‘We need a solution’: Renewed calls for Airtrain shake-up

November 12, 2026 — 4:56pmLord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has pushed for a new train station at the gateway to Brisbane Airport, arguing for improved public transport links to a precinct currently locked out of Brisbane Metro services by longstanding contractual restrictions.Speaking at a BNE Enterprise business breakfast on Thursday, Schrinner and Brisbane Airport chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff both lamented Airtrain’s 35-year exclusive contract, which monopolised public transport to the airport terminals.Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Brisbane Airport Corporation chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff have lamented the transport challenges at the airport.Cameron AtfieldWhile it has long been a bugbear for travellers – particularly since the previous Labor state government introduced 50¢ fares everywhere else on the network – it has also meant airport precinct workers had to pay more to get to and from work than their neighbours.Under the terms of the contract, the UK-based Universities Superannuation Scheme-owned Airtrain charges an inflated price – currently $23.30 from Central Station – to travellers using the service.Airtrain offered a discounted fare for airport precinct workers through a $48 weekly ticket. Assuming a five-day working week, those workers would only pay $5 a week if Airtrain was part of the Translink 50¢ fare scheme.USS Axle, a subsidiary of USS, acquired Airtrain and its concession in 2013. That concession, now in its final decade, will expire on May 5, 2036, at which point the Airport line will be subject to the same fares as the rest of south-east Queensland’s train network.“The problem is, fundamentally, that the Airtrain primarily serves visitors, but it’s a growing area that needs transport services for the people that work here, and so that’s the problem that we need to solve,” Schrinner said.Airport staff pay significantly more to commute than those working elsewhere in Brisbane.“And so, what is the solution? Metro could well be the solution, and we’re doing the business case on that right now. But there could be other solutions to that problem as well.“One thing that comes to mind is well, what if additional stations were added into Airtrain that accommodate workers as well? That’s one option that has to be looked at.”Brisbane Airport sought a new station at Skygate, near the DFO complex, more than a decade ago. Those efforts were yet to bear fruit.The terms of the Airtrain contact would allow for a new station to be built on the rail viaduct as part of the normal Queensland Rail network.De Graaff said there were more than 25,000 working in the precinct “day in and day out” – a number that was expected to double in size within two decades.“We’re pretty successful in developing a route network in the air, but that only works if people can get to it from the airport as well on the ground,” he said.De Graaff said he was in constant dialogue with the Queensland government about how the Airtrain concession could be modified to reduce train fares and allow for metro services to the airport.“We [want to] get that metro not only going to Skygate, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, previously known as the International Terminal and Domestic Terminal, but also to the future Terminal 3,” he said.But de Graaff remained realistic about the prospects of a solution before the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.“I can’t say that I’m confident because I don’t control it, but I think the importance is broadly understood, and hopefully there will be a solution before 2032,” he said.Airtrain, whose chief executive Chris Basche was in the audience at the breakfast, declined to comment.A spokesman for Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said the state government would welcome investment from either the council or Brisbane Airport to build a new station at Skygate.“TMR continues to work with Airtrain and the Brisbane Airport to support the public transport needs of the airport precinct,” he said in a statement to this masthead.Schrinner acknowledged Airtrain would not exist without the public-private partnership that delivered it – an arrangement from which both sides of politics have sought to distance themselves in recent years – but said a lot had changed since the deal was reached in 1998.“It’s a completely different place,” he said.“There is an understanding that there has to be return on that investment, and I agree. But what is the best outcome for Brisbane and Queensland? Is it the current arrangement or is it a modified arrangement?“We need to service the local people that work here. That’s a critical need. And so, whatever the solution might be, it might be changes to Airtrain, or it might be additional services. We need a solution.”Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.More:Brisbane AirtrainAdrian SchrinnerPublic TransportTrainsQueensland governmentFrom our partners