It has been widely reported that the cost of completion and date of the Cross City Rail Queensland Project was delayed and blown-out to $17 billion and expected to be opened in the year 2029, respectively.

Under the plan, Queensland Rail Citytrain will operate in three sectors, all connecting at the existing or new underground Roma Street stations.

Sector One will connect the Gold and Sunshine Coasts directly, operating trains from Varsity Lakes and Beenleigh through to Redcliffe Peninsula, Nambour and Gympie.

[11] A report titled the 2008 Inner City Rail Capacity Study predicted that the demand for Brisbane peak train services would double by 2016.

The Merivale Bridge is the only inner-city rail crossing in Brisbane, and by 2016 it was expected to be over capacity, leading the Queensland Government to plan for this project.

Underground stations were proposed to include retail facilities, and a maximum of 120,000 passengers were claimed to be able to be moved during the morning peak period.

In June 2012, the newly elected Newman Government announced plans for a scaled down version of the project estimated to cost $4.5 billion.

The revised plan excluded upgrades to existing stations and extra above-ground train lines south or north of the new tunnel.

In November 2013, the Queensland Government announced a revised plan for the BaT (Bus and Train) project as an alternative to the previous Cross River Rail proposal.

[21] The current 2016 proposed 10.2-kilometre (6.3 mi) rail link involves building a new 5.9-kilometre (3.7 mi) tunnel under the Brisbane River and the Brisbane central business district, creating five new inner city station precincts, and increasing the core capacity of the rail network.

[30] The Labor Government has stated the project will provide more than 1,500 jobs each year during construction, and boost the Queensland economy by $70 million.

[32] In 2021 three manufacturers were shortlisted for the project and the Queensland Government committed $7.1 billion to build all 65 trains, with construction to take place at a purpose-built facility in Maryborough.

Exact operations of the network are yet to be publicly revealed, however in 2022 SEQ Rail Connect was published by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

Sectorisation was chosen over grade separation to reduce construction and maintenance costs while allowing for high frequencies.

The sectorised network will also reduce the propagation of service perturbation, ensuring any delays are contained within a single sector.

Sector 3 will operate east-west via the existing inner-city core network and the Merivale bridge incorporating the Ferny Grove and Cleveland lines.

Boggo Road in the inner-city suburb of Dutton Park will be a busy transport hub with a direct interchange available with the proposed Brisbane Metro.

[38] Easy access to the University of Queensland will be available by transfer at the nearby Boggo Road busway station.

[45] In July 2021, the State Government announced that a further three stations would be built on the Gold Coast railway line as part of Cross River Rail.

[47] After finalisation of a business case in August 2017, construction officially started in September 2017, when work began on demolishing the defunct GoPrint building at Woolloongabba, to make way for Cross River Rail.

In April 2019, the Queensland Government appointed a CIMIC Group led consortium to deliver various aspects of the project.

[48][49] In June 2021, construction was halted over one weekend because of worker concerns about the potential release of dangerous silica dust from the conveyor belt carrying tunnel spoil to the surface.

[55] Jacobs Engineering Group is responsible for reconfiguring the existing network, supply and installation of supporting rail systems and seven station upgrades.

Despite much of Roma Street Station and the northern portal being complete, the rest of project is still in heavy construction phase.

[57] In December 2024 the Minister for Transport and Main Roads announced a 3 year opening delay due to budget blowouts.