THE Beerwah to Maroochydore rail extension could take nine years to construct and with a state government-commissioned investment study not expected to be completed until next year, experts are questioning whether it can be completed for the 2032 Olympics.
The project, which has been mooted for decades is now officially called the ‘Direct Sunshine Coast Line’.
While the Federal Government has committed $1.6 billion in funding, the state government has refused to commit financing beyond the $6m investment study, which was announced in early 2022. The Department of Transport and Main Roads has now confirmed that study will be complete until 2023.
Sunshine Coast Commuter Advocate Jeff Addison said while he welcomed the Federal Government’s $1.6bn co-funding commitment towards the DSCL; based on his calculations, time was running out for it to be operational by 2032.
With over 40 years experience, and as a structural draftsman working in the Consulting Engineering field, Mr Addison said he held deep concerns for the timely delivery of the project.
“It took three-and-a-half years to build the 13.6km Springfield line which opened in 2013,” he said.
“It took three years just to build the 12.6km Redcliffe Peninsula Line, and it opened in October 2016. On that basis it would take nine years to build the 37km duplicated line into Maroochydore.”
Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said it would be possible to complete the DSCL by 2032 and referred to recent project times with the new Redcliffe rail line taking only six years to build from a funding commitment announcement in 2010 until its opening in 2016 with the construction of six new stations.
“Pending the outcomes of the Direct Sunshine Coast Line planning study as well as the planning for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, it is expected to be feasible to be able to build a Direct Sunshine Coast Line by 2032 to support a growing Sunshine Coast should a funding agreement be achieved across different levels of government,” Minister Bailey said.
When GC&M News queried the project time required to deliver the approximately 37km of track required for the DSCL in comparison to the new Redcliffe line, which was approximately one third of the length, a TMR spokesperson said planning for the Direct Sunshine Coast Line would be far more advanced by 2023 than the Redcliffe line was when it was first announced in 2010, and there would still be nine years until the Olympics.
There are also questions as to whether the line will be funded through to Maroochydore or end at Caloundra or Kawana in time for the Olympics.
Member for Caloundra, Jason Hunt MP, said he was eagerly awaiting the findings of the Direct Sunshine Coast Line planning study, due in 2023.
“This is the very first time such a study has been undertaken and represents the first concrete progress for this issue in a very long time. Once we have that completed then we will have a proper picture of what needs to be done and more importantly the costs involved,” said Mr Hunt.
He indicated that the previous Federal Government had not committed a single cent to the project and was concerned that previous costing models put forward by Federal Members were not correct.
“It’s that lack of planning and amateur ‘improvisation’ that we are trying to avoid by getting this right the first time. The LNP on the Sunshine Coast seem to think this is like assembling the train track underneath your Christmas Tree, it’s not, it’s a mammoth proposal and one that needs to be taken seriously,” said Mr Hunt.
Federal Member for Fisher, Andrew Wallace, said the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games provided the Queensland Government with a hard deadline, but it was time to get on with the job. He said he envisaged the Sunshine Coast Rail project would revolutionize the way people move in southeast Queensland, busting congestion on the busiest roads and reducing the use of cars. However, he said the project would take eight years to build, with only nine-and-half years until the torch is lit.
“I have welcomed the news that Federal Labor backed the Coalition’s $1.6 billion commitment to Sunshine Coast Rail, however I do note that Labor have slashed their expenditure over the forward estimates by $200 million,” Mr Wallace said. “I’m concerned that they are kicking this project into the long grass, which will result in delays and added costs. The people of the Sunshine Coast deserve this project and they are tired of the politics, tired of the talking, and they just want State Labor to stump up their share of the cash and get on with it.”
While the Sunshine Coast may be South-East Queensland’s third largest urban area, many in the community perceive our region to be chronically under-prioritised and treated inequitably, especially in relation to southern counterparts like the Gold Coast when it comes to accessing a high-speed integrated rail network service; with successive governments historically failing to deliver.
More than 500,000 people are forecast to call the region home by 2040, making mass transit a serious priority for authorities.
President of Sunshine Coast Mass Transit Action Group, Tracey Goodwin-McDonald said the community action groups’ first preference was to see fast/heavy rail from Brisbane to Maroochydore with a modern, efficient, flexible, green, bus system connecting the region.
“We believe investing in the CAMCOS corridor with a feeder bus network to support it would provide much greater benefit to people who live and visit the Sunshine Coast,” said Ms Goodwin-McDonald. The service will have key interchanges at Caloundra, Kawana and Maroochydore CBD, and this transport corridor consists of already preserved land. The protected CAMCOS corridor from Beerwah to Maroochydore also extends to the Sunshine Coast Airport, though this is unlikely to be required over the next 20 years.
To find out more visit www.tmr.qld.gov.au/projects/beerwah-to-maroochydore-rail-extension-planning