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CityCat

1st Generation City Cats

Owner:	Brisbane City Council
Designer:	Grahame Parker Design
Builder:	Brisbane Ship Constructions
Capacity:	150 passengers
Top Speed:	28 knots (Restricted to 26 on river)
Engine:	2 x CUMMINS QSM11 261kw

2nd Generation City Cats

Owner:	Brisbane City Council
Designer:	Grahame Parker Design
Builder:	Norman Wright and Son
Length Overall:	25 m
Beam Overall:	7.3 m
Draft (Hull):	0.8 m
Capacity:	162 passengers
Maximum Speed:	34 knots (Restricted to 28 on river)
Engine:	2 x Cummins QSM11 336kw

CityCat is a ferry service operated in Brisbane, Queensland by Metrolink Queensland, a joint venture of Brisbane City Council and French company, Transdev.

History

The CityCat service runs along the Brisbane River between Apollo Road in the suburb of Bulimba in the east and the University of Queensland at St Lucia, via South Bank and the Brisbane CBD. The network consists of 15 stops and passes locations such as New Farm Park, Kangaroo Point, Queensland University of Technology, South Bank, Toowong and West End.

The popular CityCat vessels are catamarans. Services began in 1996 with 6 vessels, each capable of carrying 150 passengers, with two further vessels being added to the CityCat fleet in 1998 due to increased demand. The service carried approximately 2.88 million passengers in 2004. The system is particularly appealing to tourists as it is a pleasant way to travel past such Brisbane icons as the Story Bridge and South Bank Parklands.

Three further catamarans of a new design, capable of carrying 12 more passengers, have since been added to the fleet. Refurbishment of the first generation CityCats began in 2005. Refurbished CityCats have more comfortable internal seating, with space set aside for parking 12 passengers' bikes, a plasma screen mounted inside to show news services and advertisements, larger onboard toilet facilities and more and better padded seating available outside, especially in the forward seating area.

A tender has been called for the supply of the next five CityCats. The boats are to be of the same configuration as the current second generation 'Cats.

Safety Record

While CityCats are highly efficient and reliable vessels, concerns regarding the safety of other river users have been raised. This was highlighted when in 2005 a girls' high school rowing crew was run over. The rowing boat was snapped in two but the CityCat was relatively unscathed.

Another incident occurred in October 2006, when the vessel "Mianjin" lost power and smashed into a concrete pole while trying to dock at the Regatta ferry terminal in Toowong. While on approach to the pontoon the CityCat's engines, which are normally used to slow and stop the craft, stalled allowing the Mianjin to drift. Seven people were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The CityCat received superficial damage, with a cracked forward hull, and there was minor damage to the pontoon.

A further incident in 2007 involved a woman who was struck by a Citycat after falling into the Brisbane River and subsequently died.

One of the Citycats was involved in another incident on June 16 2008 with one of the rowing 8's from Brisbane State High School. No one was injured, however there was major damage to the rowing shell.

Vessel Names

The CityCats are named after the Aboriginal place names for various parts of the Brisbane River and adjacent areas. The English name is given in brackets, with the launch date.

First generation

Kurilpa (West End) — launched November 1996
Mirbarpa (Indooroopilly) — launched November 1996
Barrambin (Breakfast Creek) — launched November 1996
Tugulawa (Brisbane River at Bulimba) — launched November 1996
Mianjin (Gardens Point) — launched December 1996
Binkinba (New Farm) — launched December 1996
Mooroolbin (Hamilton Sandbank) — launched October 1998
Baneraba (Toowong) — launched December 1998

Second generation

Beenung-urrung (Highgate Hill) — launched August 2004
Tunamun (Petrie Bight) — launched June 2005
Meeandah (this suburb is next to Eagle Farm and Pinkenba) — launched February 2008
Wilwinpa — launched June 2008