With the Brisbane Olympics on the way and up to an additional 200,000 people estimated to be living on the Sunshine Coast by 2040, Queensland rail infrastructure is now a major talking point heading into the federal election.

Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey unveiled the Queensland Government’s Southern Sunshine Coast Public Transport Strategy earlier this week, which will run east-west from Caloundra to the North Coast rail line.

“Not just with the Olympic Games coming and the need to move people around, but its population growth well before that, which is driving the need for heavy rail,” says Bailey.

“We will probably need to see the dust settle on the federal election, in terms of locking in all the governance and getting rolling on the Games planning.”

sunshine coast rail link proposal

The southern link of the proposal runs between Caloundra, Caloundra South and a station just north of Beerwah. The northern link is imagined as an arc and runs towards Landsborough. It is anticipated the transport link between Caloundra and Landsborough will have services running every 30 minutes. A second high-frequency link will be placed between Caloundra South, the Sunshine Coast University Hospital at Kawana and the University of Sunshine Coast, with a third linking Caloundra South, Palmview and Buderim with Mooloolaba.

Three public transport routes will run north-south along the edge of the Sunshine Coast. A light rail system akin to the Gold Coast has also been floated as a potential solution. The Sunshine Coast Regional Council devised routes between Maroochudore and Beerwah late last year for buses and light rail, which were included in the South Sunshine Coast Public Transport Plan.

“As part of our partnership, the Palaszczuk Government have commenced a $15 million,
jointly funded detailed business case for the first stage of Sunshine Coast Mass Transit,” Bailey says.

“Work is also under way to investigate a heavy rail connection from Beerwah to Maroochydore as part of the CAMCOS corridor and design is under way for the $320 million Mooloolah River Interchange upgrade.”

The proposal is now on public exhibition, with local residents asked to voice their opinions by March 16. The transport link is a long time coming for Sunshine Coast, after the Labor State Government promised trains in Caloundra by 2015 way back in 2005.

Images: QLD Government

Jarrod Reedie

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