Transportation Planning Casebook/Queensland Olympic Transport Plan for 2032

Summary

In July 2021 the International Olympic Committee announced Brisbane as the host city for the 2032 Summer Olympic Games. This announcement was the culmination of a two year campaign and followed from a failed bid some 40 years earlier to host the 1992 Games.

Hosting contemporary mega events are seen by jurisdictional authorities as an opportunity to leverage the national (and international) attention to attract investment and overcome other barriers to stimulate development. This includes building new sports facilities, mixed use precincts and transport infrastructure. A focus of the planning for the 2032 Games has been on the 'legacy' of the games and insuring that the infrastructure that South East Queensland is left with after the games provides a positive return of investment when compared to the cost of hosting the games.

Some of the key infrastructure that is currently being developed in Queensland for the Games includes a new rail line to the Sunshine Coast, a quadruplication of the Beenleigh Line to allow improved frequency and travel times for train services between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, improved active transport infrastructure focused around key nodes and a proposed expansion of Brisbane Metro, a new Bus Rapid Transit system.

Annotated List of Actors

Sector	Actor	Roles and Concerns
Government	Australian Government	Provide major financial support, allocating $520 million for Olympic transportation construction.
		Coordinate interstate projects and construct the Brisbane-Gold Coast express railway.
	Queensland Government	Lead the planning and implementation of major transportation projects such as Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro.
		Established the Queensland Olympic Infrastructure Authority (QOIA) to oversee progress.
	Brisbane City Council	Manage local road upgrades and operate the Brisbane Metro system.
Traffic enforcement agency	Transport for Queensland	Design an Olympic-specific public transportation network and collaborate with the federal government to advance the procurement of a zero-emission bus fleet.
	Cross River Rail Authority	Ensure the Cross River Rail is operational by 2025 and optimize operational plans during the Olympics.
Community and industry organizations	Queensland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIQ)	Feedback on business needs, participation in Olympic transportation hearings.
	Public Transport Users Association of Queensland (PTUA QLD)	Monitor the fairness of public transportation services (such as facilities for persons with disabilities).
International organizations	International Olympic Committee (IOC)	Review traffic plans to ensure they meet Olympic standards.

Timeline of Events

Time period	Events
August 2017	Publication of Shaping South East Queensland (SEQ) Region Plan.
July 2021	IOC Executive Board proposes Brisbane as host of Olympic Games 2032.
December 2021	Signing of the Brisbane 2032 Host City Contract, requiring transportation projects to comply with International Olympic Committee standards.
June 2022	The main tunnel of Cross River Rail has been completed.
June 2022	The federal and state governments have jointly committed $780 million for Olympic-related transportation upgrades (such as road optimisation and bus priority lanes).
July 2023	Announcement of South East Queensland City Deal to improve metro, ferry, and road transport.
December 2023	A fleet of electric metro trains with zero tailpipe emissions has been launched.
December 2024	Announcement of Planning for walking at Brisbane 2032, delivering a highly accessible Games transport experience for people of all ages and abilities.
March 2025	100 Day Review of Games Infrastructure completed.
2026	Brisbane Airport's third runway will be put into operation, with the federal and state governments jointly investing $1 billion to increase international flight capacity and support passenger traffic during the Olympics.
2028	All transportation facilities connecting Olympic venues have been completed, including the Gabba Stadium light rail station and Suncorp Stadium bus hub.
2032	Completion of the Bruce Highway, The Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail project and The Wave to Sunshine Coast Airport.

Maps of Locations

Figure1 Indicative location of venues and transport links, noting (a) venues need to be confirmed by the Queensland Government following the 100 Day Review, (b) Brisbane 2032 is responsible for allocating events to venues and (c) not all venues are depicted.

Figure 2 Indicative location of venues and transport links, noting (a) venues need to be confirmed by the Queensland Government following the 100 Day Review, (b) Brisbane 2032 is responsible for allocating events to venues and (c) not all venues are depicted.

