Prime Minister Scott Morrison has earmarked $80 million for road and rail projects he says will cut travelling times for Queensland parents and tradies.

Mr Morrison pledged the money for seven rail and road projects during a visit to Brisbane on Wednesday.

“It’s about ensuring that parents can get home and have a family meal together, it’s about ensuring that tradies can spend more time on site than in their ute,” Mr Morrison said in Bald Hills.

Six of the seven proposed developments would help commuters in two of his party’s marginal seats, Dickson and Petrie, held by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Peter Howarth both on a 1.6 per cent margin.

Upgrades to roads that run through Petrie account for five of the seven projects, along with a train station upgrade in Dickson.

The announcement also takes in improvements to the Ferny Grove train station, which services the southern end of Mr Dutton’s electorate but is located in the neighbouring Labor-held seat of Ryan.

Mr Morrison said building infrastructure that will slash congestion is part of the next stage of the economic plan he announced on Tuesday, which also includes a tax break for small businesses.

“At the end of the day it’s all about people,” he added.

The plan was quickly hosed down by Labor’s transport spokesman Anthony Albanese, who says the government is playing policy catch-up.

“We welcome the Morrison LNP government’s belated acknowledgement that traffic congestion is a significant challenge, acting as handbrake on productivity and eroding people’s quality of life,” he said.

“However the various announcements from Mr Morrison are piecemeal and completely overlook the critical role public transport plays in keeping our major cities moving.”