Buy back the AirTrain and make it 50c

Thanks to a bad privatisation deal announced by Labor and signed by the LNP, our airport train is being held to ransom by an offshore corporation. The 35-year contract bans any other public transport to the airport until 2036, giving Airtrain Citylink Ltd a huge monopoly and total control over prices.

The corporate owners have refused to come to the table to negotiate a fair buyout. The Greens have proposed a plan to end the AirTrain privatisation contract early, bring it into public hands and make fares 50c.

Under our proposal, compensation would be linked to the owner's …

Thanks to a bad privatisation deal announced by Labor and signed by the LNP, our airport train is being held to ransom by an offshore corporation. The 35-year contract bans any other public transport to the airport until 2036, giving Airtrain Citylink Ltd a huge monopoly and total control over prices.

The corporate owners have refused to come to the table to negotiate a fair buyout. The Greens have proposed a plan to end the AirTrain privatisation contract early, bring it into public hands and make fares 50c.

Under our proposal, compensation would be linked to the owner's valuation in their own financial statements, which puts the AirTrain at just $46.6 million in 2025/26. This is about a fifth of the cost of a single major road upgrade, and would allow us to secure a crucial public asset ahead of Brisbane 2032.

By ending the private contract and bringing the AirTrain into public hands, we could boost train frequency, build more stations, and bring fares down to 50c like the rest of the Translink network.

Airtrain Buy Back Bill

In August 2026, the Greens introduced a bill to end the AirTrain privatisation contract - but weeks later the Speaker ruled it out of order, on the basis that only Government MPs can introduce legislation that requires spending. This means the major parties won’t have to vote on the bill, but that doesn’t change the fact that they can still legislate to terminate the contract early and fix the Airtrain.

Now, it’s up to the Government to act - and it’s up to us to convince them.

Email the Transport Minister and your local MP now, and show them you want the Government to buy back the AirTrain.

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Email the Minister

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Use this form to ask Queensland’s Transport Minister, Brent Mickelberg, and your local MP, to support buying back Brisbane’s AirTrain. Please use the email below as a template - edit and add to it to make it relevant to your experience and perspective.

Find your local rep

Subject:

and CC my local MP:

I’m emailing to ask that your Government buy back Brisbane’s Airtrain, including, if necessary, by legislating to end the contract.

*INSERT YOUR PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE HERE - WHY DO YOU WANT THE AIRTRAIN IN PUBLIC HANDS?*

The privatised AirTrain deal is a ripoff. Fares for a family cost more than a 20-minute Uber, and services run so infrequently that we aren’t incentivised to take the train. As a result, most people drive instead, and traffic is a nightmare. Meanwhile, Council can’t even run buses to the airport, because the contract gives the AirTrain’s owners a total monopoly.

We can’t let this contract stay in place for the 2032 Olympics, let alone until 2036.

The AirTrain deal has clearly outstayed its welcome. Since the corporate owners have refused to negotiate a fair buyout, I support Parliament legislating to terminate the contract early.

To both Minister Mickelberg and my local MP, I look forward to hearing what you will do to end the Airtrain contract now, to make fares 50c, and introduce more frequent public transport services to the airport.

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