The delivery of Cross River Rail has been officially guaranteed after financial close was reached this morning between the state government and Pulse, the consortium selected as the preferred proponents in April.

This means that the government will now begin making payments available to the consortium as part of the PPP (public private partnership) agreement.

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said that the Roma Street Transit Centre will now commence demolition, which is expected to begin before the end of the year, with actual groundbreaking construction next year.

“This project will create 7700 jobs during construction, and we expect to see those jobs starting in the next couple of months.”

Deputy Premier Jackie Trad today said this was a key milestone that locks in the companies that will deliver the biggest infrastructure project south-east Queensland has seen in decades.

“After the Newman LNP government scrapped this project and tore up the funding deal, we have got it back on track.”

Currently, the Go-Print site at Woolloongabba has been completely cleared and will soon become the staging area for the large tunnel boring machines and roadheaders.

“Our commitment to this project will see tunnelling construction kick off next year too”.

Ms Trad said the Cross River Rail project would transform public transport in the region and revitalise the precincts around the new stations at Exhibition, Albert Street, Roma Street and Woolloongabba.

“By 2036, the south-east corner alone will be home to nearly five million people which makes the need for turn up and go public transport essential,” she said.

“South East Queensland is one of Australia’s fastest growing regions, and we need to build infrastructure now that helps us keep pace with that growth.

“Our public transport network is nearing capacity, constrained by a single rail river crossing with all lines running through the same four city centre stations.

“Cross River Rail will unlock this bottleneck creating new capacity for the whole region as it grows, ensuring high-capacity train stations where they are needed most.”

The Pulse Consortium is comprised of CIMIC Group companies, Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors, and UGL with international partners DIF, BAM, and Ghella Investments & Partnerships.

CIMIC Group Chief Executive Office Michael Wright said they would use an integrated approach to the PPP project, based on CIMIC’s end-to-end capabilities across a project’s life cycle.

“We will finance, design, construct and maintain the new tunnels and rail stations, in partnership with the State Government, to deliver world-class rail assets and services for South East Queensland,” Mr Wright said.