CityCat
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| Owner: | Brisbane City Council |
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| Designer: | Grahame Parker Design |
| Builder: | Brisbane Ship Constructions |
| Capacity: | 150 passengers |
| Top Speed: | 30 knots (Restricted to 26 on river) |
| Engine: | 2 x Scania DSI II |
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| Owner: | Brisbane City Council |
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| Designer: | Grahame Parker Design |
| Builder: | Norman Wright and Son |
| Length Overall: | 25 m |
| Beam Overall: | 7.3 m |
| Draft (Hull): | 0.8 m |
| Capacity: | 162 passengers |
| Maximum Speed: | 34 knots (Restricted to 28 on river) |
| Engine: | 2 x Scania Euro 3 low emission diesel |
CityCat is a ferry service operated in Brisbane, Queensland by Metrolink Queensland, a joint venture of Brisbane City Council and French company, Transdev.
The CityCat service runs along the Brisbane River between Apollo Road in the suburb of Bulimba in the east and the University of Queensland at St Lucia, via South Bank and the Brisbane CBD. The network consists of 15 stops and passes locations such as New Farm Park, Kangaroo Point, Queensland University of Technology, South Bank, Toowong and West End.
The popular CityCat vessels are catamarans. Services began in 1996 with 6 vessels, each capable of carrying 150 passengers, with two further vessels being added to the CityCat fleet in 1998 due to increased demand. The service carried approximately 2.88 million passengers in 2004. The system is particularly appealing to tourists as it is a pleasant way to travel past such Brisbane icons as the Story Bridge and South Bank Parklands.
Three further catamarans of a new design, capable of carrying 12 more passengers, have since been added to the fleet. Refurbishment of the first generation CityCats began in 2005. Refurbished CityCats have more comfortable internal seating, with space set aside for parking 12 passengers' bikes, a plasma screen mounted inside to show news services and advertisements, larger onboard toilet facilities and more and better padded seating available outside, especially in the forward seating area.
A tender has been released for the supply of the next three CityCats. The boats are to be of the same configuration as the current second generation 'Cats.
In November 2007, the Brisbane City Council announced it will re-open the Apollo Road Ferry Wharf at Bulimba on 4 February 2008 to improve local residents' access to Brisbane's ferry network. The existing terminal will be upgraded from a cross-river ferry stop to enable it to operate as a CityCat terminal.
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[edit] Safety Record
While CityCats are highly efficient and reliable vessels, concerns regarding the safety of other river users have been raised. This was highlighted when in 2005 a girls' high school rowing crew was run over. The rowing boat was snapped in two but the CityCat was relatively unscathed.[citation needed]
Another incident occurred in October 2006, when the vessel "Mianjin" lost power and smashed into a concrete pole while trying to dock at the Regatta ferry terminal in Toowong. While on approach to the pontoon the CityCat's engines, which are normally used to slow and stop the craft, stalled allowing the Mianjin to drift. Seven people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The CityCat received superficial damage, with a cracked forward hull, and there was minor damage to the pontoon. Other than this incident and the previously mentioned one, the CityCats proudly boast an excellent safety record.
[edit] Vessel Names
The CityCats are named after the Aboriginal place names for various parts of the Brisbane River and adjacent areas. The English name is given in brackets, with the launch date.
[edit] First generation
- Kurilpa (West End) - launched November 1996
- Mirbarpa (Indooroopilly) - launched November 1996
- Barrambin (Breakfast Creek) - launched November 1996
- Tugulawa (Brisbane River at Bulimba) - launched November 1996
- Mianjin (Gardens Point) - launched December 1996
- Binkinba (New Farm) - launched December 1996
- Mooroolbin (Hamilton Sandbank) - launched October 1998
- Baneraba (Toowong) - launched December 1998
[edit] Second generation
- Beenung-urrung (Highgate Hill) - launched August 2004
- Tunamun (Petrie Bight) - launched June 2005
- Meeandah (this suburb is next to Eagle Farm and Pinkenba) - launched February 2008
| Name of wharf | TransLink zone | Serving suburbs | Connections |
| CityCat (Upstream) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bretts Wharf | 2 | Hamilton | TransLink routes: 300, 302 |
| Bulimba | 2 | Bulimba | TransLink routes: 230, 231, 232 Cross-River Ferry to Teneriffe |
| Hawthorne | 2 | Hawthorne | TransLink routes: 232 |
| New Farm Park | 2 | New Farm | TransLink routes: 195, 196, 197 Cross-River Ferry to Norman Park |
| Mowbray Park | 2 | East Brisbane | TransLink routes: 222, 230, 232, 235 |
| Sydney Street | 2 | Merthyr, New Farm | TransLink routes: 196, 197 Inner City Ferry |
| Riverside | 1 | Brisbane CBD | TransLink routes: Free Loop Buses and trains at Central Station |
| QUT Gardens Point | 1 | Brisbane CBD | TransLink routes: Free Loop Buses at Queen Street |
| South Bank 1 & 2 | 1 | South Bank | Buses at the Cultural Centre Trains at South Brisbane Station |
| North Quay 1 & 2 | 1 | Brisbane CBD | Buses at Queen Street Inner City Ferry |
| Regatta | 2 | Toowong | TransLink routes: 411, 412, 415, 416, 417, 425, 430, 433, 435, 440, 445, 450, 453, 454 Trains at Toowong Station |
| Guyatt Park | 2 | St Lucia | TransLink routes: 402, 412 |
| West End | 2 | West End | TransLink routes: 192, 199 |
| University of Queensland | 2 | University of Queensland | TransLink routes: 109, 169, 209 |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Ferry Zone Map
- River Connections - Ferry operators
- Discover the Brisbane River - 'CityCat' Ferry Guide - ourbrisbane.com
- Official CityCat and City-Ferry website
- Historical Brisbane River Map
- MidiCats to join CityCats for Brisbane's River future travel - Brisbane City Council
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