Sunshine Coast Line Duplication - Reality Check

Limited passing places
on the Sunshine Coast Line

Another week in Queensland, and yet another week in petty politics preventing SE Queensland from moving forwards from being a urban backwater. This week, the federal Turnbull LNP government has offered to part fund ($390m) the much needed duplication of the Sunshine Coast Line from Beerburrum to Landsborough, expecting the state Palaszczuk ALP government to come to the table with more funding. At the same time, the Palaszczuk ALP government is having to 100% fund the more critical (and far more expensive) Cross River Rail (CRR) as the Turnbull LNP government is refusing to fund it. This is despite the Turnbull LNP government offering to find similar projects in other states including the barely planned Melbourne Airport Rail Link. As part of this childish funding battle, there has been debate as to whether Cross River Rail (CRR) is a prerequisite for the Sunshine Coast Line duplication. Here is a BrizCommuter's reality check on the situation.

• The Sunshine Coast Line currently runs approx. 3tph in the am peak, with these services inclusive to the Caboolture Line's 9tph (maximum currently possible is 10tph with trains every 6 minutes). The Caboolture Line services interleave with Redcliffe Peninsula Line services between Northgate and Brisbane's CBD. 
• Off-peak services on the Sunshine Coast Line are currently every 1.5 hours, and every 30 minutes on the Caboolture Line. Train paths are also required for freight traffic. A duplication would allow more of the Caboolture services to run to/from Landsborough or Nambour as long as there are enough drivers. 
• With duplication, but without CRR, or ETCS L2 signalling, the Sunshine Coast Line could run more peak services that currently start/terminate at Caboolture. The maximum realistically possible would be 5tph to/from Landsborough, a train every 12 minutes. This would cause increased crowding on alternate Caboolture Line services. It would also require more trains and drivers, which are currently both in severe shortage for many years to come. 
• With duplication and ETCS L2 signalling (across QR's network), but without CRR, the Sunshine Coast Line and Caboolture Line could both have service improvements. Up to 12tph could be operated on the Caboolture Line, of which realistically 4 to 6tph could run to/from Landsborough on the Sunshine Coast Line in the am peak. 
• Due to capacity contraints (4 tracks) between Northgate and Brisbane's CBD, CRR would not add any capacity to the above scenario. CRR's 2026 service plan claims 27tph would be split between Caboolture/Sunshine Coast and Redcliffe Peninsula Lines, but BrizCommuter doubts that this is realistically possible (and BrizCommuter is usually right). 
• If the Caboolture and Sunshine Coast Lines were connected to a new rail line along the Trouts Road / North West Transport Corridor towards Brisbane's CBD, then 24tph could run to Caboolture. A significant proportion of these services (such as 8tph) could run on the Sunshine Coast Line. Preferably by this time, a train line serving Caloundra and Maroochydore (CAMCOS) would have been constructed. 

So realistically, Cross River Rail is not required to increase am peak capacity from 3tph to 5 or 6tph on the post-duplicated Sunshine Coast Line. ETCS L2 signalling, more trains and more drivers would help alleviate added crowding on Caboolture Line services which can only be increased by approx. 20%. For significant (>20%) capacity increases on the Caboolture Line, and to allow high frequency (>6tph) peak services to Caloundra and Maroochydore, a new train line along the Trouts Road / North West Transport Corridor would be required.