Maroochydore line | |
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Overview | |
Status | Construction |
Owner | Department of Transport and Main Roads |
Locale | Sunshine Coast |
Termini |
|
Stations | 7 (subject to further planning) |
Website | tmr.qld.gov.au |
Service | |
System | Queensland Rail Citytrain network |
Operator(s) | Queensland Rail |
Technical | |
Line length | 37.8 km (23.5 mi) |
Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
Electrification | Yes |
Operating speed | 160 km/h (99 mph) |
The Maroochydore railway line, also known as the Direct Sunshine Coast Rail Line [1] or CAMCOS (Caloundra and Maroochydore Corridor Options Study), is a proposed railway line to the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Initial public consultation was conducted in January 1999, with newsletters and displays of aerial photographs. On 31 March 1999, the Minister for Transport & Main Roads, Steve Bredhauer, announced that a route from the existing North Coast line at Beerwah through to Maroochydore had been decided on. [2] The Queensland Government's Connecting SEQ2031 Infrastructure Plan, committed to the proposal, but did not state a completion date. [3] [4] In July 2022, further documentation on the Queensland Government Transport and Main Roads website indicated that planning was continuing. [5]
In July 2007, the City of Caloundra and Queensland Government commissioned a study into the realignment of the proposed corridor in Caloundra South. It was proposed that the corridor should be altered to run west of Golden Beach, and through the Caloundra Airport site. [6]
The construction of a new 14-kilometre double track alignment on the North Coast line from Caboolture to Beerburrum was a key requirement for the project, to improve capacity, [7] [8] with the line scheduled to be duplicated through Beerwah to Landsborough by 2021. [9]
In the 2022 federal budget, the Morrison government announced a commitment of $1.6 billion towards the construction of the line to improve transport facilities for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. The federal government funding was under the condition that the project's budget would be split 50:50 with the Queensland Government. [10]
In 2023, a 37-kilomare line, allowing for speeds of 160 km/h, was being planned. [11]
In November 2023, the federal Transport Minister, Catherine King, announced a cut in funding for the project, citing cost blow-outs and a lack of demand, and the project was put on hold until the cost has been determined. [12]
In February 2024, the Queensland government announced funding of $3 billion for the first stage of the project, from Beerwah to Caloundra. If the federal government provided matching funding, construction could start in 2026 for completion by 2032. [13]
In May 2024, the federal government announced its contribution of $2.75 billion for the first stage of the line to Caloundra. [14]
In March 2025, the Queensland government announced that the planned line would be shortened by 13 km to terminate at Birtinya, with a new bus rapid transit system called "the wave" to Maroochydore and Sunshine Coast Airport. [15]
The 2009 proposal included eight new stations, and one existing station: [16]
The 2023 proposal included six new stations: [11]
In 2025, the Maroochydore and Mountain Creek stations were eliminated, with the terminus of the line to be at Birtinya. Buses would transport passengers from there to Maroochydore.