Gold Coast railway line

Gold Coast line
Train arriving at Varsity Lakes, the southern terminus of the Gold Coast line, 2019
Overview
Status	Operational
Owner	Queensland Rail
Locale	Gold Coast
Termini	Bowen Hills Varsity Lakes
Stations	20
Service
Type	Commuter rail
System	Queensland Rail Citytrain network
Operator(s)	Queensland Rail
Rolling stock	NGR
History
Opened	26 February 1996
Technical
Number of tracks	3 (Roma Street–Kuraby) 2 (Kuraby–Varsity Lakes)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead lines, installed from 1996–2009
Route map

Helensvale railway station, 2012

Scrubby Creek crossing at Kingston, 2013

Varsity Lakes railway station, 2012, the terminus for the line

Altandi railway station, 2012, the only non-inner city stop within the City of Brisbane.

The Gold Coast railway line is an interurban railway line operated by Queensland Rail in Queensland, Australia, connecting Brisbane with the Gold Coast. The line has 17 stations. In 2021, a journey from Central station to the terminus of this line was scheduled to take 1 hour 23 minutes. There are plans for several new stations along the existing line, as well as an extension south.

The line ran to Tweed Heads in the early 1900s until the 1960s. A new Gold Coast railway opened in 1996 with an extension to Varsity Lakes opened in 2007. In December 2017 the G:link light rail services connected to the line at Helensvale station. Duplication of the line progressed in stages.

History

See also: South Coast railway line, Queensland

The Beenleigh railway line opened in 1885 ^[1] and, in 1889, was extended to Southport as the South Coast Line. ^{[2] [3]} A branch line to Tweed Heads, New South Wales was opened on 10 August 1903 with the running of an excursion train. ^[4] The first regular passenger train made the journey from Brisbane on 14 September 1903. ^[5] Due to the increasing popularity of the motor car, and the influence of political interests in road transport,^{[ citation needed ]} the Tweed Heads branch closed in 1961, and the line from Beenleigh to Southport closed in 1964.

The new Gold Coast railway opened in 1996, running on a different alignment from Beenleigh to Helensvale. It was extended to Nerang in 1997, and Robina in 1998. In 2009, the line was further extended to Varsity Lakes. ^[6]

Originally built as a single-track railway, provisions were made for it to be duplicated. Duplication works commenced in the 2000s and 2010s in stages. The final section to be duplicated was between Coomera and Helensvale stations, with work completed in late 2017, and the new track operational in 2018. ^[7]

Route

The Gold Coast (Varsity Lakes) railway line is an extension of the Beenleigh line. Trains travel express between Boggo Road / Park Road and Beenleigh stations, with limited stops (currently at Altandi and Loganlea) on the Beenleigh railway line. During events at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, Gold Coast and Brisbane Airport trains will make a stop at Banoon station. Most trains from the Gold Coast run through to Brisbane Airport, allowing tourists and locals access to more international destinations than from the Gold Coast's own airport.

Prior to 20 January 2014, services on the Gold Coast Line travelled express between South Bank and Beenleigh, stopping only at Park Road, Coopers Plains and Loganlea during off-peak hours.

From 2025, the line will use Cross River Rail and stop at three new stations in the inner city. ^[8]

Extension plans

The South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program of the Bligh Labor government included a proposal to extend the line to the Coolangatta Airport terminal, which was included in the Labor government's "Connecting SEQ2031" infrastructure plan. ^[9]

The proposed alignment parallels the Pacific Motorway before passing under the threshold of runway 32 at the Gold Coast Airport and looping around to the terminus, near the airport carpark. Under the plan, land reservations were proposed for possible new infill stations on the existing line between Beenleigh and Ormeau (Yatala is a prime candidate), and at Pimpama, Coomera North, Helensvale North, Parkwood and Merrimac. Triplication north of Beenleigh has also been proposed. ^[10] The cost of extending the line to the airport has been costed at around $2.8 billion.

An extension to the G:link light rail system was announced in October 2015. Beginning at Helensvale station, the line was extended to the former terminus at Gold Coast University Hospital, and now continues via the previously built line to Southport, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach. The extension was opened in December 2017 in time for the 2018 Commonwealth Games. ^[11]

New stations

During its construction, provisions were made for future stations at Pimpama, Hope Island and Merrimac. Due to low development in these areas, the stations were never built. As part of the Cross River Rail project, three new stations are currently under construction on the existing line, at Pimpama, Hope Island and Merrimac. ^[12] four other ones are planned at Tallebudgera, Elanora, Tugun and Gold Coast Airport, as part of a proposal to extend the line from Varsity Lakes. ^[13] The Cross River Rail project will allow trains to run every five minutes during peak periods. ^[14]

Line guide, frequency and services

Typical service frequency on the Gold Coast railway line are two trains per hour, increasing to six trains per hour in peak periods. Gold Coast services generally run express between Beenleigh and Boggo Road / Park Road, ^[15] with stops at Loganlea and Altandi. The typical travel time between Varsity Lakes and Brisbane City is approximately 79 minutes (to Central).

During times of disruption in the inner south of Brisbane (between South Brisbane and Yeerongpilly stations), Gold Coast line trains can be maintained via the Ipswich, then Corinda-Yeerongpilly lines to/from Moorooka. The stopping pattern is usually altered to run express between Roma Street and Beenleigh (with the same limited stops at Altandi and Loganlea stations). ^[16]

Most services generally continue as the Airtrain service to Brisbane Airport, stopping at the International and Domestic terminals.

