SeaWorld monorail set to close after almost four decades

A famed tourist attraction, the first of its kind in Australia, is set to close after decades of service.

Australia’s first and last tourist monorail is set to close for good at SeaWorld on the Gold Coast after almost four decades.

The beloved attraction was the first of its kind in Australia when it opened in 1986, but has been dormant since 2019.

After 330,000 trips around the park, Village Roadshow Theme Parks COO Bikash Randhawa said the rail would close.

“The monorail opened at Sea World in 1986 to become Australia’s first monorail system and upon its closing the last,” he said.

The monorail at SeaWorld is expected to be demolished this year. Picture: Instagram

In 38 years of service, the monorail completed 330,000 trips around the park – equivalent to 44 trips around Australia.

Despite being well loved, the rail was shuttered in 2019 amid construction of the new $50 million New Atlantis attraction.

Speculation swirled about its future amid reports of deteriorating infrastructure and difficulties in sourcing needed parts.

“The support we infrastructure we had in place was no longer available worldwide,” Mr Randhawa told Nine Nines.

“Hence, we have made the decision to close the monorail down”.

The monorail was a first of its kind when it opened in 1986. Picture: Instagram

Mr Randhawa said like many families, he had “fond memories” of the rail and that they’d “tried very hard” to keep it going.

He said demolition was expected to start along SeaWorld Drive within the SeaWorld park by the end of the year.

SeaWorld monorail driver of eight years, Dale Beer, told the Courier Mail the rail had been was “awesome”.

“Happy to have those memories but I welcome the future potential (at the park),” he said.

Users online shared devastation at the closure, with one remarking that it was and “end of an era”.