Northern Busway is a bus-only road in Brisbane, Queensland. The busway allows buses to travel north/south through the Brisbane City without encountering car traffic. The first section of the Northern Busway opened in February 2004 had one station, QUT Kelvin Grove, later Normanby and RCH Herston opened.[1][2] In August 2009, the first stage of the Northern Busway extension, Herston to Windsor, opened.[3]
The Northern Busway starts at the end of the South East Busway. It then proceeds north-west to the King George Square Bus Station. The Northern Busway then surfaces near Roma Street railway station and follows the alignment of the main city train lines. The busway then continues north alongside the Exhibition railway line and then north-east through the Victoria Park Golf Complex, with stations adjacent to the Normanby Fiveways, the QUT campus at Kelvin Grove and the Royal Children's Hospital in the suburb of Herston. The busway then turns left and on to a bridge structure alongside the RBWH precinct over Butterfield Street. In the future, the busway will continue to Bracken Ridge, via Windsor, Lutwyche, Kedron, Chermside and Aspley. At Kedron, it will be integrated with the Airport Link project, a new underground road to the Brisbane Airport.[4]
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The first section of the Northern Busway, from the intersection of Roma Street to Herston, opened in February 2004 with only one station, QUT Kelvin Grove.[5] In December 2005, two new stations, Normanby and RCH Herston, were opened on the first section of the Northern Busway.[1][2] In May 2007, the Queensland Government gives the green light for the Airport Link project, which includes an extension for the Northern Busway. This extension will take the Northern Busway to Bracken Ridge via Windsor, Lutwyche, Kedron, Chermside and Aspley.[6]
The second section of the Northern Busway, also known as the Inner Northern Busway, officially opened to buses on May 2008.[7] This section connects the first section of the Northern Busway to the South East Busway with stations at King George Square and Roma Street. To make room for the Inner Northern Busway at Roma Street one rail platform was removed.[8][9] In August 2009, the first stage of the Northern Busway extension, Herston to Windsor, opened for buses.[3]
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The Northern Busway starts in a tunnel underneath Albert Street in the city centre adjacent to the Queen Street bus station, previously the terminus of the South East Busway. Many northbound services using the Northern Busway originate at the Cultural Centre busway station on the South East Busway. It then proceeds north-west to the King George Square busway station, a large interchange with several stops on each of its two underground platforms. The Northern Busway then surfaces near Roma Street railway station and follows the alignment of the main city train lines. Roma Street busway station is adjacent to the train platforms and is on the same level. Platform 2 is shared by both trains and buses, although the only train to currently use Platform 2 is CountryLink's daily XPT service from Sydney Central.
The busway then continues north alongside the Exhibition railway line and then north-east through the Victoria Park Golf Complex, with stations adjacent to the Normanby Fiveways, the QUT campus at Kelvin Grove and the Royal Children's Hospital in the suburb of Herston. The busway then turns left and on to a bridge structure alongside the RBWH precinct over Butterfield Street.
In the future, the busway will continue to Bracken Ridge, via Windsor, Lutwyche, Kedron, Chermside and Aspley. At Kedron, it will be integrated with the Airport Link project, a new underground road to Brisbane Airport.[4]
The Windsor to Kedron Section is currently under construction, with completion anticipated in mid2012.[10] The route is planned to rejoin Lutwyche Road after crossing Enoggera Creek. The route travels via bus lanes and local bus stops until it reaches Truro Street, when it enters into a dedicated underground busway tunnel. After passing through Lutwyche Busway Station and Kedron Brook Busway Station and crossing Kedron Brook, the route rejoins Lutwyche Road at Stafford Road (Southbound/Inbound) and Sadlier Street (Northbound/Outbound).[11]
The Kedron to Bracken Ridge section of the busway is currently under planning, with completion anticipated by 2026.[12] The Queensland Government has released a series of draft alignments in order to identify the corridor for preservation, however no final route has been selected.[13]
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