DELIVER A MASS TRANSIT SOLUTION TO CONNECT QUEENSLAND’S FASTEST GROWING REGION TO PLACES AND POSSIBILITIES
The Ipswich to Springfield Central Public Transport Corridor (I2S Corridor) is a designated public transport corridor traversing residential expansion areas of Ripley and Redbank Plains.
By providing a strategic link to Brisbane and an efficient alternative to private vehicles for over 200,000 people, it will promote economic prosperity, productivity, and social inclusion by providing access to jobs, education, services and recreation.
This project is a critical element of addressing public transport underinvestment throughout Ipswich. Connectivity between Ipswich and Springfield is inadequate and not meeting community expectations, and growing areas with family-based demographics including Redbank Plains have limited access to public transport.
Progression of this project is imperative to catering to growth and will improve mobility for the 2032 Olympic games.
COMMITMENT REQUIRED
$10 million is required to progress this project to shovel-ready status by selecting and developing preferred options for a mass transit solution in the I2S Corridor.
In the short term, $1 million of federal funding is required to supplement committed Queensland Government and Ipswich City Council funding to complete the Stage 2: Options Analysis.
Council is also asking the Queensland Government to bring forward its contribution to the 2022-23 budget year.
About the I2S Corridor Project
Why is this project important?
Benefits to Ipswich:
- New local economic hubs
- Transit-oriented development and housing
- Connectivity to essential services such as health and education
- Address public transport gap in established area
- Provides public transport to 70% of future growth.
Benefits to South East Queensland:
- Strengthen regional road network efficiency
- Reduced peak hour congestion
- Improve road safety
- Improve economic productivity
- Leverage investment in Cross River Rail
- Supports 16% of SEQ’s and 75% of the Western Corridor’s projected population growth.
Advocacy success to date
Council delivered the Strategic Assessment (Stage 1 Business Case) for this project in 2020. It provided a preliminary shortlist of possible mass transit solutions for further investigation in future business case phases:
- heavy rail
- light rail
- trackless trams
- bus rapid transit.
In 2020, the Strategic Assessment was provided to the Department of Transport and Main Roads which is reviewing it for use as its Strategic Assessment of Service Requirement (SASR).
As a result of the Strategic Assessment, this project is now included as an Early-Stage Proposal on Infrastructure Australia’s Infrastructure Priority List.
Council secured an election commitment from the Queensland Government in 2020 for $1 million towards the Options Analysis (Stage 2 Business Case) for this project.
Council has also committed $500,000 towards the Options Analysis.
What's next
This project achieved the following milestones:
- Strategic Assessment/Stage 1 Business Case (completed 2020)
- Infrastructure Australia Infrastructure Priority List submission (completed 2020)
- Funding commitment secured from Queensland Government (secured 2020).
Current steps are:
- Funding commitment secured from Federal Government (in process).
Future milestones are:
- Options Analysis/Stage 2 Business Case
- Funding commitment for next phase
- Detailed Business Case
- Funding secured for construction
- Construction
- Operation.