Gold Coast Light Rail

[colinw]

Huh?  Any validity in this, or is just Dougo p%ssing into the wind again?

The existing provision for extension at the terminus is for a right turn onto Olsen.

The Bulletin -> Health centre 'in way' of light rail plans

THE $160 million Griffith Health Centre will need to be shifted if plans to link the city's light rail system to a new station at Parkwood go ahead, says a Gold Coast MP.

Alex Douglas, the Member for Gaven, said the building, which is under construction on the corner of Parklands Drive and Olsen Avenue, was standing in the way of the preferred route for the light rail system.

The proposed route would allow the light rail project to go ahead sooner and to be built at a much lower cost than the original plan to run from Parklands to Helensvale at a cost of between $800 million and $1 billion.

Mr Douglas said the health centre was in the wrong place and might need to be knocked down.

"The building will probably have to go," he said.

"I can't see any other way to make it work."

The Griffith Health Centre is due to be finished in late June.

Mr Douglas said he pointed out the potential conflict to Griffith University vice-chancellor Ian O'Connor before work started last year -- but his concerns were dismissed.

"I said, 'You can't build on that corner, that area will be needed in the future'," he said.

However, Griffith University Provost Gold Coast Professor Ned Pankhurst said the project had been built on the land because the university believed the second stage of the light rail would link to the existing Helensvale train station.

"We will not be moving the building," he said.

"It is a very large and important development for us.

"There might be some technical issues with the Parkwood route but there would have been issues with the Helensvale one as well."

Prof Pankhurst said the light rail was a crucial project for the Gold Coast and it was important that debates, such as the one about the health centre, did not stop it from moving ahead.

GoldLinQ, the builder of the $1.2 million first stage, has offered to also construct the second stage to Parkwood at little cost to ratepayers and link the light rail into the the heavy rail network if its contract is extended from 15 to 28 years.

If the State Government gives the go-ahead, the light rail will run left around the corner from Parklands Drive and on to Olsen Avenue before going on to Smith Street Motorway and stopping at the new station in Parkwood, off the M1.

[SurfRail]

A left turn could be accommodated too, without demolishing any multi-story buildings.

Dougo has just let off another brainfart I think.

[colinw]

Which the good old Bulletin duly published without bothering to do any investigative reporting or analysis. Make for more fun when John King, Michael of Gold Coast & Sydney, and all the other regulars go off frothing about the evil light rail that is going to destroy the Gold Coast.

[Gazza]

Question, but can we send the LRT to Parkwood station via napper Rd, and retain the right hand turn? Presuming the right hand turn is that curved slot seen here:


Alternativley, they might just have to go under the intersection....

Is that cuved slot what the LRT will use?


http://i.imgur.com/dox46cR.jpg

[colinw]

Yes, the curved slot you show outlined in yellow with the arrow to the top of the diagram is for the future LRT extension to Helensvale via Harbour Town.  The station being built includes a tunnel under Parklands Dr to get to that reserved corridor.

The LRT tracks will therefore already be slewed well clear of the new building on the other side of Parklands Dr

If the LRT remained below road level in a trench at the western portal of the tunnel, it could then proceed under the intersection on roughly the alignment you show outlined in red.  The location could then become a  junction for a future spur line to Harbour Town, etc, which is one of the lines mentioned in the new Gold Coast City Council transport plan.

The whole thing is a storm in Dr Douglas and the Bulletin's teacup.

[SurfRail]

That cutting is actually on a slope up from under the road, so I think it is most likely that if the Parkwood option gets up it will just have to proceed across at grade.

[colinw]

Can you see any reason, other than cost, not to just keep it in a trench then cut & cover under Olsen?  Seems silly to have the LRT below road level and then bring it up to cross at grade having just crossed under Parklands Dr.

Although if a branch is still going to come off and run along Olsen Ave then I guess it will have to come up that ramp so a junction is feasible.

It just annoys me that having gone to the trouble of tunneling under Parklands Dr, we'll then end up with a grade crossing of a major road anyway.

[SurfRail]

If they can do a tunnel it would be great.  However, they would need to drastically redesign that cutting.  More $.

