The Hotel Jen building is now being demolished to make way for the Cross River Rail in Brisbane.
The building will be replaced by the Roma Street station, and is the first of three buildings to be demolished at the site, said Minister for Cross River Rail Kate Jones.
“Today marks a huge milestone for Cross River Rail. This project is crucial to avoiding a bottleneck in the future.”
Jones outlined the impact that this work would have on the Brisbane and southeast Queensland rail network.
“It allows us to run more trains more often across the whole of southeast Queensland. We expect that with Cross River Rail in place, an extra 47,000 people will choose rail instead of road by 2036.”
The Hotel Jen was opened in 1986 as part of the Brisbane Transit Centre, however the precinct is due for an overhaul with the new station, said Jones.
“Construction of the new Roma Street station will create jobs for Queenslanders, and breathe new life into the area which has become underutilised and run down.”
Roma Street will be one of four new underground stations, which comprise the core of the Cross River Rail project. At Roma Street, the new line will connect with the existing rail network in the Brisbane CBD.