Brisbane Festival transport: getting to every venue
4 to 26 September 2026 · live service changes · updates automatically
Brisbane Festival spreads across three weeks and a lot of geography, from Festival Village at South Bank to the Quandamooka Festival on North Stradbroke Island. The programme will tell you what is on. This is the other half: which station each venue actually uses, which ones are easy and which need planning, and what Riverfire night does to the network in the middle of it all.
When is Brisbane Festival?
🎪 4 to 26 September 2026
Brisbane Festival 2026 runs 4 to 26 September 2026, 31 days away. Riverfire opens it on Saturday 5 September, which is the night that reshapes transport across the inner city.
One night changes everything
⛴️ Riverfire, Saturday 5 September
Riverfire opens the festival, and on that day the river closes to commercial ferry traffic including CityCats, while the Story Bridge and Victoria Bridge shut to vehicles from early afternoon. If you have a festival ticket that Saturday, the CityCat is not an option and the inner-city road network is reshaped hours before anything goes up. The full Riverfire transport guide is here.
Every venue, and the station you actually use
The programme lists venues alphabetically and tells you nothing about whether you can get home from one. These are ordered by how easy they are to reach, because on a festival night that matters more than the seating plan.
Festival Village, South Bank
🟢 EasyThe hub, and the easiest arrival of the lot. Trains, the busway and the ferry all land within a few minutes' walk, and services run late enough for an evening show.
GOMA and the Cultural Centre
🟢 EasySame precinct as the Village, so the same arrival. Cultural Centre busway station is closer than the train if you are coming from the south side.
Roma Street Parkland
🟢 EasyEffectively at a station door, and every line on the network stops there. For an outdoor concert finishing late, this is the venue to pick if getting home matters.
Brisbane Powerhouse
🟠 Needs planningNo train. The CityCat to New Farm Park lands essentially at the door and is the nicest arrival at any venue in Brisbane, but check the last ferry: it is earlier than the last train, and New Farm is a long walk from one.
🚆 New Farm Park ferry terminal
Moorooka
⚪ StraightforwardThe Block Party and other suburban events sit on the southside rail spine, so a straightforward train ride, but suburban stations are quieter late at night than the city ones.
🚆 Moorooka station
Minjerribah, North Stradbroke Island
🟠 Needs planningThe Quandamooka Festival is on the island, which is a train to Cleveland then a water taxi, then an island bus. Not a spontaneous evening: the water taxi timetable decides your day.
Live departures · South Bank
The Festival Village station, and the one most people will be leaving from.
Loading live departures…
The free programme is the one to check twice
Alongside the ticketed shows there is a substantial free programme, and a lot of it happens in suburban parks rather than at South Bank. That is the good part and the catch at once: the events that cost nothing to attend are the ones furthest from a station with a late service. Check the last service home for wherever you are actually going, not for the city.
Getting home after a late show
Pick your venue with the trip home in mind. Roma Street Parkland and South Bank are both effectively at stations, with NightLink running on Friday and Saturday nights. The Powerhouse is the one that catches people: the CityCat is the best way there and stops running earlier than the trains, so the return leg needs deciding before the show rather than after it.
And if your festival plans include the Quandamooka Festival on Minjerribah, that is a different scale of trip altogether: getting to North Stradbroke Island runs on a water taxi timetable, and the last sailing decides your day.
Brisbane Festival transport questions
When is Brisbane Festival 2026?+
Brisbane Festival runs 4 to 26 September 2026, three weeks across September. Riverfire opens it on Saturday 5 September. The programme spans venues from South Bank to North Stradbroke Island, so the transport varies a lot depending on which event you have tickets for.
How do you get to Festival Village at South Bank?+
South Bank station is a few minutes' walk, the Cultural Centre busway station is closer still if you are coming from the south side, and the South Bank ferry terminal is on the river side of the parklands. It is the best-connected venue in the whole festival and the one to pick if you are unsure about getting home.
Are there extra services during Brisbane Festival?+
Yes. Extra Citytrain, bus and CityCat services run for the bigger nights, Riverfire especially. Details are published by TransLink closer to each event, and anything affecting your trip shows up in the live panel on this page.
What happens to transport on Riverfire night?+
Riverfire falls inside the festival, on Saturday 5 September, and it changes everything for that day. The river closes to commercial ferry traffic including CityCats so the pyrotechnic barges can be set up, and the Story Bridge and Victoria Bridge close to vehicles from early afternoon. If you have a festival ticket that night, do not plan to arrive or leave by ferry.
How do you get home after a late Brisbane Festival show?+
It depends which venue, which is the whole point of choosing carefully. Roma Street Parkland and South Bank are both at stations with late services and NightLink at weekends. The Powerhouse relies on a ferry that stops earlier than the trains do, so check the last one before the encore rather than after it.
Is Brisbane Festival free?+
Partly. There is a substantial free programme alongside the ticketed shows, including outdoor concerts and events in local parks around the city. Because the free events are spread into the suburbs rather than concentrated at South Bank, they are the ones where checking the last service home actually matters.
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More live guides
🎆 Riverfire transport & road closures →
The bridge closures, why the CityCats stop, and getting home when the city leaves at once.
🚧 Weekend train closures & Cross River Rail →
Why your line is replaced by buses, and what's closed for works right now.
⛴️ Is the CityCat running today? →
Live ferry status, why the river stops the boats, and your backup routes.
🚆 Are the trains running on time? →
Live train delays and cancellations right now, and which lines cop it most.
Live information on this page comes from TransLink's service alerts feed and updates automatically. Plan any trip with the journey planner.