Train to nowhere a missed opportunity, not a triumph
I AM again amazed by TMR Minister Bailey’s continuing insistence that the light rail Stage 2 is an achievement to be boasted about, rather than apologising for the giant missed opportunity that it is.
Yes, he can take credit for building it quickly and cheaply, but that’s where the boasting should stop. (They say you can build something quickly, cheaply or well … choose any two). What we are left with is a train through nowhere. There is very little catchment, one useful station and duplication of the heavy line from
Parkwood to Helensvale good reason.
Even on this cheap route, a transport hub at the Parkwood station site, incorporating a heavy rail station and multi-storey parking would have been a far better result. No need to run two lines side by side through no-man’s land. Still have the link between heavy and light rail, take the load off Helensvale and not interfere with the M2 corridor …. and with space to burn.
But, even that is not as good as the original planned route, north from the hospital up Olsen Ave to for no
Harbour Town and then west along Brisbane Rd to Helensvale. (They even had to alter previously laid track, courtesy of Stage 1 at the hospital to run it the “cheap” way).
Imagine, travelling from Brisbane, transferring to the light rail at Helensvale and being able to go to Harbour Town, Southport, Surfers Paradise and/or Broadbeach on the one line. Not to mention the additional catchment, on both sides of the line along that route.
The other thing that stuns me is that I’ve not read or heard anybody pull him up on it. It seems credit can be taken for bad infrastructure just as much as good.
Now we roll on to Stage 3, will that be any better? I fear not. Blocking one of our three northsouth corridors with a light rail track doesn’t make sense.
I would much rather my money first be spent on heavy rail from Varsity to the airport.
So, then imagine … a heavy rail backbone from Coolangatta Airport all the way to Brisbane Airport. Now that would be worth boasting about.
ANDREW SHORE, MOLENDINAR