Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is my pleasure to report to the House the latest update on the Moreton Bay Rail Link, a rail link that was first mooted more than a century ago, in 1895, and which this Labor government committed to in conjunction with the Moreton Bay Regional Council and the Queensland government in 2010. I can report to the House that we have defined the preferred corridor, proposed station locations and reference design, commenced preliminary survey works, conducted community consultations, completed the final business case and finalised the project change report. We are now at the stage that, on 18 January 2012, the tender process opened for the realignment of the Dohles Rocks Road and the construction of a new bridge between School Road and Russell Street as well as the erection of a new bridge along Goodfellows Road and its realignment so it connects with Dohles Rocks Road at Russell Street.

In addition, work has already started on the Kinsellas Road bridge. It has already gone out for tender and the successful tenderer will be announced by the end of March 2012. This third road bridge is required for the project at Kinsellas Road East and has already progressed to shortlisting of the three contractors. The Kinsellas Road bridge will provide one lane in each direction for general traffic, on-road cycle facilities and a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists. It is great that we have hit this significant milestone where we are now putting tenders out and nearing the completion of announcing construction companies. In addition, international design company Hassell has been appointed to create concept designs for the six new stations on the Moreton Bay rail link. The design work will focus on functionality, layout and parking, as well as access for pedestrians, cyclists, taxis and buses. Concept designs for all six stations will be completed by mid this year and the community will be invited to have their say about the plans.

There was a lot of cynicism in my community about this rail line. It has been promised for a very long time. It is fantastic to be able to stand in my community and say that in a matter of months they are going to see bulldozers digging up dirt and building bridges to go over rail lines. They will see the design plans for these stations. This is real. We are going to have six stations—Kallangur, Murrumba Downs, Mango Hill, Kinsellas Road, Rothwell and Kippa-Ring—operational in 2016, just in time for people on the Redcliffe peninsula to catch the train to the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. I look forward to being on that train with them.