-hour weekend travel services.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the new M1 Brisbane Metro service would run between Roma Street Parkland and Eight Mile Plains, replacing the existing 111 and 160 bus routes.
Lord Mayor Schrinner said the first permanent Brisbane Metro service, the M2, continued to exceed expectations, with the staged introduction of Brisbane Metro set to deliver an extra 160,000 services every year together with Brisbane’s new bus network.
He said when the next stage launched on June 30 commuters could expect:
- 24-hour weekend travel on Brisbane Metro services.
- Turn-up-and-go Brisbane Metro services running at five-minute frequencies.
- Five new bus routes to improve connectivity to the South East Busway and Fortitude Valley, adding more than 5000 new services a year.
- Four new all-day services in streets that currently only have a peak-period buses, increasing frequency and connection to key Metro corridors.
- Twelve combined bus routes that eliminate duplicated services without decreasing the total number of trips, creating more efficient routes that can be accessed by more people.
- Three divided routes that will now finish their service in the city, reducing the likelihood of delays.
- Capacity for an extra 55,000 students to UQ, QUT and Griffith universities.
“More than 1.1 million trips have been taken on the ‘M2’ Brisbane Metro services between UQ and RBWH since January 28, with services boosted to five-minute frequencies from morning peak to the end of the afternoon peak in preparation for the next stage of metro services.”
Lord Mayor Schrinner said the opening of a new inner-city tunnel beneath Adelaide Street would be critical to unblocking bottlenecks in the city’s bus network and enabling metro services to increase from five minute to three-minute frequencies.
He said as works geared up to open the Adelaide Street tunnel in the third quarter of this year, the King George Square, Queen Street and Roma Street bus stations would be temporarily closed during six consecutive super weekends of works from June 21 to July 25.
“Alternative routes will be communicated to passages via in person signage and on the Translink website.”
Lord Mayor Schrinner said other key infrastructure upgrades being delivered as part of the Brisbane Metro project included:
- A new Cultural Centre station to increase capacity and travel times through the bus precinct. Final touches are underway on platform three, with the station set to be fully operational in the coming months.
- A major upgrade of Buranda station, extending the platforms by 30 metres and widening the bus tunnel, which opens today (May 12).
- Installation 15 new electric passenger information displays and six new bus shelters along Adelaide Street. The Adelaide Street works are expected to be complete later this month.
