17 January 2020
The Brisbane City Council are currently finalising the procurement process for the design and construction tender for the $944 million Brisbane Metro Project. Brisbane City Council had mostly funded the project in partnership with the federal government providing $300 million.
The project will include an initial fleet of 60 fully-electric Metro vehicles and a depot with a charging infrastructure station for these vehicles, maintenance and staff facilities. Brisbane-based suppliers Volgren and world-leading electric-vehicle producer HESS have been announced as the preferred tenderer for the vehicles with the first vehicle arriving this year for testing.
Services are expected to be provided every three minutes during peak hours to improve public transport for commuters. It is set revolutionise travel services in Brisbane as people will no longer to need to check timetables as the service will run so regularly.
Stage One of the Brisbane Metro will provide a 21-kilometre service connecting 18 stations along dedicated busways between Eight Mile Plains and Roma Street, and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and University of Queensland.
Stage Two may involve expanding services to Carindale on the southside and Chermside and the Airport on the northside. There is also a possibility for future growth at the School Rd in Yeerongpilly. Works on the Rochedale site will involve the removal and relocation of a number of buildings to make space for the service.
Parts of the project have already been completed with upgrades completed on corner of Peel and Merivale Street and Peel and Cordelia Street in South Brisbane, and Kew Street and Upper Roma Street in the CBD.
The Request for Tender is to be released in mid-2020 and awarded by mid to late 2020. The development is due to commence in early 2021 and is estimated to take 2 years to complete. Construction is expected to create 165 jobs with more than 185 when opened.
