Getting Around Brisbane in 2026: Public Transport, Cycling and the Cross River Rail

Brisbane's transport network has improved significantly over the past decade and the coming years will see even more substantial changes with the delivery of the Cross River Rail. Here is a current picture of how the city moves.

CityCat and ferries

The CityCat ferry service on the Brisbane River is one of the city's most distinctive and enjoyable transport options. Connecting the University of Queensland in St Lucia with Hamilton and Northshore, the ferries provide fast and scenic connections that bypass road traffic. The ferry service is integrated with the TransLink ticketing system.

Trains

Brisbane's suburban train network operates from Roma Street Station in the city centre to outer suburban stations and Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast connections. The network has good coverage of the main corridors but thins towards outer suburban areas. Peak hour frequency is reasonable; off-peak is more limited.

Buses

The bus network in Brisbane is extensive. The busways — dedicated bus corridors — provide fast connections in several directions from the city centre. The Inner Northern Busway and South East Busway are the most significant. Bus rapid transit in dedicated lanes significantly reduces the impact of road traffic on travel times.

Cross River Rail

Cross River Rail is the transformational infrastructure project for Brisbane's transport network. When operational, it will create a second rail crossing of the Brisbane River and add four new inner-city stations. This will significantly increase network capacity and remove the bottleneck at Brisbane Central that limits through-running on the current network.

This article was compiled by AI from the sources linked above and screened before publishing. See our editorial standards.