Brisbane Metro

[verbatim9]

Interesting find. I wonder how they will preserve the larger of the structures? Relocate it or integrate it as a tunnel feature, similarly to the historic feature found at King George Sq station

[boronia]

https://www.railexpress.com.au/450-mill ... n-station/

I thought the "Brisbane Metro" was a bus service?

Very expensive bus stop?

[Merc1107]

Perhaps it is upgrades to complement existing works on a railway station at The Gabba (as part of the Cross River Rail, correct?), or, being an election, throwing money wherever it suits.

[Bulimba_Busfanner]

The first Brisbane Metro vehicle (the pilot vehicle) is ready for testing!

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-21/ ... /101005326

[Merc1107]

The council's transport chair Ryan Murphy said Brisbane's bus network would shoulder two-thirds of the commuter load, with the Metro designed to improve user experience and cut down travel times.

Guessing this means the Metro will simply replace the existing routes like the 111, 66 and 169, rather than result in a more dramatic overhaul of the network?

The 'flow' of the article is also somewhat wanting and leaves the reader confused as to the current progress with the Brisbane Metro; it looks as though Cultural Centre shall remain as is, and a Metro interchange "near" the planned Cross River Rail stop at the Gabba will somehow makeup for it. It's also disappointing to see accusations of Brisbane Council and the QLD State Government being at odds with one another over a common goal (public transport, and more particularly, running an integrated network).

[superbossgc]

also 333 thru the busways as well.

[tonyp]

A "flexible transport system" that's not legal on Australian roads, so has to have its own special expensive fixed roadway. How's that different from a tram that can carry at least 30% more people for the same cost?

https://www.busnews.com.au/industry-new ... -australia

[Merc1107]

Drawbacks aside, I am pleased to see Council bothering to put this first example through its paces before deploying them in large numbers. Perhaps if other cities engaged in more trials, they wouldn't end up buying fleets of buses with embarrassing design flaws (like those that cause buses to attempt to flame-grill themselves...).

[pasha241]

saw a brisbane metro last night at Moggill Rd Indoropilly (Forget to take photo because it was 7pm)

[Merc1107]

There was me thinking the thing cannot use any public roads at all.

[tonyp]

There was me thinking the thing cannot use any public roads at all.

It's the same bus model as the Hess double artics that cruise the streets of Europe, but their heavy vehicle regulations are different over there. I've no doubt that a special exemption permit has been issued to allow testing on public roads in Brisbane.

[Merc1107]

We allow road trains of considerably greater weight and length, so an unladen Metro vehicle should at least be allowed on surface streets to be ferried to and from Volgren or the BT Workshops.

In Perth, discussions on the configuration of the historical fleet have often referenced how "the MTT were a rule unto themselves," where vehicles were not fully compliant with ADRs, roadworthiness and so on. It wouldn't surprise me if Council manage to work around whatever rules govern the vehicle.

[boronia]

"Road trains" are very restricted as to where they can be operated, definitely not around suburban streets.

Most of those historic vehicles predate the concept of ADRs, and dimension limits were set by state governments. We now have a National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, which has rooms full of hoops that vehicle operators have to jump through to take a vehicle on the road,

[^^__^^]

I think you’ll find even the current B8 Artics are running on a permit from the NHVR. Not sure about the MAN gas artics though.

[Merc1107]

That's quite interesting. I'd say "not in WA!", that other City brimming with B8 artics, but then again I'm not sure if they're onboard with the NHVR or not (they're certainly not for the regulations concerning driver fatigue, etc, same as the NT).

[Lt. Commander Data]

I think you’ll find even the current B8 Artics are running on a permit from the NHVR. Not sure about the MAN gas artics though.

What’s so special about these artics? Sounds to me like they’re perfectly compliant with the NHVR rules:
https://www.nhvr.gov.au/files/201801-07 ... art-a3.pdf

[Noel]

What's the go with so few doors on these vehicles?

Dwell times will be massive for a system designed to be a people mover.

[tonyp]

What’s so special about these artics? Sounds to me like they’re perfectly compliant with the NHVR rules:
https://www.nhvr.gov.au/files/201801-07 ... art-a3.pdf

Apart from possible axle load issues, somewhere in there is a rule that an artic bus can't exceed 18 metres on an Australian road.

What's the go with so few doors on these vehicles?

Dwell times will be massive for a system designed to be a people mover.

The photo below is the same Hess bus (as a trolleybus) in Zurich. As you can see, there is typically also a door behind the rear axle which has been deleted on the Australian bus. It should also be possible to fit two doors between the axles in the front unit if desired. I imagine Brisbane Buses has (or maybe not?!) done some calculation of how many doors or seats they need for the characteristics of the service. Ideally, for this type of trunk service, there should be a double leaf door for every 5 linear metres, like the CSELR trams in Sydney. The Zurich bus almost meets that standard, though they tend not to use the front door that much in Europe, which is why it is single leaf.

