Golden Age: Light rail south slow train coming as political and practical barriers ahead

LIGHT rail is coming to central Burleigh Heads and long-term plans reveal when locals are likely to see the golden and blue trams arriving. Here’s how long you will be waiting.

THE Stage 3 light rail extension to Coolangatta will be a slow train coming with the project needing to overcome some significant political and practical challenges.

Planning documents suggest construction of the 6.4km extension from Broadbeach to Burleigh Heads in Stage 3A will start in 2020 at the earliest and not be completed until 2023.

Council and State Government insiders estimate a build of between 18 months to three years.

Stage 3B through to Coolangatta Airport cannot commence until at least 2024 when work finishes on the six-laning of the Pacific Motorway from Varsity Lakes to Tugun, allowing the M1 to take extra traffic from the disrupted Gold Coast highway.

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Crowds gather at Broadbeach North station.

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A Golden Age survey undertaken by the Bulletin found 82 per cent of respondents supported a tram extension, and 79 per cent want it to be to the airport. At least 65 per cent wanted that extension within three years.

A political insider told the Gold Coast Bulletin: “People think it will be quick. Stage Two (to Helensvale) was done in fairly quick time due to the Commonwealth Games. With Stage Three, we have to do 21kms of rail to get to the airport and it’s got to be done in two sections.”

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Art work for Light Rail Stage 3A at Burleigh.

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A council source said: “All our focus is on Stage 3A. Going from Burleigh over the hill to Palm Beach is a long way off. (Burleigh MP) Michael Hart and (Currumbin MP) Jann Stuckey are adamant it’s not going that way. There has to be mega case to get over the hill.”

Light rail planners see the following critical steps for Stages 3A and 3B to be completed:

. council and the State Government must complete a detailed business case for Stage 3A by the end of this year.

. the $670.5 million project must be shown to be economically viable.

. the State Government will complete a tougher round of community consultation than council and the results must be strongly positive.

. Infrastructure Australia is convinced of the merit of the project and gives it the tick for Federal Government support.

. all three levels of government in 2019 must reach agreement on funding which sees State pay for most of it followed by the Commonwealth and council.

. the final decision in 2020 must be reached before political parties and candidates begin debating the merits of it before an October poll.

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Flashback: Early surveying in Coolangatta on light rail — from left to right, Greg Betts when Burleigh councillor, Daphne McDonald, then-southern councillor Chris Robbins and Mayor Tom Tate. Picture by Scott Fletcher

A draft preliminary business plan confirms Stage 3 A will have up to eight new light rail stations and five new light rail vehicles, include a light rail-bus interchange at Burleigh Heads and three new signalised traffic intersections.

The plan estimates travel time savings of 10,387 hours per day and more than 8,000 car trips removed from the road network, providing a $273 million economic benefit.

Public transport usage will increase by more than 25,000 extra public transport trips per day with the economy receiving a $1.2 billion boost.

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The project would create approximately 2,400 jobs during the construction phase and 39 additional positions during operation.

A council report said the corridor vision would include intensified development around the rail stations while “respecting the prominent natural features” of the southern coast including its network of green spaces.

“It will be a distinct shift from the iconic skyline of Southport, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach and will deliver a future growth response that is reflective of the southern corridor,” the report said.

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Mayor Tom Tate says council has funding available for further stages of light rail. Picture Glenn Hampson

Stage 3B faces more challenges in terms of engineering with bridges and potential property buy-ups along the Gold Coast Highway.

Mayor Tom Tate said after delivering the council budget that future funding would be available for the project.

He said the council and State Government last year had tipped in $5 million each to develop the business case for Stage 3A.

“Looking at that, it’s full steam ahead as far as light rail to Burleigh is concerned — Stage 3A,” Councillor Tate told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

“I’m lobbying both sides of government for funding. It’s three tiers of government. We’re there, we funded (stages) one and two on the same percentage.

“We’re ready to go. We have money in our priority reserve fund with payments to come out of that.”