The long-awaited Gold Coast light rail stage 3 will open to passengers on Sunday, the Queensland government has confirmed.
The 6.7-kilometre stretch will connect Broadbeach to Burleigh Heads for the first time with eight new stops, including Mermaid Beach, Miami and Christine Avenue.
Construction on the $1.55 billion project began in July 2022, a blowout from the $709 million it was initially slated to cost.
Stage 3 forms part of a broader suite of plans by the state government to reduce congestion in the growing city and improve connectivity ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games.
Minister for Transport and Main Roads Brent Mickelberg said the budget blowouts were associated with industrial impacts associated with the now scrapped Best Practice Industry Conditions provisions.
“It certainly didn’t stick to budget… My job since coming to government was to get this delivered,” Mr Mickelberg said.
“We know the Gold Coast needs additional investment in public transport, and [this] is a really important milestone.”
Brent Mickelberg says leaving lines open could cost money and put workers at risk. (ABC News: Tobi Loftus)
The minister said the permanent 50-cent fares would give locals access to an affordable public transport network.
“The extension will better connect communities, support local jobs and businesses and make it easier for people to move between popular destinations,” he said.
The first tram is due to depart Burleigh Heads and Broadbeach stations at 6am on Sunday.
Relief for small businesses
Light rail at the Gold Coast, good generic. (ABC News: Greg Nelson)
Trading along the corridor has softened for years, as construction on the project dragged on.
Services had been touted by the previous state government to commence by mid 2025.
Small business owners have previously told the ABC that income and trade had “decreased drastically as a result”.
Businesses struggle in face of construction
Mr Mickelberg said he understood locals’ frustration, as the project seemed to take “an inordinate amount of time”.
Burleigh MP Hermann Vorster said the announcement services would begin on Sunday was a “light at the end of the figurative tunnel”.
“Burleigh locals have endured so much disruption, and they’ll be breathing a sigh of relief with services now just around the corner,” Mr Vorster said.
“I know thousands of Gold Coasters can’t wait to come and support our local clubs and traders.”
Shadow Minister Meaghan Scanlon says the LNP previously opposed the project. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
The Gold Coast’s only Labor MP, Meaghan Scanlon, accused the Crisafulli government of taking credit for a project they had previously opposed.
“It’s a bittersweet day with the light rail to Burleigh officially being completed but it will end there,” Ms Scanlon said.
“The LNP MPs who have been the biggest haters of this project will no doubt be there today taking credit with dumb grins on their face when they have just consigned the Gold Coast to a generation of congestion.”
Ms Scanlon said she was disappointed the planned light rail extension to the airport had been scrapped in favour of the GC Surfer bus service.
“I can’t seriously see how these MPs can suggest to Gold Coasters that a bus with a funny name with no dedicated lane in traffic is generational infrastructure,” she said.
“This has got to be one of the stupidest decisions the LNP have made on the Gold Coast to consign the Gold Coast to a generation of congestion and cancel the last stage of the light rail to the airport.”
No Surfers Paradise high rises
Gold Coast Deputy Mayor Mark Hammel said the opening of the Burleigh extension was an exciting milestone that would make it easier for residents to access the city’s beaches, restaurants and major events without relying on cars.
Cr Hammel said community concerns the extension would pave the way for Surfers Paradise-style high rise towers along the route were unfounded.
“If there’s available infrastructure in the corridor, we should look at making sure we maximise that,” he said.
“What it won’t mean, and I want to be very clear to residents of the Gold Coast, any kind of idea that towers the height of Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise are going to continue down the coast, it’s not going to be the case.”