Adelaide Street Tunnel reaches key testing milestone ahead of Brisbane Metro launch

Brisbane, June 12 (Australia India News Newsdesk)

Brisbane Metro’s muchanticipated Adelaide Street Tunnel has entered a critical phase, with live weekend testing now underway — marking a major milestone in the city’s public transport evolution.

For the first time, buses and Metro vehicles will begin driving through the newly completed tunnel as part of comprehensive weekend trials. Once open to passengers later this year, the tunnel is expected to carry over 1,390 services daily, significantly easing congestion in the CBD by shifting buses off surface roads and into the purpose-built underground link.

Testing will be carried out across 10 weekends, with up to 70 specialists working on-site to conduct essential commissioning tasks. These include activating smart software systems, trialling lighting and ventilation, and integrating public announcements and communications with the existing busway network. A total of 70 operational scenarios will be rigorously tested to ensure every safety mechanism and system functions flawlessly before public access begins.

To facilitate these works, the inner-city busway tunnel system will temporarily close on weekends, and several major stations — including Queen Street, City Hall/King George Square, and Roma Street — will be unavailable from Friday night until 5am Monday morning.

During this time, services will be detoured to street level and replaced by Metro bus services, with potential timing changes of up to six minutes. The Ezymart inside City Hall will also remain closed during these works.

Council staff and signage will be available across the city centre to help passengers navigate changes and maintain connectivity. Passengers are advised to plan their journeys in advance using updated timetables on the Translink website.

The Adelaide Street Tunnel — the largest and most complex infrastructure piece in the Brisbane Metro project — will link the South East Busway to the Inner Northern Busway. Spanning 225 metres in length, between 16 and 20 metres wide, and up to 10 metres high, it is a critical link designed to transform the efficiency and reliability of public transport across the city.

Cr Ryan Murphy, Civic Cabinet Chair for Transport, hailed the milestone as a significant step forward.

“This is a huge milestone for Brisbane Metro and a major step towards delivering faster, more reliable public transport for residents and visitors,” Cr Murphy said.

“For the first time, buses and Metro vehicles will drive through the new tunnel, putting this game-changing infrastructure to the test.

“By moving more than 1,390 services underground every day, we’re easing CBD congestion and freeing up space on city streets.

“We thank commuters for their patience during this important phase, with the end result to be more services, more often for Brisbane’s transport network.”

Scheduled Weekend Works: Testing closures will occur from Friday midnight to Monday early morning across the following weekends:

June 20–23

June 27–30

July 4–7

July 11–14

July 18–21 (with Roma Street Station reopening briefly on July 19 for the Wallabies vs British and Irish Lions match)

July 25–28

August 1–4

August 8–11

August 15–18

August 22–25

Brisbane Metro’s Adelaide Street Tunnel is set to be a cornerstone in delivering a faster, cleaner, and more connected transport network, redefining how residents and visitors move across the city.