The Australian government will provide $A 1.33bn in funding while the Queensland government will commit the remaining $A 606m.

The main rail beneficiary will be the $A 709m 6.7km extension to the Gold Coast light rail network from Broadbeach South to Burleigh Heads, which will receive $A 219m in federal funding over the next four years. The Queensland government will contribute $A 351m and Gold Coast City Council $A 92m. The funding agreement will enable initial works to start immediately.

Rail projects

Other rail projects include:

  • $A 90m for the Queensland North Coast mainline upgrade between Beerburrum and Nambour
  • $A 50m towards the $A 95m relocation of Loganlea suburban station as part of Queensland Rail’s proposed Kuraby - Beenleigh capacity improvement project
  • $A 20m towards planning for a dedicated freight line linking the Port of Brisbane with the Inland Rail project - to be matched by a similar contribution from the state, and
  • $A 10m for the development of a business case for the Salisbury - Beaudesert passenger rail line.

Both governments have reached an agreement on cooperation over the Queensland section of the $A 9.3bn Inland Rail project. Negotiations had stalled for some time with the Queensland government holding out for a better deal from the federal government, with a caveat that any bilateral agreement needed to be linked to better infrastructure funding.

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