[ozbob]

Short session on 4BC this afternoon, in the Games 2018 context but I was able to mention the Light Rail and mention the Draft Transport Strategy 2031 and how that related to the games.   Seems to be a bit of concern about what is going happen for the games, in terms of infrastructure and transport and so forth ...  If the light rail gets pushed on from Parklands the station at Parkwood would need to be done to make it useful. 

I am a little concerned with the use of '2031'  though, would be lot more comfortable if it was called Transport Strategy 2030 ...


Seems anything labelled as a 2031 initiative doesn't seem to travel along too well, to say the least ...

[Gazza]

That cutting is actually on a slope up from under the road, so I think it is most likely that if the Parkwood option gets up it will just have to proceed across at grade.

Has it got a floor yet though? You could dig out deeper and ramp up once it had done the full curve?

[SurfRail]

You'd probably have a better idea than me given our respective disciplines I'd say!

That cutting will be in operation as soon as the line is runing because it leads to a Melbourne Uni style shunt/layover area, so it will probably need to be retained in its current form.  Not really sure how it might work to make it ready for a left-or-right set-up, but it wouldn't be insurmountable.

[Gazza]

Hmmmm. If the track is sleepered there it may be earth.

[colinw]

This is the first positive article about the light rail that I've seen in the Bulletin for ages.  Comments disabled too, so it won't be defaced by the whingers.

The Bulletin -> Businesses see light at end of track

The comments by Mr Burton that I have put in bold bear repeating often, as they show the true value of the light rail to downtown Southport.

LIGHT is beginning to appear at the end of the tunnel for some businesses affected by construction of the Gold Coast's light rail.

Southport RSL general manager Paul Burton said businesses in the area were looking forward to having the system completed in early 2014.

"It will really help in revitalising Southport, which is suffering a bit at the moment," he said.

"Having the tramline here will help speed up the urban renewal of the area. It will be great for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

"It will be ideal for tourists as well, bringing hundreds of people into the precinct every seven minutes, which will be particularly good, especially when Chinatown is fully operational.

"It will put Southport back on the map as a destination point on the Coast, whether it's the restaurant precinct at night or the cultural precinct during the day."

Mr Burton said the Southport RSL would prioritise the trams as an alternative means of transport.

"The station on the corner of Queen and Scarborough streets will only be a minute's walk away and the proposed operating hours suit our venue really well," he said.

"If people want to come for dinner or a couple of beers, entertainment or a show, than there will be transport available other than a cab."

Southport Chamber of Commerce president Laird Marshall businesses wanted to see construction finished on time and on budget.

"We are suffering the greatest pain at the moment but in a couple of months maybe we will see the end in sight," he said.

"Southport in particular has been hit hard. There has been a heck of a lot of disruption as it has been a much bigger project than most businesses anticipated.

"There is a lot of stuff planned for Southport and in Surfers that can't go ahead until light rail is done.

"There will be redevelopment of the buildings and we need to get people and businesses back into the store fronts.

"It is hard for that to happen while there is so much external activity."

[huddo45]

From the Gold Coast Bulletin:

Goldlinq gets the green light to build the Nerang River Bridge!

Court rules Council has no say in the matter, ratepayers stuck with $250,000 legal bill. 

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/03/26/449272_gold-coast-news.html

At last now they can get on with it. 

[red dragin]

Whoops!

[SurfRail]

This was a combination of :conf

Now it is  .

[ozbob]

Twitter

GoldLinQ ‏@gclightrail

Gold Coast light rail construction pics from the past year. Check them out on flickr: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjEEWYAc

[ozbob]

Rail unloading Broadbeach 12th April 2013

Click --> here!

[colinw]

The Bulletin -> Bring light rail south, say businesses

[Set in train]

The Bulletin -> Bring light rail south, say businesses

Great, do it.

This and the Parkwood proposal seems to have gone quiet. Is it being negotiated behind the scenes or ignored?

[colinw]

The Parkwood extension, driven by an operator with a vested interest in the system's success, seems like a "no-brainer" to me.

Alas this is QLD and "less than no-brain" appears to be the norm. 

But seriously ... if the Government does not give this proposal by Goldlinq the consideration it deserves, then it will just confirm what we already suspect, which is that when it comes to public transport policy something is really broken in George St.

[ozbob]

Indeed, we are in the 'smart' state ... 

[Jonno]

...when it comes to public transport policy something is really broken in George St.

It called The Premier!!!!

