If trains in Queensland’s most populated pocket could be better connected through a cross-suburban rail line that already exists, why can’t passengers use it?
The Tennyson line — which still appears on some of the state’s rail network maps, connecting Corinda and Yeerongpilly in Brisbane’s south — switched to freight-only trains in 2011.
That means the four rail lines servicing Brisbane’s south are disconnected from one another, giving commuters no choice but to travel into the city if they want to head west or catch a train further south to the Gold Coast — despite being geographically closer.
Reopening the Tennyson line to passengers “would be very useful” to connect those living outside of the city centre, according to RAIL Back On Track spokesperson Robert Dow.
“It’s one of those things that we’ve got, and it’s underutilised. That line is actually quite important,” he said.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner believes there’s some merit to reopening the line, because “we know local residents want better public transport”.
“It’s expensive to build new rail lines and if old lines can be activated, then it should be investigated to see if there is demand and if it’s feasible,” he said.
Why did the Tennyson line close?
It depends who you ask.
Queensland Rail’s Neil Backer said “prior to the closure of the Tennyson line to revenue services in 2011, the number of customers using this line and station was not significant”.
“There are multiple bus options available to service these communities,” he said.
Tennyson is now only used “during scheduled track closures or unplanned disruptions”, and to link freight carriers to the Beenleigh and Ipswich lines, he added.
But Mr Dow argues the long-running service was “really popular” before it was closed.
“They didn’t have enough trains to reliably service Corinda, Tennyson and Yeerongpilly,” Mr Dow said.
“So they brought in a 104 bus, which is a pretty poor substitute for what was a really good rail service.”
He said Tennyson is Brisbane’s only line that “gives some sort of cross-suburban utility”, making it an important asset.
Could Tennyson train station be reopened?
University of Queensland Professor of Transport Engineering Mark Hickman said “it’s not like they demolished the station or anything”, but Tennyson station would need work to upgrade platform accessibility if it were to reopen.
He estimated it would cost millions of dollars to get up and running again, but there’s no technical reason the tracks can’t be used for passenger trains.
“There currently isn’t any issues with the track that goes through that connector between Corinda and Yeerongpilly regarding the gauge of the track,” Dr Hickman said.
Mr Dow agreed that a new station would have to be built, or commuters would need to “just accept the fact that the trains are just going to run from Yeerongpilly to Corinda” without stopping at Tennyson.
“That in itself would be pretty good anyway,” he said.
“They might have to just run [one direction] into the city. But what’s wrong with that?”
Queensland Rail confirmed reopening the Tennyson line for passengers “would take significant funding”.
“While there are no current plans to re-establish the line, Queensland Rail will continue to work with Translink to monitor patronage levels and service needs for our customers as required,” Mr Backer said.
