Brisbane unveils massive 'Esky Lid' flood shield for new rail station
Engineers have installed an 80-tonne flood barrier, nicknamed “The Esky Lid”, at Albert Street Station to protect the Cross River Rail tunnels from extreme flooding.
Cross River Rail engineers have completed an 80-tonne mechanical flood barrier, dubbed “The Esky Lid”, at Albert Street Station in Brisbane’s central business district. Measuring 22 metres wide and 10 metres high, the lid slides down from the ceiling to seal the main entrance and can also close additional shutters on the station’s north side when floodwaters rise. Designed to protect the deepest point of the 10-kilometre underground rail network, the barrier is rated to hold back water up to about 10.3 metres above street level, a level expected only once in 10,000 years.
Jeremy Kruger, program director for the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority, explained that passengers would be evacuated before deployment and that the lid would be visible and unused for the vast majority of time. Construction of the rail line is slated to finish in early 2027, with passenger services planned for 2029, after the project’s cost rose to roughly $19 billion, far above its original $5.4 billion budget.
Why it matters
The barrier safeguards a major new transit line in flood-prone Brisbane, protecting billions of dollars of infrastructure and future commuters.
In this story
