With little fanfare, Brisbane City Council (BCC) yesterday released the business case for the proposed Brisbane Metro.
On the face of it, the $944M estimated (P90) capital cost seems optimistic given that it includes:
- A new tunnel access to the King George Square bus station (bypassing the congested Queen Street Bus Station).
- A new underground station at the busy Cultural Center interchange.
- A new fleet of high capacity metro buses & Maintenance Depot
This ‘low’ cost has undoubtedly contributed to the impressive 1.91 Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) (Cross River Rail has apparently so far struggled to exceed a BCR of 1.0 – that is a $1 benefit for every $1 invested) but even allowing for some cost inflation the benefits are still likely to outweigh the expenditure.
The project will largely be funded by BCC itself however the Federal Government’s new Public Transport Funding Initiative is likely to be tapped for a contribution.
BCC believe that, subject to funding, the project could commence in 2019 and be complete by 2022.
Ironically, the State Government’s Cross River Rail project could be a major stumbling block to progress given that both rely on a redevelopment of Roma Street Station and so today’s announcement is likely to heap further pressure on the State Government ahead of next month’s budget.
Jon Davies
Principal