If trains in Queensland’s most populated pocket could be better connected through a cross-suburban rail line that already exists, why can’t passengers use it?
The Tennyson line — which still appears on some of the state’s rail network maps, connecting Corinda and Yeerongpilly in Brisbane’s south — switched to freight-only trains in 2011.
The Tennyson line appears on some rail network maps, including this one being displayed on a Brisbane passenger train. (ABC News: Gemma Ferguson)
That means the four rail lines servicing Brisbane’s south are disconnected from one another, giving commuters no choice but to travel into the city if they want to head west or catch a train further south to the Gold Coast — despite being geographically closer.
Reopening the Tennyson line to passengers “would be very useful” to connect those living outside of the city centre, according to RAIL Back On Track spokesperson Robert Dow.
“It’s one of those things that we’ve got, and it’s underutilised. That line is actually quite important,” he said.
Robert Dow said the Tennyson line played an important role in connecting Brisbane’s outer suburbs. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner believes there’s some merit to reopening the line, because “we know local residents want better public transport”.
“It’s expensive to build new rail lines and if old lines can be activated, then it should be investigated to see if there is demand and if it’s feasible,” he said.
Why did the Tennyson line close?
It depends who you ask.
Queensland Rail’s Neil Backer said “prior to the closure of the Tennyson line to revenue services in 2011, the number of customers using this line and station was not significant”.
“There are multiple bus options available to service these communities,” he said.
Tennyson is now only used “during scheduled track closures or unplanned disruptions”, and to link freight carriers to the Beenleigh and Ipswich lines, he added.
Mr Dow argues more new trains are needed to better service Brisbane. (Facebook: Queensland Rail)
But Mr Dow argues the long-running service was “really popular” before it was closed.
“They didn’t have enough trains to reliably service Corinda, Tennyson and Yeerongpilly,” Mr Dow said.
“So they brought in a 104 bus, which is a pretty poor substitute for what was a really good rail service.”
He said Tennyson is Brisbane’s only line that “gives some sort of cross-suburban utility”, making it an important asset.
Mr Dow said the Tennyson-Corinda route was popular, particularly among school students travelling home from the city. (Supplied: Robert Dow)
Could Tennyson train station be reopened?
University of Queensland Professor of Transport Engineering Mark Hickman said “it’s not like they demolished the station or anything”, but Tennyson station would need work to upgrade platform accessibility if it were to reopen.
Dr Hickman says the line does have the technical ability to carry passengers. (Supplied)
He estimated it would cost millions of dollars to get up and running again, but there’s no technical reason the tracks can’t be used for passenger trains.
“There currently isn’t any issues with the track that goes through that connector between Corinda and Yeerongpilly regarding the gauge of the track,” Dr Hickman said.
Mr Dow agreed that a new station would have to be built, or commuters would need to “just accept the fact that the trains are just going to run from Yeerongpilly to Corinda” without stopping at Tennyson.
“That in itself would be pretty good anyway,” he said.
“They might have to just run [one direction] into the city. But what’s wrong with that?”
Queensland Rail confirmed reopening the Tennyson line for passengers “would take significant funding”.
“While there are no current plans to re-establish the line, Queensland Rail will continue to work with Translink to monitor patronage levels and service needs for our customers as required,” Mr Backer said.
Brisbane’s ‘poor’ public transport
Mr Dow said Brisbane is “considered to be a poor example of public transport when you look at the rest of the major capital city networks”.
He said that comes down to the city’s radial network — that is, trains that only link back to the CBD but not across suburban Brisbane — combined with a lack of frequency outside of the inner city.
Mr Dow was on the final passenger service through Tennyson back in June 2011, and he believes the line is now under-utilised. (Supplied: Robert Dow)
“You’re looking at one-hour, even two-hour services in some cases. That’s hopeless,” he said.
“You go to Perth, all the lines run trains every 15 minutes — Perth’s got a smaller network than what we have, but they carry more people.”
Dr Hickman said there are studies looking at the feasibility of other south-east Queensland trains travelling around suburbs, rather than going through the CBD.
But since some areas don’t have existing tracks, that development is likely to take some time.
“With the 50 cent fares, if you can’t get on the bus, you can’t save money, so there are places in Brisbane where the access to public transport … is fairly poor,” Dr Hickman said.
What about Cross River Rail?
Cross River Rail will connect the Airport-Gold Coast line and Ferny Grove-Beenleigh line to new train stations at Woolloongabba, Albert Street in the CBD, and the RNA Showgrounds.
Dr Hickman said this will partially alleviate the “fairly significant bottleneck” plaguing the CBD — where all six train lines connect to stations at Roma Street, Brisbane Central, Fortitude Valley and Bowen Hills — but Cross River Rail won’t link up those outer south-west suburbs.
The Ipswich/Rosewood (green) and Springfield (light blue) lines won’t be connected through the Cross River Rail (grey). (Supplied: Queensland Rail)
He said the Springfield and Ipswich lines, which travel down from the northern Redcliffe Peninsula and Sunshine Coast regions, both “have some spare capacity” to run additional trains.
If the Tennyson line were to reopen, commuters as far south-west as Rosewood Station and Springfield Central could connect to more lines.
“For some people, it would be quite attractive to be able to come from the Ipswich line and get into the city faster using the Cross River Rail line and vice versa,” Dr Hickman said.
Preparing for Brisbane 2032
As south-east Queensland’s population continues to boom, and Brisbane prepares to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, many are concerned about the region’s connectivity — with one local mayor going as far as opening a fake train station at Ripley after 18 years of waiting for the real one to be built.
But unlike that train station and squabbling over Olympic infrastructure, the Tennyson line already exists.
“We’d like to see, particularly for Olympic Games, services that were a bit more innovative,” Mr Dow said.
“[Trains] could run from Ipswich, even Springfield, then swing through Tennyson and go out to Moorooka and onwards to the Gold Coast — wouldn’t that be terrific?”
