Gold Coast railway line

Gold Coast line
Website	queenslandrail.com.au
Technical
Line length	0 km (0 mi)
Track length	89.45 km (55.58 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Cape gauge
Operating speed	140 km/h (87 mph)

The Gold Coast railway line is an interurban railway line operated by QR Citytrain in Queensland, Australia, connecting Brisbane with the Gold Coast.

Overview

The Gold Coast (Varsity Lakes) railway line continues on from the terminus of the Beenleigh line at Beenleigh. From Brisbane the route follows the Beenleigh railway line to Beenleigh, running express between South Bank and Beenleigh stations, with limited stops (currently at Park Road, Coopers Plains and Loganlea) on the Beenleigh railway line during the off peak period. Most trains to and from the Gold Coast connect with Brisbane Airport, allowing tourists and locals access to more international destinations than from the Gold Coast's own airport.

History

The original South Coast Line was opened to Southport, Queensland, in January 1889 and to Tweed Heads, New South Wales, in 1903. Due to the increasing popularity of the motor car, and political interests in road transport, the line was closed in 1964. The new line and alignment from Beenleigh to Helensvale opened in 1996, Nerang in 1997, and the Robina terminus in 1998. In 2009, the line was extended to Varsity Lakes.

Recent line duplication shortcomings which was exposed by unexpectedly high passenger take-up during the construction of the Gold Coast-Brisbane M1 Motorway were exacerbated by the extension of the service to Brisbane Airport while failing to provide for the additional passengers' baggage. Further seating and baggage capacity was lost due to refitting of carriages under disabled access requirements. Before a recent upgrade in peak-services, previously many peak-hour commuters had to stand for much of the 70 minute journey.

Future plans

The line will be extended and upgraded with new stations over the next decade. The railway is being progressively extended south until it reaches the Tugun Bypass, which it will run alongside before passing under the threshold of runway 32 at the Gold Coast Airport and looping around to the terminus near the airport carpark. In this last stage, the railway will cross the border into New South Wales. Also, under the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program, reservations are to be made for possible new infill stations between Beenleigh and Ormeau (Yatala is a prime candidate) and at Pimpama, Coomera North, Helensvale North, Parkwood and Merrimac on the existing line. Services will also be upgraded with higher frequencies and capacity, made possible by the track duplication south (and triplication north) of Beenleigh^{[citation needed]}.

In 2010 construction is expected to start on the Gold Coast Rapid Transit System which will be a light rail system connecting Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise and Southport to Helensvale railway station.

Line guide, frequency and services

Typical service frequency on the Gold Coast railway line are two trains per hour, increasing to four trains per hour in peak periods, and reduces to one train per hour after 8pm. Gold Coast services generally run express between Beenleigh railway station and Park Road railway station, with stops at Loganlea Station and Coopers Plains Station in the off peak. The typical travel time between Robina and Brisbane City is approximately 76 minutes (to Central). During weekday peak times, a few services will not stop at Loganlea, Coopers Plains and Park Road.

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 Coopers Plains, Cleveland line at Park Road, Ipswich/Rosewood lines at Roma Street and all other lines at Central.

Gold Coast railway line showing distance from Central, ticket zone, and connecting or nearby bus services

Airtrain, Caboolture, Doomben, Ferny Grove, Nambour and Gympie North, Shorncliffe lines 2.7 km Bowen Hills (1) 301, 310, 315, 320, 393 Exhibition line 1.3 km Fortitude Valley (1) See Fortitude Valley railway station 0.0 km CENTRAL (1) See Adelaide Street bus mall 0.8 km Roma Street (1) See Roma Street railway station Exhibition line Ipswich, Rosewood lines Pacific Motorway Brisbane River 2.6 km South Brisbane (1) See Cultural Centre busway station 3.5 km South Bank (1) See South Bank busway station 5.1 km Park Road (1/2) See Boggo Road busway station Follows Beenleigh line 15.2 km Coopers Plains (3/4) 122, 123, 124 Follows Beenleigh line 32.2km Loganlea (6) 556, 560, 562 Follows Beenleigh line 40 km Beenleigh (7/8) 553, 562, 563, 565, 566, 567 Albert River Pacific Motorway 52.7 km Ormeau (9) 567, 727 59.5 km Coomera (10) 725, 726, TX5 Coomera River Saltwater Creek 68.2 km Helensvale (12) 709, 715, 725, 726, 727, 728, TX5, 3, 14, 16 Smith Street Motorway Nerang River 75.9 km Nerang (13) 740, 745, 748, 20, 20A, 21 85.35 km Robina (15) 748, 750, 751, 752, 755, 758, 759, 761, 765 89.4 km VARSITY LAKES (16) 753, 759, 761, 765, 769 Tallebudgera (Proposed) Elanora (Proposed) Coolangatta (Proposed)

External links

• Citytrain
• TransLink