Gold Coast Light Rail

[SurfRail]

7th birthday of operations coming up on the 21st of next month.

One of only 2 things they managed to get basically right in the last 20 years - the other being integrated ticketing in July 2004.  Everything else has had or caused problems to some extent.

[achiruel]

Along with the Springfield line, one of two decent PT infrastructure programs in SEQ in the past decade. And how close did that come to being a cluster***?

[#Metro]

Springfield was going to be single track. 

[ozbob]

Along with the Springfield line, one of two decent PT infrastructure programs in SEQ in the past decade. And how close did that come to being a cluster***?

We had to advocate for double track and the station at Springfield (Lakes).  It was a near miss.  The outcome is good though now.

[SurfRail]

^ Although still plenty compromised (eg Darra junction, missing Oxley platform etc)

[ozbob]

^ Although still plenty compromised (eg Darra junction, missing Oxley platform etc)

Different project.  But Corinda <> Darra West is good example of what not do.

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate on light rail: Truth is being left at the platform $

DEMOCRACY is a wonderful thing but as a society, we cannot let the truth become a casualty of any debate.

The latest push back from the anti-light-rail brigade has left the truth at the station platform.

Here's a fact. Light rail was first discussed in the City's public transport plan of 1998.

It was listed, along other proposed transport modes including rapid buses and even monorail.

In 2011, as a mayoral candidate, I actually lobbied for rapid buses over light rail.

I won the mayoralty in 2012 but by then, light rail was the chosen transport mode and stage one was being built. So I got on board.

Our City's modern transport plan shows the critical role light rail will play, linking heavy rail at Helensvale with light rail all the way to the airport.

My message to the anti-light rail protesters is: where were you in 2010? It is foolhardy to now be protesting a project that got the green light more than a decade ago. ...

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> Shock finding: Why trams and not buses are the only way to improve public transport to the airport $

ALMOST all visitors at the Gold Coast Airport are leaving by car due to the limited bus services, according to a council report.

The only way to improve public transport, council officers suggest, is a tram service.

In an update on light rail Stage 4 from Burleigh to Coolangatta, the officers refer to the airport as "pivotal to the local tourism industry and economic development on the Gold Coast" and note demand would increase significantly in the next 20 years.

The state government's ShapingSEQ 50-year regional plan sought high-frequency public transport connections including extending light rail to Coolangatta, officers added. ...

[verbatim9]

We wouldn't be here in relation to the proposed route debate, if they had finished the heavy rail to the airport. If heavy rail to the airport is completed prior to the tram being completed? There would only be one choice for the LRT route. That being the coastal route, as the other route would be taken up with heavy rail and active transport, being a shared path parallel to heavy rail corridor.

If the government is smart, they would secure funding to start on the heavy rail corridor to Tugan ASAP. This will give the anti LRT groups no option but concede and allow the LRT to travel via the Gold Coast Hwy to the airport.

[#Metro]

Let's have an express tram to OOL from Burleigh 😜
No stopping in between! They can take the bus!

[Gazza]

We wouldn't be here in relation to the proposed route debate, if they had finished the heavy rail to the airport. If heavy rail to the airport is completed prior to the tram being completed? There would only be one choice for the LRT route. That being the coastal route, as the other route would be taken up with heavy rail and active transport, being a shared path parallel to heavy rail corridor.

If the government is smart, they would secure funding to start on the heavy rail corridor to Tugan ASAP. This will give the anti LRT groups no option but concede and allow the LRT to travel via the Gold Coast Hwy to the airport.

No because then they would say sh%t like
"Oh we already have a train, we dont need a tram"
or
"Send it west to Varisty then change to a train"

Both are crap outcomes.

The fact is,

-Trams get double the patronage of the GC heavy rail line....

This is amazing performance. A 20km tram line gets more patronage than a 50km rail line.



-777 bus to the airport gets more patronage than the 760 bus from Varisty to the airport.

Therefore if the trams and the coastal buses are more heavily used, the need to upgrade that corridor is more urgent.

[JimmyP]

Or, as is already happening, they'll be saying 'trams are outdated, make it xx instead', completely ignoring the fact that forcing a modal change on the one corridor will completely ruin the chance of the network performing as well as it can.

The stupidity among the NIMBY movement knows no bounds unfortunately.

[SurfRail]

The world is not run on Facebook or the comments section of news websites, as some of these people seem to have forgotten.