Policy Issue

Balancing Short-Term Olympic Needs with Long-Term Growth

The transport system must accommodate an unprecedented surge of over 2 million additional daily trips during the Games period, while simultaneously addressing the projected population growth in South East Queensland from 3.8 million in 2021 to 5.9 million by 2046. Critical infrastructure projects such as the Gold Coast Faster Rail link between Kuraby and Beenleigh and the Sunshine Coast Rail extension from Beerwah to Birtinya are designed to serve both immediate Olympic needs and future commuter demand. These corridors, alongside bus priority networks in Brisbane’s eastern and northern suburbs, aim to resolve current capacity constraints while supporting anticipated urban expansion. The establishment of the SEQ Transport Coordination Centre will enable dynamic resource allocation during peak Olympic operations while maintaining baseline services for residents, ensuring infrastructure investments remain adaptable to evolving regional needs beyond 2032.

Accessibility and Inclusivity Gaps

Current accessibility gaps are evident, with 37.5% of Australians with disabilities reporting transport access difficulties, and 67% of Queenslanders with disabilities unable to reliably use public services. The plan mandates expansion of wheelchair-accessible taxi fleets, comprehensive station upgrades with tactile guidance systems, and implementation of universal wayfinding technologies to meet Olympic accessibility commitments. These measures align with broader social equity goals, targeting improved mobility for over 20% of Queensland’s population living with disabilities. Legacy improvements include retrofitting key hubs like Brisbane’s Inner City stations and deploying disability-aware staff training programs to ensure sustained inclusivity across the transport network.  

Public Transport Behavior Change

With pre-Games public transport mode share of 8-10% in Brisbane’s urban core and only 5% for intercity journeys between Brisbane and coastal regions, the plan seeks to shift travel patterns through capacity expansion and service quality improvements. Strategies include expanding high-frequency bus networks across Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast, coupled with integrated ticketing systems and real-time journey planning tools. The Olympic target of 90% spectator travel via public or active transport provides a catalyst for permanent infrastructure investments, such as the European Train Control System rollout to increase rail network efficiency and the electrification of bus fleets to align with decarbonization goals.  

Public and Private Sector Partnerships

Accelerated delivery timelines introduce financial and operational risks, particularly given the scale of required upgrades—including 2,000 additional buses and multiple rail extensions—within a seven-year timeframe. The plan recommends implementing risk-sharing contractual models, accelerated procurement frameworks, and transparent governance structures through the SEQ Transport Coordination Centre. Lessons from existing partnerships, such as the European Train Control System’s phased rollout, inform strategies to balance private sector innovation with public accountability. Strict oversight mechanisms will monitor cost overruns and ensure legacy benefits, such as transit-oriented development around new stations, remain prioritized in partnership agreements.

Narrative

Olympics and Transport

In 2032 Brisbane is set to host the 35^th Summer Olympic Games. The Olympic Games have a long history. The relationship between transport infrastructure development and the event however is newer, with Barcelona 1994 considered to be the first Olympics to successfully relate the two and set the stage for subsequent hosts to attempt a similar feat.

Over this 40 year period, cities hosting the Olympics and other mega events have, to varying degrees, sought to leverage the global attention of hosting the Olympics to drive investment and urban renewal. During the bidding and early planning stages cities and their authorities talk up the positive externalities of hosting the games in an attempt to win over public opinion for the inevitably disruptive event. A key focus is usually on the ‘legacy’ of the games, that is the benefits that will accrue to the city long after the crowds have gone home. Despite this rhetoric, most transport investment in Olympic host cities is temporary with relatively few cities managing to significantly exceed the scale of investment in transport infrastructure that they would have otherwise had.

