The federal government must chip in for Queensland public transport projects without strings attached, says Deputy Premier Jackie Trad.
Canberra has allocated $1.1 billion for state roads in the federal budget, but Queensland can only access federal funding for public transport projects if it privatises or sells state assets.
The ultimatum puts the state government in a difficult position because voters and the two major parties have rejected privatisation.
Ms Trad warns that creeping congestion and over-capacity will cost the Queensland economy about $3 billion a year by 2020.
Only a combination of better public transport and better roads will ease the pressure, she says, and the Commonwealth should chip in for both without strings attached.
"Unless we get more trains on the tracks, this congestion is only going to get worse," the deputy premier told AAP.
Ms Trad confronted Prime Minister Tony Abbott over the issue on the sidelines of the Paniyiri Greek Festival on Sunday, where the pair were official guests.
"I really did underscore to the prime minister that we want to work together, we get better outcomes when we work together, we just need the federal government to change its position around public transport," she said.
But the deputy premier was disappointed the prime minister stuck to his guns.
"I really can't understand it, I can't understand it," she said.
"It may be an ideological position against public transport or it may be some other reason that the Commonwealth is not advising us about."
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