[#Metro]

^ I thought the problem was in Adelaide Street, not George Street   

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament Hansard Adjournment
http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/2013/2013_04_17_DAILY.pdf
pages 1115-6

Gold Coast Rapid Transit Project

Dr DOUGLAS (Gaven—Ind) (10.01 pm): At present, most Gold Coast residents are aware that a light rail system is being built at great cost in the city. In Surfers Paradise, Southport and Broadbeach, many businesses along the designated transport corridor are suffering terribly. Employees are being increasingly casualized and retrenched, and employers themselves are being consigned to the unemployment lines. Those living in units along the route are seeing their property values plummet, especially in Surfers Paradise. Many of those people are unable to move, even if they could. I am being contacted by a variety of those people who are fearful of what is to come. Most will never use the light rail and are bewildered by its intrusion into their idyllic lifestyles. Many are retirees living on pensions or fixed self-funded incomes.

The current pain is being exacerbated by the delay of the contractor, GoldLinQ McConnell Dowell, as it battles the state government over the problems that will follow building a new bridge west of the existing Sundale Bridge at Paradise Waters. Upstream flooding is a potential likely outcome of that construction, due to the effectual damming of the Nerang River by the piers. Upstream, Nerang River residents and canal-front homeowners are already fearful of the major flood implications of the proposed dredging of the Broadwater for a major cruise ship terminal on the western side of the Spit.

We need urgent circuit breakers. Firstly, the new light rail bridge should be placed on the eastern side of the existing Sundale Bridge. Secondly, the cruise ships need to dock off-shore. A hotel or casino complex could be built next to Versace; do not even bother touching the Broadwater. In court, class actions from homeowners along the 700 kilometres of waterway will prevent any
perceived gains. The state government could make this solution happen and it should. It is common sense.

The Gold Coast mayor has publicly stated he will join the class action against the light rail bridge building contractor and GoldLinQ. The reason is that he is a resident of Paradise Waters, where residents will see high tides rising 0.5 metres above their current heights after what will be done on the bridge alone. Their homes could become inundated on the flood tides alone. It will be disastrous when storm tidal surges occur with flooding rains simultaneously.

To make the light rail work into the medium term, it also makes sense to link to the heavier metropolitan rail at Parkwood. The distance is much shorter than the proposed stage 2 unfunded link to Harbour Town on Brisbane Road, Labrador. Informally, the contractor is sounding out whether the state may consider lengthening its operating contract to 28 years from the proposed 15 years, and it would fund the link from Parklands to Parkwood. That is a distance of 4.5 kilometres following the Smith Street route from Parklands. The state will need to commit to the cost of a new Parkwood railway station and the construction of a large park and ride facility, not unlike that at Ferny Grove. Some road relocations and modifications will be required to Smith Street. The costs are relatively low and the benefit huge; it will enable the light rail to succeed. In its present construct, it will most likely fail. It is a 13-kilometre connection to nowhere. I congratulate the Gold Coast Bulletin journalist Lucy Arden for her diligence in addressing this item, which affects those who need public transport along the Gold Coast route.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

18th April 2013

Gold Coast Rapid Transit - don't miss the tram!

Greetings,

Last evening in Parliament,  the Member for Gaven, Dr Douglas addressed the Gold Coast Rapid Transit Project in the Adjournment.

The points made by Dr Douglas with respect to the opportunity to extend the light rail to Parkwoods to connect to the heavy rail at the location are logical.

It would greatly enable connections and increase the utility of the light rail dramatically.  Would also work well supporting the Commonwealth Games.  As Dr Douglas has pointed out, the costs are relatively low and the benefits huge.

See  Queensland Parliament Hansard Adjournment  http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/2013/2013_04_17_DAILY.pdf pages 1115-6

It is time this project was really made to work.

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[SurfRail]

He's correct on this point, unfortunate about his general attitude and his other comments.

[colinw]

Property values DECREASING due to light rail?  Has that ever happened, anywhere?

Maybe a blip during construction, but once the system opens the movement will be in the opposite direction.

As to characterising the system as an "intrusion into their idyllic lifestyles", is he seeing the same Gold Coast I am?

