The Cross River Rail underground station at Albert Street is taking shape as work nears completion on the first new train station in the Brisbane CBD in more than 120 years.
Crews have reached two major milestones with the completion of the mezzanine level – where people will take the final escalators down onto the station platform – and the platform itself.
Both milestones represent significant feats of engineering:
- The mezzanine level is made up of 183 pre-cast concrete beams, each up to 19m wide and weighing up to 70t
- The 220m-long platform is made up of 368 precast culverts, each weighing 6.5t
Every single piece of the station had to be lowered into the cavern down a 31m-deep access shaft.
Escalators are due to arrive on site and preparation works are underway for tracks to be laid in the station cavern over the coming months.
While tracks are being laid, crews will also start installing platform screen doors.
Queensland Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment, Cameron Dick, said that Cross River Rail is a critical piece of infrastructure that will redefine how people not only travel in Brisbane but live in this amazing city.
“By 2036 more than 67,000 people will travel through the Albert Street Station each day, as it becomes the main pedestrian feeder point for QUT’s Gardens Point campus, the parliamentary precinct, Queen’s Wharf, the upgraded Eagle Street business district and the City Botanic Gardens,” Mr Dick said.
Queensland Minister for State Development and Infrastructure, Industrial Relations, and Racing, Grace Grace, said that Cross River Rail is a transformative project, one that is set to change how people move throughout Brisbane.
“Seeing this huge piece of transport infrastructure up close is very exciting and gives a real sense of its magnitude and importance,” Ms Grace said.
“It will make it easier to get into the city for work or study, or to enjoy shopping and dining options, including at Queen’s Wharf.
“Albert Street station will be a new centre point in the middle of the CBD – a vibrant transport hub where people will meet and gather, breathing new life into the heart of the city.
“As someone who has lived in central Brisbane all my life, I can appreciate the changes this will bring, making the city more accessible for everyone.”
Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Bart Mellish, said that most people going about their business in the CBD would have absolutely no idea about the extraordinary construction effort underway right beneath their feet.
“The completion of the mezzanine and platform levels below ground mean this new station in the heart of the CBD is another step closer,” Mr Mellish said.
“With tracks, escalators and platform screen doors soon to come, what was once a massive empty cavern below ground is looking more and more like a world-class train station each day.
“The works beneath our busy CBD streets are seriously impressive, and I thank the more than 545 workers at Cross River Rail’s Albert Street sites for their tremendous efforts in bringing the first station to be built in Brisbane’s CBD in more than 120 years to life.”
Featured image: The station cavern. Image credit: Queensland Government.
