Five companies from the 89 that registered “expressions of interest” are now competing to design the tunnels, the stations and the rail and information systems for Cross River Rail.

Combined, the short-listed companies have considerable experience in tunnel projects in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane as well as Europe, the US and South America.

On the short list are companies responsible for the construction of the Sydney and Melbourne Metro underground rail projects, Sydney’s CBD light rail, the Gold Coast light rail, Newcastle’s light rail as well as Brisbane’s Legacy Way and Airport Link tunnels.

The winning consortia will be announced in late 2018.

The underground rail system is expected to be finished in 2024, generating 7700 jobs during construction.

It will be the first major underground infrastructure built in Brisbane since Brisbane City Council finished the Legacy Way car and bus tunnel in June 2015.

Acting Premier Jackie Trad and Cross River Rail Delivery Authority chief executive Graeme Newton, Queensland's former co-ordinator general, announced the short-listed companies on Tuesday.

“This is a very detailed process which will take around 12 months,” Ms Trad said.

Mr Newton said the preferred rail and rail signal alliance would be named in late 2018 and the preferred tunnel and stations contractor would be named in early 2019.

“They will set up their site, they will start excavating over at the GoPrint site, order their TBM [tunnel boring machines] and start to install them,” Mr Newton said.

Woolloongabba’s old Sunmap Centre – now the Department of Natural Resources and Mines Landcentre - and the old dental clinic will be demolished this year.

Ms Trad rejected criticism on Tuesday from Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington, whose LNP called on the state government to “get on with it”.

“Let’s be frank. If Deb Frecklington thinks building a $5.4 billion project can be built in the space of a year then I think she needs to go back and refresh herself on how you actually make big infrastructure project happen.”

The Palaszczuk government in the 2017 state budget promised $2.81 billion over the next four years to get the underground project under way when the federal government refused to help fund the project, citing problems with passenger estimates in the business case.

The Queensland LNP did not support the project and chose to withdraw funds from it.

Infrastructure Association Queensland's chief executive Steve Abson welcomed the milestone in announcing national and international firms bidding for the work.

“The shortlisted proponents comprise companies having a strong track record and who have
delivered some of Australia’s largest and most complex transport projects," he said.

"This should mean bidder innovation and strong input into the design solution to the benefit of taxpayers."

The short-listed tenderers for the tunnels, stations and associated development are:

1. Pulse, which includes the CIMIC companies (formerly Leightons); Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors, its underground rail engineering company UGL, Ghella, which worked on Legacy Way, Israeli civil engineering group DIF, which has an Australian arm, and BAM;

2. Qonnect, which includes the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), Capella Capital, Lendlease, John Holland and French civil engineers Bouygues, which has an Australian arm;

3. CentriQ Partnerships, which includes civil engineers ACCIONA, which worked on Legacy Way,  civil engineering public private partnership group Plenary Group, GS Engineering, Italian infrastructure giant Salini Impregilo and the Spotless Group.

Tenderers for the rail and the rail signalling systems:

1. River City Alliance, which includes Laing O’Rourke Australia Construction, GHD, Aurecon Australasia Pty Ltd and engineering project managers SYSTRA Scott Lister Australia Pty Ltd;

2. Unity Alliance, which includes CPB Contractors, UGL Engineering, infrastructure managers Jacobs Group Australia and AECOM Australia.