An international team of Acciona, SMEC, WSP and Cimic subsidiaries CPB Contractors and UGL has won a design and pre-construction contract for the main works of a US$3.65bn (A$5.75bn) rail capacity improvement programme in Brisbane’s southern metropolitan area.

Funded equally by the federal and Queensland governments, the “Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail” project aims to unblock the 20km-long bottleneck between Kuraby and Beenleigh, where trains share one track in each direction, meaning local stopping trains have to move aside for Gold Coast express trains.

The “ActivUs Alliance” will devise a way to expand the Kuraby-Beenleigh corridor from two tracks to four, upgrade nine suburban stations, remove five level crossings, and modernise signalling to get trains moving faster locally and between Brisbane and the City of Gold Coast.

Working for Queensland Rail and the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, the alliance will progress design, project planning and site investigations.

Jason Spears, CPB Contractors’ managing director, said the project would support Queensland’s growing population and thriving tourism industry.

The project is due to be completed before the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.