Plan ahead: major rail closures over festive period

There would be changes to services on the Beenleigh, Gold Coast and Cleveland rail lines from Christmas Day until 3 January.

RACQ spokesperson Kate Leonard-Jones said while the timing of the closure was selected to minimise impacts to commuters, locals and visitors would need to plan ahead.

“Buses will be replacing trains on some lines and timetables will vary so if you’re planning to travel around Brisbane over the holiday period, please plan your journey before setting off,” she said.

“Motorists may experience heavier traffic along Ipswich, Fairfield and Wynnum Roads due to the replacement bus services, so please be patient and allow extra time.”

Between 6pm on 31 December and 4am on 1 January, trains on the Beenleigh and Gold Coast lines will run express to Roma Street station from Moorooka and Altandi respectively, while trains will terminate at Lindum on the Cleveland line.

From 29 December to 5pm on New Year’s Eve trains on the Beenleigh line will be terminating at Yeerongpilly and on weekends and public holidays no trains will run to South Bank.

Ms Leonard-Jones said there would be particular impacts for revellers heading to New Year’s Eve celebrations in the South Bank precinct. 

“Those heading to firework displays this year at South Bank need to be aware access to the South Bank and South Brisbane train stations can only occur on the Shorncliffe or Ferny Grove line at Roma Street,” she said.

“This may mean people on the Beenleigh and Cleveland lines will need to travel beyond South Bank and South Brisbane stations to change trains at Roma Street to access the South Bank precinct.

“While these changes may cause some temporary inconvenience, they are necessary to carry out important work on Cross River Rail. This project is going to future-proof Brisbane and will revolutionise how we travel around the River City.”

More information could be found on Cross River Rail’s Travel Checker website.