Most international airports serving large metropolitan areas are linked to the city centres by a fast rail link. Sydney Airport was not connected in this way until a link was opened in 2000 in time for the Sydney Olympics. Unfortunately Sydney's Airport Link Company went into receivership in November 2000 after only six months of operation. The Company defaulted on a $200 million loan but in early 2001 the service was still operating. The Sydney project presents the following problems:
Brisbane Airport opened a new line connecting to the city centre, in May 2001. Unlike the Sydney Link this is an 'end-of-the-line' rail service with special trains that incorporate luggage space, toilets, air-conditioning and carpet. The Brisbane service costs $9 one-way but carries passengers over a greater distance.
Optimistic forecasts by the company suggested that it would carry 2.7 million per year (51,800 per week) passengers in the first year. They expected this to rise to 5.7 million by the tenth year, and 16.5 million when the service transfers to government ownership in 2036. However in August 2001 it was reported that Brisbane's Aitrrain was estimated to be carrying only 6,000 passengers per week.
The lack of patronage became worse after the terrorist attacks in the USA on September 11th 2001 and the sudden failure, in September, of Ansett - Australia‘s second most important airline. An October 3rd 2001 report said that on a lunchtime train two of the six carriages were empty and that most of the services only carried a dozen passengers during the day, with slightly higher peaks during the morning and late afternoon.
"The struggling airport rail links in Sydney and Brisbane... suffer(ed) further passenger losses since last month‘s US terror attacks and the collapse of Ansett. The double effects have reduced air traffic by an estimated 35 per cent in Sydney and 30 per cent in Brisbane" (Source: Matt Robbins, "Deserted airport train heads for the buffers", The Australian, 4/10/01, page 5)
Figure 2 Brisbane Airport - adjacent to the Brisbane River, on the shores of Moreton Bay
