Despite council’s Labor opposition warning of further cost blowouts and delays,Cr Schrinner has insisted the $1.2 billion project’selectrified and articulated 24-metre buses would be running by the end of 2023.
Plans for a station under the present high-frequency bus rank area or Convention Centre were put on ice last yearafter disagreements over the size and location,with the lord mayor saying upgrades to the existing bus station wouldsustain the city’s travel needs for the next decade.
But asked whether a 2032 Olympic Games centred in the city would mean a renewed focus on the underground option,Cr Schrinner said:“Absolutely”.
“It was always our intention to have the underground Cultural Centre station built as part of Brisbane Metro. We settled on an agreement with the state government that there would be an interim solution reached,” he said.
“The above-ground station won’t meet the demands of the Olympics[so] we’re now talking to the state government about getting some Olympic funding from the federal and state governments to make sure we can go back to that underground station,which will set us up for the Olympics and well beyond.”
Council has committed $944 million of the project’s cost,with a capped $300 million from the federal government. An Infrastructure Department spokeswoman said new or additional funding proposals would be considered through the usual budget processes.