This war was lost 10 years ago.  Trams it is.  Deal with it, move, or stay and be grumpy - doesn't make a difference.  Their personal approbation of the project is unnecessary and does not constitute a veto.

I'm much happier not saying anything these days.  It is amusing to watch though.

[ozbob]

^ agree SurfRail.  It is beyond tedious.

[verbatim9]

https://twitter.com/7NewsGoldCoast/status/1418478352080408588

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin -->  Renaissance of Light Rail research paper $

THE Gold Coast light rail has helped lead a national "renaissance" of trams, a new report reveals.

The Renaissance of Light Rail research paper compiled by the Australasian Railway Association analyses the first five years of the trams on the Coast and its short and medium-term legacy, including boosts to property prices and public transport usage. ...

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> Shock move: Red light to super tower light rail development in Gold Coast suburb $

ANGRY Main Beach residents are calling on council to remove the light rail overly map which has launched a wave of super tower development through their beachfront suburb.

In a stunning move, council planning chair Cameron Caldwell made the suggestion to protesting residents at the Main Beach Association annual general meeting on Tuesday night.

More than 200 residents attended the event at the Southport Yacht Club and another 67 watched on zoom due to COVID restrictions, ready to back several motions as part of a "call to action" to reform council's planning powers.

The Bulletin in an exclusive report on the eve of the meeting revealed how the suburb could quadruple within 20 years, the population increasing by 420 per cent reaching 16,411 people.

Residents aware the tram route had allowed for code assessable developments with bigger and bulkier buildings than existing apartment buildings in large landscaped grounds voiced fears that the suburb east of Tedder would "become Hong Kong".

Cr Caldwell had told residents: "Why don't you ask council to put forward amendments that remove that overlay. We just did it on the beachfront, we proposed to do that. ...

[SteelPan]

People living anywhere near the ocean-front on the GC have to come to accept, it stopped being a seaside village decades ago! It's one of the key economic drivers of SEQ and needs to embrace built structures that reflect this. It's the "Vegas" of Oz and will be increasingly focused on delivering high quality tourist experiences, way more than any type of even remotely idyllic domestic lifestyle.

Now, let's get a true fast/er rail connection between Bris/GC and add a mountain of value to the SEQ tourist experience!   

[Gazza]

Also, if you don't like high rises near the beach you can always just buy a place in Byron Bay and not worry about high rises.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/GCBulletin/status/1505699262037778433

[SurfRail]

I suppose that's because GCCC isn't a member of the Council of Mayors.

The light and heavy rail funding commitments are already in place.  (Nothing from the ALP federally about QLD transport from what I've seen.)

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1543045486776426496

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament

https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2022/604-2022.pdf

Question on Notice
No. 604
Asked on 21 June 2022

MR R STEVENS ASKED MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS (HON M BAILEY)

QUESTION:

Will the Minister provide the Light Rail annual usage figures from 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
and 2021 to May 2022?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Mermaid Beach for the question.

The Gold Coast Light Rail (GCLR) is a public transport success story, with more than 60 million
passenger journeys since the commencement of services. This is helping to ease congestion
now and into the future as the Gold Coast community continues to grow.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads confirms that the annual patronage and usage
figures for GCLR are as follows.

2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–May 2022
Light Rail
10,743,025 8,464,439 6,119,785 5,639,048

Consistent with the national and global experience, public transport patronage throughout
Queensland has been impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant changes in
work practices. The GCLR system has therefore experienced a decrease in patronage in 2019–20,
2020–21 and 2021–22 due to the impacts of COVID-19.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1552667902868094979

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> Push to allow Gold Coast health workers travel for free on trams $

A Gold Coast councillor has called for free tram travel to be offered to frontline health workers – but the Department of Transport and Main Roads says it doesn't support free travel.

Division 2 councillor William Owen Jones said that after reading a Bulletin report about the lack of use of the light rail park and ride facility at Parkwood Station he had spoken to a staff member at nearby Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH).

Cr Owen Jones said the cost of tram fares was raised as a major issue.

"The conversation I had with the nurse was literally, it's sixes and threes for staff because of the cost of the light rail," Cr Owen Jones said.

"I think that they can park all day at the hospital for $10.

