A weekend track closure will halt trains to and from the city all day on Sunday,June 2. Roma Street,Central,Fortitude Valley,Bowen Hills,South Brisbane and South Bank stations are all affected.
Brisbane Marathon competitors cross the Story Bridge,which will be closed from 4am to 11am on June 2.McDonalds Brisbane Marathon
Rail buses will replace trains for the Beenleigh,Cleveland,Gold Coast and Ipswich lines. This,combined with road closures in the CBD,Kangaroo Point,New Farm,Teneriffe and the Story Bridge,has runners worried about traffic congestion on the day.
“The only good option it seems is to ask a mate to drive you in,which will surely cause inner-city traffic and congestion,” one runner commented on Instagram.
“Avoid the ramps from the M3 to Elizabeth St,” warned another. “I was stuck there for nearly an hour[last year and] ended up arriving to the race 20 min late.”
Timothy Muir of Manly West said his wife would drive him in to compete in the Half Marathon,which begins at 6am from Margaret Street in the CBD.
“I suspect there’ll be a lot of people who will just assume they can get a train in on the day and they’ll rock up to a station and realise they can’t,” he said.
“Maybe you should turn up the night before and sleep in town.”
Event co-organiser Mark Laforest of Atlas Events said the marathon would be “somewhat hindered” by trackwork but entrants were being kept informed of their travel options.
“Our recommendation to people is leave yourself a good hour to get there and aim to arrive by 5am so you get a good position in the start grid,and you don’t have all the hassle of wondering if you’re going to make it in time,” he said.
Participants in the Brisbane Marathon Festival have taken to social media to discuss transport arrangements.Facebook
A Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) spokesperson said the track work was scheduled before the dates of the Brisbane Marathon were announced.
“Rail buses are scheduled to run from Bowen Hills and Roma Street to Corinda,Cannon Hill and Banoon,” they said.
“The buses will stop at all stations and there will be inbound and outbound bus services.”
Facebook user Rick Graham recommended parking at South Bank and walking across one of the bridges to get to the starting line.
“[It] takes all the stress out of the situation and gives the body a nice warm-up,” he commented.
Laforest said he had confidence in the previous experience of marathon runners when it came to logistics.
“They’re done a few in the past – these people are pretty switched on[about] getting to the start line in time,” he said.
Information on road closures and transport options is available at the. Information on track closures is available at the.