Melbourne 1956 and Sydney 2000 Olympics transport plans

Brisbane is not the first Australian city to host the Olympics Games. Melbourne was first, hosting the 1956 ‘friendly’ Olympic Games. This games substantially predated the late 20^th/early 21^st century trend of Olympics Host City’s pursuing “the ambitious “Barcelona Model” of urban regeneration”, and indeed the professionalisation of the competition. The City used the existing Melbourne Cricket Ground (already 100 years old at that point) which was updated with a new grandstand and surrounded by other supporting venues. These venues are located on the Eastern fringe of Melbourne CBD, allowing the city to leverage existing transport infrastructure, particularly rail and trams, to support access to the Games. Because of these two factors there were no significant transport projects associated with the 1956 Olympics.

Sydney, host of the 2000 Olympics, is a different story. Sydney was the last Olympics before Athens 2004, a games which failed to realise its potential in terms of infrastructure delivery, is credited with contributing to the Greek Debt Crisis five years later and realigned global public perception around the hosting of mega events. In this way Sydney 2000 can be seen as existing in a brief three Olympic period taking in Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000 when hosting the Olympics was seen as a direct line to development. This pathway is still recognised, however it is considered now to be much more fraught.

From the perspective of the Closing Ceremony, the International Olympic Committee President declared the Sydney Olympics to be ‘the best games ever'. From an infrastructure perspective, the games delivered an enormous urban renewal project, converting a contaminated industrial wasteland into an enormous mixed use residential, commercial, sporting, recreational and environmental precinct in the geographical centre of metropolitan Sydney.

Several key transport projects were also delivered through the lens of Olympics preparedness including the Olympic Park branch line from the Main Western Line near Lidcombe, the underground Airport Line from Central Station to a new station at Wolli Creek where the East Hills and Illawarra Lines meet and the Eastern Distributor motorway. The latter two of these projects were funded as ‘public-private partnerships’, a (then) new form of funding that allowed infrastructure to be developed more quickly than the usual State funded model would allow. This was essential to getting the infrastructure in place in time for the Olympics.

Sydney also deployed a large fleet of buses to discourage car use during the Olympics by increasing frequency on regular routes and providing a new network centred on Olympic Park. That network has evolved over time and is still used during major events, including the Sydney Royal Easter Show and key Rugby League matches.

Despite some limitations, particularly the lack of a ‘direct’ train service from Olympic Park to anywhere bar Lidcombe outside of major events and the expensive airport line gate fee that stymied development around Green Square and Mascot Stations until the State Government intervened and removed the fee in 2011, these projects have generally been considered a success, expanding the transport system and promoting growth.

In 2032 a brand new metro will provide a direct trip of less than 15 minutes to both Sydney CBD and Parramatta, Sydney’s second CBD, from Olympic Park. This change will put the Olympic Precinct at the heart of Sydney’s public transport network and dramatically increase accessibility, especially outside of major event operations and realise the original intention of Sydney Olympic Park as a sustainable and vibrant sporting precinct.

Brisbane's first Olympic Bid

Brisbane first bid for the 1992 Olympics which, if successful, would have followed up on the 1982 Commonwealth Games and the 1988 World Expo, both of which the City hosted. The World Expo precipitated the redevelopment of South Bank into a mixed use and tourist oriented precinct, however no significant transport infrastructure was developed for the event.

The Gold Coast, 100km south of Brisbane, hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2018. Stage 2 of the Gold Coast Light Rail opened in time for the Games, providing a new rail-based connection between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Brisbane's 2032 Olympic Bid

In 2019, after the completion of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games the previous year, the South East Queensland Council of Mayor's publicly announced their intention to bid for the 2032 Olympic Games. Later that same year the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, and Premier of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk, announced their support for the bid. This brought the three jurisidictional levels together to support Brisbane (and South East Queensland) 2032.

In 2021, after some interest from other cities across the globe, the International Olympic Committee announced Brisbane as their preferred host city for the Games. This was formalised at the official voting ceremony at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021, when Brisbane, the only bidding city, was announced as the host of the 2032 Games.

