Brisbane train stations to close for 10 months for $370m disability upgrade

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Four Brisbane railway stations will be closed to passengers for at least 10 months from January 2024 while new pedestrian bridges, lifts and platform changes are made to improve disability access.

Morningside, Lindum and Banyo stations will each close for 10 months from the week starting January 22 as part of the $370 million project. They will reopen “in the second half of 2024, pending construction and weather conditions”.

Morningside station once the disability upgrades are complete.

Buranda station will close from January 8, 2024, and reopen in mid-2025.

As part of the work, station platforms will be raised to bring them closer to train doors to make boarding safer and easier.

Lifts and overpasses will be built to enable those in wheelchairs, using walking frames, pushing prams and carrying luggage to better access the platforms.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said preliminary work would begin soon at the four stations.

How the new Buranda train station will appear by 2025, with new lifts and overpasses.

“Customers will see piling, signalling construction, and site establishment works soon,” he said.

“Similar works are also underway at Banyo station, with survey activities and associated platform works to continue in coming weeks.”

Bailey said while the work would cause disruptions, it would improve the rail network.

Disability upgrade works planned for 2024-25

Morningside

• Both platforms extended towards Norman Park and straightened to reduce the platform step gap.
• New bridge connecting the Wynnum Road entrance and the station’s new pedestrian overpass.

Banyo

• New footbridge with lifts and stairs.
• Updating the current northern footbridge.

Lindum

• New station building.
• Upgraded North Road Park’n’Ride.
• Platform realignments, with Platform 2 to be extended 30 metres towards Wynnum North station.

Buranda

• New footbridge with lift access.
• Platform realignment. 
• Increased shelter coverage and new customer information screens.

“These upgrades will make our network better for everybody,” he said.

“We’re doing it this way because it means we can get the job done safely and efficiently, minimising impacts to commuters.”

The work also includes installing accessible toilets, new disability-compliant ticket windows, improved seating, and extended platform shelters.

It will add tactile floor indicators, new signage, information screens, and better security with CCTV and lighting upgrades.

An image of the revamped Lindum train station on Brisbane’s northside.Credit: Queensland Rail

Disability access is already being upgraded at eight other stations as part of the $6.3 billion Cross River Rail project, where the first elevators were unveiled at Woolloongabba on Saturday.

Cross River Rail’s new stations – Roma Street, Albert Street, Woolloongabba, Dutton Park, Pimpama, Hope Island and Merrimac – will all receive modern disability access.

The improvements at the four older Brisbane suburban stations are the next phase of Queensland Rail’s Station Accessibility Upgrade Program.

Queensland Rail regional director Scott Riedel has asked commuters to complete a survey to provide feedback on the most appropriate alternative transport while the work is underway.

You can find the survey here by clicking on the relevant station.

“We understand this will change the way customers travel for a period of time, but we’re committed to making our rail network accessible to everyone in the long term,” Riedel said.

Since 2017, 13 stations have undergone disability upgrades, with Southbank (November 2022) and Auchenflower (2023) the most recent.

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