Bring trains south now

Calls for business case as pressure mounts to move work forward

A BUSINESS case for an extension of the heavy rail should be fast-tracked to ensure the Gold Coast’s public transport matches its growing population.

That’s the call from city leaders who say the time has come for priority to be given to taking the light rail and trains south to Gold Coast Airport.

The Gold Coast Bulletin revealed on Saturday the route the line would take and the location of four stations for the city’s south.

However, this project is expected to take at least 20 years to be completed.

Gold Coast City Councillor at Coolangatta Gail O’Neill, a strong backer of the rail extension, said it was long overdue.

“I have always been a great advocate of extending the heavy rail and anything which can be dome to speed up the process would be good,” Cr O’Neill said.

“It is necessary, especially given we are not sure when the extension of the M1 to the border will ultimately finish.

“We are a growing city with a population that is set to double in the next 20 years so it is absolutely necessary that this process be sped up.”

The Bulletin has learned the hold-up is the Queensland government’s proposed $5.4billion Cross River Rail project in Brisbane, with the current Coast line at full capacity, leading experts to caution that extending it south will only create more congestion.

The last extension south, from Robina to Varsity Lakes, was completed in 2009. Work on the route to the Gold Coast Airport might not start now until after 2026.

“Trains on the Gold Coast line are already near full capacity and extending the line would add to overcrowding,” the Robina to Tugun impact assessment study brief says.

Consultants say the solution is Cross River Rail, which would be the equivalent of creating a 30-lane highway, as well as Brisbane CBD stations and a new river crossing.

“This increased capacity will allow for expansion of the rail network, including the extension of the Gold Coast line,” the report said.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey told in the Bulletin on Saturday said that Cross River Rail was the government’s highest priority infrastructure project. It is scheduled to be operating by 2024.

Mayor Tom Tate backed Cr O’Neill and said a business case would prove the need for such an extension.

“Forward planning of the train extension should be higher up on the agenda, more so that some other infrastructure,” he said.

“A business case would show it would take people off the M1, would reflect how much time and productivity would be saved and would show why this work would tick all the boxes.”