Major track closures spark hours-long delays, massive queues across Brisbane

Commuters in Brisbane’s north faced major disruption after track closures triggered long queues and lengthy waits for replacement buses.

Pictures taken at Northgate station show commuters lined up for hundreds of meters alongside Northgate train station while they waited for buses to travel into the city on Monday.

The Courier Mail reports that some people had been waiting about 45 minutes for a bus.

TransLink has warned major track closures would occur across the city throughout April while work was carried out to improve the southeast Queensland rail network.

The metro service advised buses would replace trains at Northgate, Bowen Hills, Varsity Lakes and Boggo Road until Wednesday.

“Some journeys may take significantly longer than usual,” a TransLink spokesman said.

“Please consider your travel options, plan ahead and allow extra travel time.”

Thomson Coachlines were contracted to add more bus services during the disruption and brought extra drivers and buses from Melbourne, Goondiwindi, Gympie and the Sunshine Coast to keep up with the demand.

One commuter, Joanne McCarthy, told the ABC her normal one hour commute had taken more than two hours.

“There were no buses there waiting for us,” she said.

“We had no communication whatsoever about what was happening.

“I was thinking about jumping in an Uber, but you couldn’t even get to the front of the line to get down the stairs to get an Uber.”

Queensland Rail has advised commuters to expect delays after industrial action over Easter resulted in track closures being extended across the network until April 30.

Queensland Rail chief executive Kat Stapleton said rail replacement buses would continue to operate during closures to keep people moving.

“Rail replacement buses will continue to operate as frequently as possible into the extended closure, as well as regular bus services, to help customers complete their journeys,” she said.

“Due to the extension of the closure, rail replacement buses will need to be allocated across multiple closure areas, so some services may run at a reduced frequency.”