Elevate 2042 – Brisbane Olympics Legacy Strategy

“We started planning for legacy when we first expressed an interest in hosting the Games, and we considered the ways in which our region could be transformed. Our strategy has been built on a vision of the future the community wants to see and reflects their aspirations and priorities.” – Elevate 2042

Elevate 2042 is a 2023 joint publication from the South East Queensland Councils (Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Brisbane), the Queensland Government and the Australian Olympic Committee. It sets out what these organisations are aiming to achieve by hosting the Olympics in South Eastern Queensland. The focus of the infrastructure planning for the 2032 Olympics is on ‘legacy’, that is creating infrastructure that would not otherwise have been built for the purpose of serving the needs of the community in the years following the event.

The ’Connecting People and Places’ chapter frames out the transport vision for the games with three desired outcomes:

-         Increased local and regional connectivity

-         Advancing liveability and accessibility for all

-         Greater housing accessibility and affordability in target locations

These are notable for how little they relate to the hosting of a sports tournament and highlight the broader goals of city shaping that have informed the Brisbane Olympic bid.

Brisbane 2032 Transport and Mobility Strategy

In 2024 Brisbane City Council released a Transport and Mobility Strategy that listed specific projects the City believed were necessary to successfully deliver the Olympics. The document included maps showing prospective Games venues and the transport connections that were planned between them and other key destinations like Brisbane Airport and the new athletes village in Hamilton. While Brisbane City is just one of the stakeholders in the Olympic bid, this document formally outlined their intentions and served as an advocacy piece with the ultimate decisionmakers and funders in State and Federal Government.

The strategy focuses on transport within Brisbane City, particularly the bus, ferry and active transport networks, which are all the responsibility of the City. It proposes expansions to the Brisbane ‘metro’ (the new bus rapid transit system), high frequency ‘CityGlider’ bus services, ferries and an ‘active transport zone’ around the Brisbane CBD.

This strategy predated the announcement of the venues for the Games and thus was focused on the ‘legacy’ outcomes and of improving transport systems across Brisbane more generally.

100 Day Review and 2032 Delivery Plan

In late 2024 the newly elected Crisafulli Liberal National Government in Queensland announced a ‘100 Day Review’ into the plans for the Olympic Games.

On March 8^th 2025 the 100 Day Review was completed and the new 2032 Delivery Plan was unveiled March 25^th. This plan lists venues, athletes village locations and other facilities. It also lists all the key transport projects that will be delivered to support the stated objective of having 90% of trips to Olympic Venues by public transport. These projects are mostly existing committed road and rail upgrade projects and relatively minor network interventions such as rail signalling enhancements and bus priority measures on key corridors.

The 2032 Delivery Plan also announced a walk-back of a previous Crisafulli election commitment to deliver a rail line from Brisbane to Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast. That will now be delivered as rail as far as Birtinya and then as a ‘metro’, which in Queensland refers to a bi-articulated electric bus.

Discussion Questions

1. Sydney completed a significant amount of permanent transport infrastructure in time for the 2000 Olympics. With the benefit of hindsight, was the infrastructure that was built for the games ultimately useful for the City? Can you think of any mistakes that Sydney (or other Olympic host cities) made with their transport infrastructure development that seem obvious in hindsight? Is Brisbane at risk of repeating any of these?
2. What are some examples (real or theoretical) of Olympic transport temporary interventions and permanent infrastructure? What balance should cities strike between these?
3. Brisbane has built many new subway stations in preparation for the 2032 Olympics, especially along the line from the CBD to the Olympic venues. However, with the decline in commuter demand after the games, how many stations will be left unused? How should the government repurpose these unused subway stations?
4. The Olympic bus upgrade mainly benefits the wealthy eastern districts, while public transportation construction in the west has been put on the back burner. Will this affect social equity and cause discontent among western residents? How should the government alleviate the widening infrastructure gap between the east and west brought about by the Olympics?

Further Readings

- Kassens-Noor, Eva (2010-01). "Sustaining the Momentum: Olympics as Potential Catalyst for Enhancing Urban Transport". Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board. 2187 (1): 106–113. doi:10.3141/2187-14

- "Elevate 2042 : making our region better, sooner, together through sport : Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy strategy / State of Queensland" (PDF). State of Queensland. 2023.