Metro expansion into suburbs dead in the water without federal funding, says lord mayor

The Brisbane Metro will not be expanded into the outer suburbs without federal funding, according to the lord mayor.

A leaked document obtained by this masthead showed the proposed expansion was unlikely to be completed before the 2032 Olympic Games, and suggested a previously scrapped bridge could be revived.

On Tuesday, Adrian Schrinner played down the unreleased 33-page transport plan as an “advocacy document”.

The yet-to-be-released document, titled The Race to Gold: Brisbane’s Games Transport Legacy, provides updates to a plan – with the same title – that was publicly released in 2024. At that time, the lord mayor described the document as a “detailed plan” for “long-term transport legacy”.

“I can absolutely say that without federal funding, there will be no extension of Brisbane Metro,” Schrinner told reporters ahead of a speech at the Queen’s Wharf casino on Wednesday.

“That is a certainty.”

He added the services would link to other council areas, and therefore Brisbane residents should not be expected to foot the entire bill.

It comes after the LNP state government changed Olympic venues last year.

In 2024, the Race to Gold document spruiked a “massive expansion of the Brisbane Metro bus rapid transit project to 22 new stations and stops in the north, south, east and the airport”, stating it would be operational by 2031 in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

However, the unreleased document suggested the council would partner with the state government to give buses priority on Old Cleveland Road and Gympie Road instead, with a staged rollout of future corridors of the Metro from late 2032.

The update, obtained by this masthead, also revealed shade on Victoria Bridge – which links South Bank to the city – was expected to be delivered by late-2029.

A design will be finalised and funding approved by late 2027, and a contract awarded in mid-2028.

“This is a key part of the green walkable grid that we’ve been talking about as an important connection for our Olympic city,” Schrinner said on Tuesday.

“It needs that shade, and we’ve got a plan in place. We’ve put the footings in place, we’re ready to go as soon as this money is signed off.”

He later revealed test shade sails had been set up at the Brisbane Metro depot.

The leaked document suggested a scrapped bridge linking West End to St Lucia could be resurrected, but the lord mayor said this was not correct.

He added a link from West End to Toowong remained possible – with federal funding.

“Well [the West End to St Lucia bridge] was something that we actually ruled out previously based on community feedback … it’s something we proposed, the local community wasn’t too happy about it,” he said.

“The Toowong to West End bridge, though, had great support, and that would be our first priority in terms of a new bridge … but once again, this requires partnership.”

Schrinner said plans outlined in the report to “uplift bus priority” in the northern and eastern corridors ahead of the Olympics, instead of the Metro expansion, would be a “very suboptimal outcome”.

“You’d see temporary solutions put in place that would then be taken out after the Olympics. We do not want that,” he said.

“We want a legacy of transport here for the people of Brisbane and south-east Queensland that lasts.”

On Wednesday afternoon, a spokeswoman for the lord mayor’s office said the 2026 Race to Gold paper was an advocacy document to other levels of government that proposed a range of potential projects and timelines that could be delivered before, during and after the 2032 Games if they were supported by other levels of government.

“It was never a fully funded plan,” she said.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.