Hundreds take a ride along Moreton Bay Rail route
More than 650 Murrumba residents will enjoy a historic trip today when they travel the length of the $988 million Moreton Bay Rail Link by bus.
Transport Minister Scott Emerson and Member for Murrumba Reg Gulley inspected the route with residents to view the progress of the exciting project.
“This project is well on track to be delivered by 2016 as part of our strong plan to deliver better infrastructure for Queensland,” Mr Emerson said.
“Since construction started 10 months ago the project has already reached significant milestones, with beams being installed on a number of bridges, including over the Bruce Highway/
“Platforms are starting to come out of the ground at Mango Hill station and the laying of the rail line is expected to start early next year.”
Three buses carried members of the public from Kippa-Ring to Mango Hill from 8am to 5pm.
“This trip of a lifetime will give residents the chance to view this massive engineering achievement at first-hand and in safety,” Mr Gulley said.
“The response to my invitation to view the project was so great that almost 1,000 excited residents responded. Unfortunately, we were only able to cater for 660.
“This train line was first mooted in 1894 and had been promised by so many governments that many people never thought they would see it built.
“I fought hard to have the line built and now everyone can see this project is finally happening.”
The Moreton Bay Rail Link project will deliver 12.6km of dual track passenger rail line, between Petrie and Kippa-Ring, connecting to the existing North Coast line.
Mr Gulley said today’s crowds were a great indicator of how many people would use the line when it opens in 2016.
The $988 million required for the project is being provided jointly by the Australian Government, Queensland Government and Moreton Bay Regional Council.
Source: News Release, The Honourable Scott Emerson, 1st November, 2014
http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2014/11/1/hundreds-take-a-ride-along-moreton-bay-rail-route