The holidays are already chaotic under the best of circumstances, but throw in some transport complications and you may find yourself living a true Nightmare Before Christmas. Avoid stress and plan your journeys ahead — especially important ones — as all train lines will be affected by closures due to Cross River Rail work and Queensland Rail maintenance.
The closures will extend from Saturday, December 20 to Monday, January 26, with several phases throughout this period. Crucially, during Christmas week, from December 20 to December 28, all rail lines will be impacted by track closures and travel changes.
What to expect
From Saturday, December 20 to Sunday, December 28, all lines will be impacted by track closures between Roma Street and Northgate/Ferny Grove, with major timetable changes from Monday, December 22 to Wednesday, December 24. Over this weekend (the 20th to the 21st), this will also include Banoon and Yeerongpilly stations.
From Monday, December 29 to Wednesday, December 31, all lines will have major timetable changes, with additional services running on NYE.
Thursday, January 1 and Friday, January 2 will be a respite, with everything running normally.
From Saturday, January 3 to Monday, January 26, Beenleigh and Gold Coast will run as a combined service between Varsity Lakes and Banoon. And no trains will run between Banoon and Yeerongpilly until Monday, January 12. Afterwards and until Monday, January 26, no trains will run between Banoon and Boggo Road.
On week days, Doomben line trains will run between Doomben and Eagle Junction only, until Friday, January 23. Finally, from Saturday, January 24 to Monday, January 26, Cleveland line trains will run between Manly station and the city, with no trains running between Cleveland and Manly stations.
In every case, where there are no trains running, buses will replace them, so don’t worry: you’ll still be able to get around! All services will return to the regular timetable on Tuesday, January 27, for the start of the 2026 school year.
These works are being done over the holidays to cause the least amount of inconvenience possible, and it’s so Queensland Rail can do track maintenance between Bowen Hills, Wooloowin, Ferny Grove, and the Cleveland line.
Additionally, The Cross River Rail project are meant to upgrade South East Queensland’s rail network as it undergoes a huge overhaul to support the area’s growing population.
With this information, don’t forget to plan your journeys this season and happy holidays!