Stage 3A would extend the network by 7km south from the current terminus at Broadbeach South to Burleigh Heads, and would include eight new stations.
State premier, Ms Annastacia Palaszczuk, says the state government still requires federal support for the project to start.
“We’re all aboard, our funding is now on the table, but we need the federal government to get onboard too," Palaszczuk says. “In a recent meeting with prime minister, Mr Scott Morrison, I expressed how important the next stage of Gold Coast Light Rail was and that a fair funding deal was essential to getting this project going as soon as possible. The Reserve Bank of Australia has recently called on the federal government to boost infrastructure spending to support the national economy.”
The construction cost for Stage 3A has been estimated at $A 709m. The federal government has currently allocated $A 112m to the project, 16% of what is required, which the Queensland government says falls well short of a fair funding agreement. The federal government has been asked to increase its commitment to $A 269m, which would be the same proportion (38%) that it invested in Stage 1 of G:link.
Minister for transport and main roads, Mr Mark Bailey, said the announcement comes just two-and-a-half weeks after G:link celebrated five years since its first service.
“Since then more than 42 million passengers have jumped onboard the ‘G’ making it a star performer of south east Queensland’s public transport system,” Bailey says.
It is estimated it will take around three years to build Stage 3A, with the possibility of trams operating to Burleigh Heads in 2023.
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