Passengers for/from the Beenleigh line change at either Beenleigh, Loganlea or Altandi, Cleveland line at Boggo Road, Ipswich/Rosewood/Springfield lines at Roma Street, Ferny Grove at Bowen Hills and all other Northbound lines at Eagle Junction.^{[ citation needed ]}

Shortcomings were exposed by unexpectedly high passenger take-up during the construction of the Pacific Motorway, exacerbated by the extension of the service to Brisbane Airport but failing to provide for the additional baggage carried by passengers. Before a 2010 upgrade in peak-services, many peak-hour passengers had to stand for much of the 70-minute journey. ^[17]

In 2010, services on the Gold Coast line were the most delayed in the state. ^[18] Problems were caused by a number of factors, including signal failure and severe weather conditions.

v t e Gold Coast railway line Legend km Airport, Caboolture, Doomben, Ferny Grove, Redcliffe, Shorncliffe, and Sunshine Coast lines Exhibition line 2.7 Bowen Hills (1) 1.3 Fortitude Valley (1) 0.0 Central (1) 0.8 Roma Street (1) Exhibition line Ipswich/Rosewood and Springfield lines Pacific Motorway Brisbane River Peel Street 2.6 South Brisbane (1) 3.5 South Bank (1) Vulture Street 4.3 Gloucester Street Annerley Road 5.1 Boggo Road (1) Cleveland line Express stops Annerley Road 5.9 Dutton Park (1) 7.1 Fairfield (1) 8.5 Yeronga (1) 9.3 Yeerongpilly (1/2) Tennyson Line (to Ipswich line) 10.6 Moorooka (2) Sherwood Rd/Muriel Ave Ipswich Road 11.6 Rocklea (2) Nyanda Beaudesert Road 13.0 Salisbury (2) Riawena Road Interstate line to Sydney 15.2 Coopers Plains (2) Boundary Road 16.7 Banoon (2) 17.6 Sunnybank (2) Mains Road 18.6 Altandi (2) Express stops 19.8 Runcorn (2) 20.0 Tarragun (2) 21.2 Fruitgrove (2) Gateway Motorway 22.5 Kuraby (2) Beenleigh Road Compton Road 25.8 Trinder Park (2) 26.8 Woodridge (2) Wembley Road Kingston Road 29.5 Kingston (2/3) Logan Motorway 32.2 Loganlea (3) Express stops Logan River 21.2 Fruitgrove (3) 35.2 Bethania (3) Beaudesert line 36.9 Edens Landing (3) 39.1 Holmview (3) Logan River Road Boundary Street 39.6 Beenleigh (original) 40.1 Beenleigh (3) Albert River Pacific Motorway 47.7 Ormeau Stabling Yard (opening 2026) 52.5 Ormeau (4) 54.9 Pimpama (4) (opening late 2024) 59.5 Coomera (4) Coomera River 62.9 Hope Island (4) (opening 2026) Hope Island Road Saltwater Creek Gold Coast Highway 68.2 Helensvale (5) (  G:link to Broadbeach South) Smith Street Motorway Southport - Nerang Road Nerang River 75.9 Nerang (5) Nerang - Broadbeach Road Nielsens Road Gooding Drive 82.4 Merrimac (5) (opening 2026) 85.3 Robina (5) Robina Parkway 89.4 Varsity Lakes (6) Tallebudgera (proposed) Elanora (proposed) Tugun (proposed) Coolangatta (proposed)

See also

• Queensland portal
• Railways portal

• Rail transport in Queensland

References

1. "Brisbane Suburb: Mount Gravatt - History of Mount Gravatt". ourbrisbane.com. 2000. Archived from the original on 21 January 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2008.
2. "The Southport Railway". The Brisbane Courier . 25 January 1889. p. 6. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
3. "TWO DECADES". The Brisbane Courier . Vol. LXV, no. 15, 923. Queensland, Australia. 23 January 1909. p. 5. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2016– via National Library of Australia.
4. "Visitors from New South Wales". The Brisbane Courier . Vol. LX, no. 14, 220. Queensland, Australia. 11 August 1903. p. 5. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2016– via National Library of Australia.
5. "Tweed Railway". The Telegraph . No. 9615. Queensland, Australia. 14 September 1903. p. 7 (Second Edition). Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2016– via National Library of Australia.
6. Stolz, Greg (14 December 2009). "Robina-Varsity Lakes rail extension state's most expensive". The Courier-Mail (1 ed.). p. 12. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
7. Hon. Jackie Trad (3 October 2017). "$163M Gold Coast rail upgrade complete well ahead of Commonwealth Games" (Press release). Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
8. Stone, Lucy (2 August 2022). "Gold Coast, Beenleigh rail users face major changes as Brisbane's Cross River Rail network is revealed". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 August 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
9. "Connecting SEQ 2031" (PDF). Department of Transport and Main Roads and Transport (Queensland). 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 October 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
10. Andrew Potts (19 October 2011). "Heavy cost for rail line to Coast airport". Gold Coast Sun. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
11. "Stage two of Gold Coast light rail on track for Commonwealth Games". Queensland Government. 11 October 2015. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
12. "Gold Coast - New Stations". Cross River Rail. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
13. "Three New Train Stations Confirmed for the Gold Coast". The Urban Developer. 16 September 2019. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
14. "Gold Coast - New Stations". Cross River Rail. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
15. "Gold Coast/Airport Line timetable". Translink . 2 March 2020.
16. Cross River Rail Delivery Authority (30 August 2023). "BEENLEIGH AND GOLD COAST LINE TRACK CLOSURE" (PDF). Cross River Rail. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
17. Potts, Andrew (3 December 2007). "All aboard the Bombay express". The Courier-Mail . Archived from the original on 6 December 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
18. Matthew Killoran (5 March 2010). "Gold Coast tops state for train delays". goldcoast.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2012.

External links

• Queensland Rail
• Translink, includes train timetables.
• "South East Queensland Train Network Map" (PDF). Translink . 1 May 2020.