Brisbane council election: State memo warns Quirk’s Metro could cost $3 billion

Cameron Atfield reports in the Brisbane Times (4.3.16) about claims that Lord Mayor Graham Quirk’s proposed ‘metro’ public transport initiative would cost twice as much as suggested, after state government analysis.

‘Lord Mayor Graham Quirk could have underestimated the cost of his rubber-tyred Brisbane Metro system by nearly $1.5 billion, according to an internal state government document.

‘But Cr Quirk has insisted he can deliver his Brisbane Metro system for $1.54 billion, should he be re-elected on March 19, and has called on the government to apply similar scrutiny to Labor’s light rail proposal.

‘The memorandum to Department of Transport and Main Roads director-general Neil Scales, dated February 2 and obtained by Fairfax Media, raises serious concerns about how the project would affect the state government’s Cross River Rail.

‘Bureaucrats from the department’s transport strategy and planning branch also warned the cost of the project could blow out to as much as $3 billion.’

The TJRyan Foundation does not guarantee the accuracy, currency or completeness of any information or material available on this website. The TJRyan Foundation reserves the right to change information or material on this website at any time without notice. Links from this site to external, non-TJRyan Foundation websites should not be construed as implying any relationship with and/or endorsement of the external site or its content by the TJR Foundation, nor any commercial relationship with the owners of any external site. Should any TJRyan research project be funded by an individual or organisation the source of funding will be stated beside the research report. In all other cases contributions are provided on a pro bono basis.
Receive the latest news

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Get notified about new articles

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.