State government announces combined rail, bus river tunnel The planned Brisbane Underground Bus and Train (UBAT), announced by the state government on Sunday, will feature a double decker design with trains on the bottom and buses on top. The state government says its replacement for the Cross River Rail system is a "once in a generation" and "city defining" project. The LNP has announced a $5 billion dollar combined bus/train tunnel, merging Cross River Rail with Brisbane City Council's Suburbs 2 City bus plan. The 5.4 kilometre Brisbane Underground tunnel will run from Dutton Park in the south, past new stations at Woolloongabba, George Street and Roma Street, to Victoria Park in the north. A screengrab from the fly-through of the new Brisbane Underground Bus and Train (UBAT), announced by the state government on Sunday. Transport Minister Scott Emerson told Fairfax Radio 4BC that it was an elegant solution to pressing congestion problems on the Merivale Bridge and the Cultural Centre bus precinct. By combining those projects with this dual tunnel - buses on top, trains below - we've looked for the most sensible solution, and by doing that we're going to save taxpayers many billions of dollars. The Labor government's Cross River Rail scheme had been estimated at $5.2 billion, with council planning to spend $2.8 billion on its bus expansion. "The combined cost for those two projects would've been about $8 billion ... this project will be about half that at $5 billion," he said. This project will now start in 2015 and we expect it to be completed in 2020, with operations started in 2021. The project will be funded by the state government with a contribution from council. Premier Campbell Newman said his government was delivering on a promise to revitalise planning, infrastructure and frontline services. "The project we are announcing today delivers the public transport services needed for the next 50 years," he said. A single 15-metre-wide tunnel will be built, requiring the largest borer ever used in Australia - almost two metres wider than the Clem7 and Airport Link tunnels. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said it was a great example of state and local governments working together. "The CBD and adjacent suburbs will need to accommodate an additional 130,000 workers in the next 20 years and we need to improve public transport capacity to accommodate this growth by improving the network," Cr Quirk said. It achieves the outcomes we identified in the Suburbs 2 City study and will take up to 200 buses off CBD streets in the morning peak and reducing 100 buses per morning peak hour on the Captain Cook Bridge. Mr Newman said a public competition would be held early in the New Year to come up with a name for the project.