AUSTRALIA: The Queensland government has cancelled Stage 4 of the Gold Coast Light Rail programme, and will instead look to enhance bus services and undertake a multi-modal transport study to explore broader regional transport needs.
Stage 4 was to have run 13 km along the southern Gold Coast from Burleigh Heads to Coolangatta, with nine stops including Gold Coast Airport. This would have completed a 40 km light rail route from Helensvale to Coolangatta.
The decision not to go ahead follows a review undertaken by Department of State Development, Infrastructure & Planning. This assessed the robustness of existing planning work and cost estimates, deliverability, alternative routes and modes, and community feedback.
The review found that local opinion was split on the project, with significant oppostion; that the financial estimates are uncertain with material costs having increased by 4·3% on average over the past 12 months and now being on average 30% higher than three years ago; and lengthy construction timeframes mean the project would not address the immediacy of the need to improve public transport on the southern Gold Coast.
Australasian Railway Association CEO Caroline Wilkie said the decision was ‘disappointing’, given the ‘significant economic, community and sustainability benefits this project would deliver’.
On September 1 Wilkie said ‘buses simply won’t deliver the benefits light rail has to offer and will not be able to keep up with growing demand for transport services in the region. Today’s decision represents a future of congestion, car dependence and increased emissions, limiting the growth of one of Australia’s key international tourism destinations.’
