Sunshine Coast rail: $1.15bn in federal budget for Caloundra link

A critical Sunshine Coast rail line is back on track with a crucial $1.15bn investment from the federal government to be ready for the 2032 Games. See the concept plans, video.

• Editor’s view: A good start
• Budget ’24: What we know

A critical Sunshine Coast rail line is back on track with a crucial $1.15bn investment from the federal government ensuring the new route can be ready by the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The additional funding included in Tuesday’s federal budget will bring the commonwealth’s total contribution to $2.75bn, allowing the state government to start construction on the $5.5bn project in 2026 and have it ready by 2032.

The cash will come as a significant relief for Premier Steven Miles, as the state could not move forward on the first of three stages of Sunshine Coast Direct Rail without federal help.

The first stage involves a 19km dual track from Beerwah to Caloundra and reserving the updated rail corridor all the way to Maroochydore.

An artist's impression of the proposed Caloundra station.

The first section is set to include a stop in Nirimba to service Stockland’s sprawling Aura mega-development and its 50,000 future residents, before ending in Caloundra about 3km from the town’s main beach.

The direct Sunshine Coast rail line is expected to shave 45 mins off travel from Brisbane to Caloundra compared to driving, with trains to go as fast as 140km/h in some sections of the full line.

Federal Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Minister Catherine King said the additional funding would ensure Sunshine Coast communities could access South East Queensland in a “faster, more reliable way”.

An artist's impression of the station at Beerwah.

Regional Development Assistant Minister Anthony Chisholm said the new rail line would benefit both locals and the millions of tourists who visited the Sunshine Coast every year.

“More and more people are choosing to call the Sunshine Coast home, so we’re investing in the infrastructure this area needs to keep up with the growing demand,” he said.

But the ability to only get as far as Caloundra by 2032 means the rail line stops short of getting to Kawana, where the closest proposed venues for the Games are.

An artist's impression of a Sunshine Coast train station

Proposed venues for the 2032 Games within the Sunshine Coast zone are in Kawana, Alexandra Headland, and Parklands with the satellite athletes’ village located in Maroochydore.

The state government has insisted a staged approach is safer for costs and timing.

A summary business case released in March revealed taking it all the way to Maroochydore would cost at least $12bn and take a “decade or more” to build “even when working across multiple work fronts at the same time”.

“Without staging, no sections of the rail corridor would be able to be operationalised before this time,” it states.

The business case found stage 1 would cost a whopping $5.5bn at least and up to $7bn at the highest end of estimates – more than double the $3.2bn initially earmarked by the Coalition government in 2022.

It ultimately suggested the first stage of the line be built as far as Birtinya by 2032, but the state government ruled the risks – particularly around engineering sensitivities to avoid environmental challenges – made Caloundra the better option. “Stage 1 alone involves building 19km of track – 7km of that track is elevated rail on viaducts, including 10 bridges, crossing roads, creeks and the Bruce Highway,” Transport Minister Bart Mellish said at the time.

The train line would eventually run through to Maroochydore.

“Stage 2 is even more complex, involving construction of another 7.5km of track between Caloundra and Birtinya, including a 1.2km tunnel at Little Mountain.

“Again, 4km of that is elevated rail on viaducts including six bridges, due to the number of creek crossings and low-lying terrain.”

There are no timelines for the delivery for stages 2 and 3 of the rail line.

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has previously said he believed it was still possible to get the rail line from Beerwah all the way to Maroochydore by 2032, warning if the stop was Caloundra it would turn the town into a massive carpark.

The Courier-Mail previously revealed a $467m funding package to upgrade the Bruce Highway would be included in the federal budget, with more infrastructure commitments expected.