Mind you, the Brisbane busways have been thus far operated by inefficient front-door loading buses with a single leaf exit door at the centre, so anything would be an improvement on that. I trust Brisbane Buses has approval for all-door loading from RTBU, because that union sure doesn't allow it in Sydney, declaring that they will die on that hill. I'm certain they couldn't possibly have double standards between Sydney and Brisbane. Hope they don't lock up the metro bus fleet indefinitely like they've done with interurban trains in Sydney.

[boronia]

Interesting how the rules define an articulated bus:

Articulated bus means a bus with 2 or more rigid
sections connected to one another in a way that
allows—
(a) passenger access between the sections; and
(b) rotary movement between the sections.

Unfortunately, the other descriptions don't mention how a 3 section unit would work.

[Mr OC Benz]

The photo below is the same Hess bus (as a trolleybus) in Zurich. As you can see, there is typically also a door behind the rear axle which has been deleted on the Australian bus. It should also be possible to fit two doors between the axles in the front unit if desired. I imagine Brisbane Buses has (or maybe not?!) done some calculation of how many doors or seats they need for the characteristics of the service. Ideally, for this type of trunk service, there should be a double leaf door for every 5 linear metres, like the CSELR trams in Sydney. The Zurich bus almost meets that standard, though they tend not to use the front door that much in Europe, which is why it is single leaf.

Worth noting the Brisbane model will have a separated driver's cabin (common in some Eastern European cities), so that first single leaf door is not actually an access door for passengers but for the driver only, leaving it with only three double leaf doors for passenger access (one per section).

Here's an artist's impression of the same model ordered for BVB in Basel, Switzerland which has the full 4.5 door spec. There will be 25 of these units to operate on line 50 which are expected to enter service from later this year.

[Merc1107]

Apart from possible axle load issues, somewhere in there is a rule that an artic bus can't exceed 18 metres on an Australian road.

In this article, for instance, the B8RLEA is quoted at 18m, so it shouldn't be an issue.

Mind you, the Brisbane busways have been thus far operated by inefficient front-door loading buses with a single leaf exit door at the centre, so anything would be an improvement on that. I trust Brisbane Buses has approval for all-door loading from RTBU, because that union sure doesn't allow it in Sydney, declaring that they will die on that hill. I'm certain they couldn't possibly have double standards between Sydney and Brisbane. Hope they don't lock up the metro bus fleet indefinitely like they've done with interurban trains in Sydney.

While a lot of the older buses in the Brisbane fleet have the single-leaf rear door, the 14.5m rigids, MAN artics, Volvo artics and at least some of the Volvo rigid fleet do not.

Brisbane have cleverly equipped their buses with two smart-card validators at every door, which even on buses with a single-leaf rear door, vastly improves the dwell time over places like Perth, who insist on just one for each entry/exit point (yet they have very wide doors, go figure). The situation is further helped in Brisbane with far more generous GPS footprints for each stop, allowing passengers to tag off in advance of arriving - again, this compares favourably to Perth, where the system is so damned precious and finicky that passengers often struggle to tag off in the middle of Elizabeth Quay Bus Station...

On the note of all-door loading, during the pandemic, Brisbane Council drivers have had the option to utilise the rear door exclusively for loading and unloading; which I think is more proactive than most other jurisdictions (In Perth it was claimed smart-cards cannot tag on at rear entrance(s), which is actually wrong - it's just not the default setting). I've noticed that plenty of drivers will allow all-door loading.
With the buses seemingly to operate from their own depot, and only along the busway, I don't think there would be a hindrance to all-door loading on the Metro. The busway platforms usually have Translink representatives lurking on weekedays - so it shouldn't necessarily be a stretch to have them supervise loading, should that be a problem.

[tonyp]

Worth noting the Brisbane model will have a separated driver's cabin (common in some Eastern European cities), so that first single leaf door is not actually an access door for passengers but for the driver only, leaving it with only three double leaf doors for passenger access (one per section).

The front door being for the driver only is a relic of earlier trolleybus days when the driver had to get out to manually handle the trolleypoles (nowadays that's done remotely from the driver's seat). You would either find the front door exclusively dedicated to the driver or a split double leaf door with one half for the driver and the other half for passengers. The front door no longer plays a significant role in Europe except in systems where they still have front door entry for revenue protection, but of course every bit of extra door does help a little with passenger exchange. There's no reason I can imagine why the Brisbane buses would need an exclusive driver's door as there are no trolleypoles to handle at the back! Might as well use it for another passenger doorway.

[daveeyh]

The busway platforms usually have Translink representatives lurking on weekedays - so it shouldn't necessarily be a stretch to have them supervise loading, should that be a problem.

The only busway platform where I have seen Translink representatives is Cultural Centre Busway Station and not very often. There is security there in weekday evening peak hour but they are essentially useless.

[chuboy]

Registration number
METRO01
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
TH922ER43M4512096
Description
2021 HESS ME ARTICULATED BUS
Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM)
40000 kgs
TARE
26000 kgs
National Heavy Vehicle Charging Code
AB4
Purpose of use
TRANSLINK URBAN SERVICE
Status
REGISTERED
Expiry
01/07/2022

[verbatim9]

In Qld--->Moving right along: Brisbane Metro transit project rolls into suburbs with new UQ station - InQueensland