Gold Coast to Brisbane fast-rail backed by both Coalition and Labor
Labor reveal what they will do if Bill Shorten wins upcoming Federal election after Coalition unveiled ambitious plan for fast train service between the Coast and Brisbane.
Gold Coast
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A FAST-train connection between the Gold Coast and Brisbane will remain on the agenda following May’s federal election.
The Gold Coast Bulletin today revealed the Morrison Government planned to fork out $8 million on a business case for a new fast-rail line, slashing the Gold Coast-Brisbane commute to 32 minutes.
The business case will also look at the need for extending the existing rail line – or a new fast-rail track – from Varsity Lakes to Gold Coast Airport.
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Labor today welcomed what it called the government’s belated interest in heavy rail and said it would push ahead with its own plans if the Opposition wins the federal poll.
Gold Coast-based Labor Senator Murray Watt yesterday said the Shorten Opposition had shown “strong support” for heavy rail.
“It’s about time. When Labor was last in government we actually commissioned a lot of work into high-speed rail around the country,” he said.
“This has been in the government’s bottom drawer for the last six years and on the eve of an election they have decided it is something worth thinking about.
“It is underwhelming for them to come out just weeks before an election when they have had this in their drawer for six years.
“We will continue to push it further if we win the next election.”
Senator Watt also called on the Coalition to fund the Cross-River Rail in Brisbane, which will increase the number of trains able to use the Gold Coast railway line.
The existing train connection between the two cities takes 74 minutes at an average speed of 69km/h, but the fast rail is expected to race along at 160km/h.
Gold Coast Deputy Mayor Donna Gates welcomed the announcement and said the council would work closely with the Federal Government to make the project a reality.
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“This is fantastic news for the Gold Coast and we would love to see the business case fast-tracked as well as the trains,” she said.
“It is a great thing for this city that we are being recognised.
“We need to be taken seriously and there is just terrible congestion – it is time we had better public transport.”
The Gold Coast-Brisbane congestion-busting plan was among five national fast-rail business cases being funded in next month’s budget by the Federal Government in a bid to boost capital city connections to regional centres.
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