"So she's saying, if you take into account the time and the cost of the tram, it's kind of sixes and threes. ...
...
" ... As a matter of policy, the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) does not support free travel, to ensure a focus on fairness and the sustainability of public transport services for all Queenslanders." ...

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/gclightrail/status/1597356694308524033

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> Gold Coast light rail: Huge change needed to ensure trams will get built by the 2032 Olympics $

ACTING Mayor Donna Gates has thrown her support behind the Gold Coast rejoining the Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors in a bid to fund critical infrastructure projects by 2032's Olympics.

A supermajority of councillors, led by Mayor Tom Tate, voted to exit the powerful regional decision-making body last year, citing its $300,000 annual membership cost.

But when asked about the Coast missing out on billions of dollars of infrastructure funding in a 30-project SEQ City Deal recently and a seat on the 2032 Olympic Games organising committee, she said she'd vote to rejoin it. ...

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/7NewsBrisbane/status/1600018746633990145

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/gclightrail/status/1607876197526175744

[achiruel]

Took the tram today from Broadbeach South to Broadbeach North, was quite full. A bit later went from Broadbeach South to Helensvale (yeah, I realise the 745 to Nerang is quicker, but I wanted to try out smart ticketing; also, the timetable alterations due to trackwork have been playing havoc with bus connections).

The first trip was full. The second one was basically packed to the rafters. Good to see the system getting good use, but makes me wonder if they need to get some more trams and improve the frequency to 6 minutes (10 tph) instead of 7.5?

[SurfRail]

Eventually I would like to see the base headway as being:

0500-0700 - every 10 minutes
0700-1900 - every 6 minutes (and capable of every 5 minutes during special events)
1900-0000 - every 10 minutes
0000-0500 Sat Sun and PH - every 15 minutes

And Route 700 running every 15 minutes permanently.

I gather they would need something like another 6 trams to be able to deliver that for the current length of route, and would need maybe another 2-3 on top of that and the 5 being delivered for Stage 3 (which would be a total of 31-32 for Stage 3 route length).

[achiruel]

^ when you say 700 running every 15 minutes permanently, can I assume you're referring to overnight services? Or do you mean the section that's not yet serviced by trams?

[SurfRail]

^ I think it should be 15 minutes from midnight to 5am for the whole length.  It already runs every 30 minutes throughout this period every day - the bit north of Broadbeach South is only Monday to Friday (excluding PHs).

I also think in the longer run I'd like to see the 704 and 750 operated with similar headways to the 700 and also with overnight services (although for the 704 maybe only from Helensvale to Southport).

[achiruel]

Do you see any value in making either the 747 or 731 high-frequency with a wider span of hours? It's pretty poor that Ferry Rd/Bermuda St has no service after 6pm, especially with the HOTA precinct being on this corridor.

[SurfRail]

747 absolutely should be and would be my first cab off the rank for a frequency upgrade when GCLR Stage 3 frees up the resources.  Not so convinced about the 731.

There are still a number of services running later into the evening in the area, just not up and down the corridor north-south (eg 740, 741, 745, 750 etc), which given the significance of Southport and Robina is a bit odd these days.

[ozbob]

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/emergency-services/car-crashes-into-tram-on-markwell-avenue-at-surfers-paradise/news-story/74ae249429e2a2dcd175a8bf6023d73a

Car crashes into tram on Markwell Avenue at Surfers Paradise $

Paramedics were assessing multiple people Sunday night after a car crashed into a tram at Surfers Paradise.

A Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman said paramedics were assessing people on the tram but no injuries had been identified.

The driver of the tram was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital for shock. ...

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/MarkBaileyMP/status/1616959907525439489

[achiruel]

I guess the long section with only a couple of stops between Helensvale and GCUH helps a lot with that average. Through Southport is woefully slow.

[ozbob]

GCB --> Police launch investigation after 59-year-old Nundah man bashed on Gold Coast Light Rail tram at Broadbeach $

Police have launched an investigation after a man was repeatedly bashed in the head with a bottle on a Gold Coast tram, leaving him bloodied.

Around 5.50pm on January 25, 59-year-old Nundah man Steve Williams had an argument with another man on the Gold Coast Light Rail approaching Broadbeach North stop.

Before exiting the tram, Mr Williams was hit from behind, causing a large laceration.

He was then hit across the face with a bottle before managing to exit the tram.

He was treated by paramedics at the scene. ...

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1632028938775191553