Stage 3 of the Gold Coast Light Rail project commenced works this July, with rail being installed in the cenetre of the Gold Coast Highway in Miami.
The $1.2-billion Stage 3 project will include 6.7 kilometres of new dual-track light rail running from Broadbeach South station to Burleigh Head, along with eight new light rail stations. It is part of a wider expansion of the Gold Coast tram network that, once completed, will extend 27 kilometres from Helensvale to Burleigh Heads, with a total of 23 trams eventually in operation.
Stage 3 also includes an upgrade and expansion of the existing depot and stabling facilities, new light rail-bus interchanges at Burleigh Heads and Miami, signalised traffic intersection upgrades, new signalised pedestrian crossings, and upgraded pedestrian and cycle facilities.
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said Gold Coasters were clearly seeing the progress being made to build the light rail, with more than 80 active work fronts on the 6.7-kilometre route.
Tate added: “This is a city-shaping project built by the Gold Coast for the Gold Coast – I look forward to seeing the light rail extending all the way to the Gold Coast Airport in the years to come.”
The new works will first see rail installed on the section south of Nobby Beach, followed by the section in Mermaid Beach.
About 28 kilometres of rail will be installed along the Stage 3 route, with about 14 kilometres expected to be in place by the end of this year.
Rail works will be delivered faster than the utility upgrades done below the ground, which have been carried out along the alignment since late 2022.
In July, Murray Watt, Acting Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, said the first piece of rail installed in the centre of the Gold Coast Highway for the light rail stage 3 project was an exciting milestone.
He said: “This project is a prime example of the Albanese Government’s commitment to delivering nation-shaping infrastructure, which will open up affordable public transport for Gold Coasters, while cutting congestion.”
The project’s $1.2 billion in funding is comprised of $395.6 million from the federal government, $713.3 million from the state government, and $91.5 million from local government.
It is being developed by light rail consortium GoldlinQ on behalf of the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, with John Holland the chosen design and construction contractor.
Early works included onsite investigations in 2021 and 2022, which involved more than 1,000 underground service and environmental investigations. Once Stage 3 is complete, transport users will be able to travel from Broadbeach South station to Burleigh Heads in just 17 minutes.
Queensland Minister for Transport and Main Roads Bart Mellish said the public transport link over its lifespan would potentially serve hundreds of millions of people from the Gold Coast and across the world.
He said: “The track is in the ground, we have five brand new trams added to the existing fleet, and we’re going to see plenty more work above and under the ground taking shape from now into next year.
“We know there may be short term challenges during construction, but we know the project is continually hitting milestones that point to a bright future.
“Not only that, but construction of Stage 3 is providing 760 jobs, with more than 90 per cent of those being local and 90 per cent of procurement from local suppliers.”
Photo by GTS Productions
The light rail will provide seamless connectivity between the Gold Coast’s popular areas, such as Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, Southport and Helensvale, allowing residents and visitors to easily access shopping precincts, employment hubs, entertainment venues, and educational institutions.
It also furthers the Gold Coast’s commitment to sustainability and reducing carbon emissions, with the light rail system operating on electricity as an eco-friendly alternative to more polluting forms of transportation. The proposed final stage of the project will see the light rail extend from Burleigh Heads to Coolangatta.
Delivery and unloading of the expanded network’s five new trams was handled by Mammoet Australia, with the five Flexity 2 low-floor light rail vehicles each comprising of seven modules with a driving cab at each end.
The 43.5-metre-long trams were fabricated in Austria and delivered to Brisbane, a more than 40,000-kilometre journey, before being transported to the Gold Coast, unloaded at the Queen Street tram station, and stored at the Southport depot.
Mammoet explained that one of the primary challenges for the project was the lack of methodology for offloading the trams onto the tramway tracks, along with strict time constraints related to temporary power shutdowns during the ‘set on rails’ operation.
Mammoet proposed utilising in-house engineered ramps and heavy-duty winching equipment to facilitate the trams’ loading and offloading, with the ramps designed and fabricated using procured rail sections so the trams could be pulled onto conventional hydraulic platform trailers. Once on the trailers, a winch truck manoeuvred the trams onto and off the trailers using the rail ramps, ensuring a secure and precisely controlled process.
Mammoet said the strict timing and operational intricacies demanded meticulous planning and execution.
The Dutch logistics company added: “Mammoet orchestrated swift mobilisation to the Port of Brisbane; offloading from the roll-on roll-off vessel; police-escorted transportation from the Port of Brisbane to Southport; unloading via the custom designed ramps at Queen Street tram station; and finally, demobilisation back to Brisbane in a reconfigured combination – all accomplished within a narrow 12 to 13-hour window.”
