Chez’s Diner closes as Beenleigh braces for more fast rail demolition works

A much-loved southside diner and hundreds of homes will be ripped down after more than 50 years to make way for a new fast rail to the Gold Coast in time for the 2032 Olympics.

Gone but not forgotten … Chez’s Diner closed in preparation for demolition works for the Gold Coast to Beenleigh fast rail. Pictures: Adam Taylor

A popular southside diner, known for its beatnik waitress signpost, will be ripped down after more than 50 years to make way for a new $2.6 billion fast train to the Gold Coast, in time for the 2032 Olympics.

The former retro Chez’s Diner, on the corner of Logan River Rd and Hammel St at Beenleigh, will be levelled for the project.

The state government owns the property and said the site would likely be used for transport infrastructure for the rail corridor and as a construction site base.

No date for demolition had been set with contracts for major works and time frames yet to be determined with construction contractors.

Generations of locals loved its homemade sausage rolls, pies, beef stew and bags of 1¢ lollies.

Before it was called Chez’s Diner, the popular corner site roadside eatery was known as Crazy Cobbs from the 1970s to the 1980s.

Although not the first building in the area, it was the first on the corner site, with aerial photos of Beenleigh in 1954 showing a vacant lot.

This month, the diner served its last potato scallops and pie and mash, closing its doors and putting out the rubbish for the final time.

Chez’s Diner is across the road from the Beenleigh rail line. Picture: Judith Kerr

Owners and residents of Hammel St, notified of the demolition process in 202l, were also preparing to vacate even though the state government was yet to release the demolition date – at this stage, four homes on the street are lieky to be affected, but this is expected to change.

Hammel St resident Freya Parker said residents had been told to expect works to start as soon as June.

The state plans to acquire and then demolish hundreds of houses for the rail upgrade, designed to cut travel time in peak hour from Brisbane to the Gold Coast.

The joint state and federal government project will duplicate the track on the Gold Coast Beenleigh line between Kuraby and Beenleigh, where single track in each direction currently limits the number of peak-hour services.

During peak times, all-stop Beenleigh trains currently need to be held to one side for about four minutes to allow Gold Coast express trains to pass.

The state transport department said the Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail project would address that timing issue.

It was unable to comment on the latest Hammel St demolition plans.

Acquisitions have already taken place on the line at Trinder Park and in and around Holmview.

The well-recognised signpost for the diner features a waitress. Picture: Adam Taylor

“Additional tracks will require a wider corridor and track straightening in some areas,” the transport department said.

“To accommodate the widening of the rail corridor, TMR is investigating changes to Hammel St and Syria St and potential road changes around Beenleigh Town Centre between James St and Alamein St.

“Property owners who have been informed they are directly impacted by this project are eligible to apply for a strategic purchase of their property by the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

“A strategic purchase allows owners to voluntarily apply to sell their property to the department before the formal resumption process.”

Submissions from public transport lobby Rail Back on Track called for the rail line through Beenleigh to be straightened at the town centre to allow trains to run at faster speeds.

Hammel St, Beenleigh as shown on a map outlining the footprint of the fast rail corridor. Picture: Rail Back on Track

“One key idea Rail Back On Track has put forward is that these two new tracks could be built with smoother turns that do not necessarily need to stick to the current alignment,” Rail Back on Track’s Robert Dow said.

“Key features to achieve this would be a viaduct deviating over the Bethania flood plain and a tunnel from Kingston to Trinder Park.

“Together these would allow for speeds of up to 160km/h.

“While they might sound expensive upfront, they could actually offset some costs too, allowing for faster speeds and lower running costs.

“It would also allow for more greenfield construction, meaning a lot of work can take place separately without shutting down the Beenleigh line and less land acquisition.”

The Transport Department undertook community consultation in September and October 2021, with the project team receiving a large range of feedback on the early design from more than 500 face-to-face engagements and nearly 400 emails and 300 phone calls.

Chez’s Diner became a well-known marker for those using the train line, which now overlooks the corner after a train overpass was built over Logan River Rd.

The state government said the project remained in the planning phase and was subject to further approvals by both state and federal governments.