[HappyTrainGuy]

The only way it would decrease property values is if on a tight curve, no nearby station and sh%t house congestion

[ozbob]

Double think ...  classic  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublethink)

[colinw]

I thought there had already been reports in The Bulletin of property values increasing along the corridor, and also of developments proposed in Southport now that it is going in.

From the couple of times I have corresponded directly with him, I got the impression that Dr Douglas is influenced by a very different worldview to my own.  Just to be clear, from my own contact with him I think he is a "straight shooter", and certainly is not expressing these views out of malice or anything like that.  He genuinely believes what he is saying, but it is influenced by a totally different perspective to that of many of us here.

[SurfRail]

I thought there had already been reports in The Bulletin of property values increasing along the corridor, and also of developments proposed in Southport now that it is going in.

From the couple of times I have corresponded directly with him, I got the impression that Dr Douglas is influenced by a very different worldview to my own.  Just to be clear, from my own contact with him I think he is a "straight shooter", and certainly is not expressing these views out of malice or anything like that.  He genuinely believes what he is saying, but it is influenced by a totally different perspective to that of many of us here.

Likewise, and I've known him for sometime (his son was school captain when I went through and I've known them for a while previously).

There isn't any malice or deceit there, as opposed to some of the other cretins in the party he has fled.

[ozbob]

From the Railway Gazette click here!

First tram on its way to the Gold Coast

First tram on its way to the Gold Coast
22 April 2013

AUSTRALIA: The first of 14 Bombardier Flexity 2 trams for the Gold Coast light rail line has left the factory in Bautzen. Custom features of the 45 m long, seven-section vehicles include racks for surfboards.

Bombardier is part of the GoldlinQ consortium which the Queensland government selected in May 2011 to build and operate the Gold Coast light rail line. Bombardier's A$248m share of the A$1bn contract includes rolling stock, signalling, control and communication systems and electrification. Bombardier will also provide vehicle maintenance for 15 years. KDR Gold Coast will be responsible for infrastructure maintenance. The other partners in the consortium are McConnell Dowell Constructors (Aust) Pty Ltd and Plenary Group Pty Ltd.

The 13 km light rail line will link University Hospital and Broadbeach, with 16 stations. It is due to be completed next year.

[huddo45]

They only deliver them in one piece?

They did in Blackpool, and drove it straight away.



BTW, there is an article 'Gold Coast Sees the Light' in the Courier-Mail BOOM lift -out tomorrow.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail click here!

Gold Coast light rail system set to be a game-changer on tourist strip

Gold Coast light rail system set to be a game-changer on tourist strip
April 25, 2013 5:00PM

JOHN Witheriff has two dreams. One is to build a $1.2 billion world-class light rail system on the Gold Coast.

The other is for the Gold Coast Suns AFL team, of which he is chairman, to win a premiership.

In the short term, at least, only one is likely to become a reality.

    Read more on the light rail project in Boom, the Queensland Business Magazine, only in the print edition of Friday's Courier-Mail.

So far a third of the track for the 13km route linking Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise to Griffith University's Gold Coast campus and the new Gold Coast University Hospital at Southport has been laid.

And Witheriff, the chairman of the GoldLinQ light rail consortium behind the project, expects the first passengers to come aboard in mid-2014.

In just over a decade, economic researcher Will Owen says 11 per cent of the tourist strip's population is expected to live within 800 metres of the rail corridor.

"It's potentially a game changer for the Gold Coast," Owen says. It's potentially that important."

[ozbob]

Twitter

GoldLinQ ‏@gclightrail 57m

Great time lapse of 2nd #gclightrail construction barge moving into position on Nerang River. See it here: http://ow.ly/kCF3O

[SurfRail]

There's a lot of activity at the Broadbeach South terminus at the moment.  Things are in full swing.

[ozbob]

Twitter

GoldLinQ ‏@gclightrail 2m

http://ow.ly/kQT9o  Latest Gold Coast tram interior render showing all the elements. Board rack, wheelchair space, & interior finishes.

[ozbob]

Twitter

GoldLinQ ‏@gclightrail 37s

A new flickr gallery! #gclightrail in the Gold Coast community during construction. See it here: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjF3LduL

[ozbob]

Twitter

GoldLinQ ‏@gclightrail 11m

#GoldCoast 43m tram at German port ready for its journey to Australia #gclightrail http://instagram.com/p/bFR_nKgWqa/