The Gold Coast line is unlikely to travel into NSW, given the loop that it’s planned to end with.
It’s possible NSW could build an entirely separate line from the airport into northern NSW, but that seems unlikely.
The Gold Coast line is unlikely to travel into NSW, given the loop that it’s planned to end with.
It’s possible NSW could build an entirely separate line from the airport into northern NSW, but that seems unlikely.
Nsw have light rail fetish. Could be cooly/tweed boomerang with bilanga as interchange…lol
I think we all need to remember that for Queensland, the Gold Coast is our second largest city and is generally receiving transport investment accordingly. However, the Tweed is FAR further down the NSW pecking order, a small outpost in the far north of the state, and will continue to receive far less transport funding as a result.
Sounds like a good train reason for Qld to annex the Tweed Shire! ![]()
There are more sensible options.
I have to imagine it won’t be easy to dig under the airfield, because it’s going to need to be cut and cover, and you can’t close the airport for long enough to do that.
Technically Qld should be all the way to Byron but the surveying was all incorrect by Qld and NSW and if Qld pursued anything it would have also lost Mt Isa, but I can tell you I’d probably prefer we had the Northern Rivers of NSW and to the west instead of large chunks of North Qld (from a purely governance perspective
).
I believe there are stubs in place from when the bypass was constructed. I can’t see that any of this work is going to affect airfield operations.
What’s more interesting to me is how they thread the line in and around everything else between Varsity Lakes and Tugun. There is still room but I’m expecting a bit more of it might need to be elevated than might originally have been planned.
My understanding is the gazetted corridor under the end of the runway is fine. My comment was more about the ‘alternative options’ (ideas) people have about more direct routes that cut across the airfield, like the one suggested above.
I’m imaging the corridor will be elevated entirely from where the train crosses the highway at Reedy Creek through Elanora to the Tugun interchange, unless they intend to unbuild a lot of things they just built.
Why does it need to be cut and cover rather than TBM?
TBMs are for long tunnels. Coolangatta is just enough tunnel to get under the runway.
From memory, I think when the OOL runway/M1 tunnel project was done, some work was done to enable the rail alignment underneath the runway. I think Precast concrete boxes were dug in underneath the runway in preparation. You just need to get a road header in to clear out the dirt (I think). I seem to recall on RBot someone uploaded a schematic drawing showing all of this
And the alternative ideas to make the OOL station a straight line to continue the line south into Tweed appear to require longer tunnelling suitable for TBM? So I’m wondering why they’d have to be cut and cover and you can’t dig under the airfield?
If it is just for the planned turn back/hook line station I get too short for TBM, but others are saying it might be tunnelled already. Also didn’t they just dig out a short tunnel in Brisbane CBD for the Metro Adelaide st portal without cut and cover?
I have to say the, the planned line does almost seem intentionally to turn the line away from NSW as if to say ‘don’t even think about us connecting over the border’ ![]()
Well you can’t have a company called Queensland Rail in NSW can we now ![]()
NSW Trainlink operates in Qld, ACT, and Vic.
Anyway, from what I can see, the line will already cross the state border.
However, the loop at the end ensures the station itself is in Qld.
Tunnelling under Adelaide Street wasn’t without its incidents, and there is a big difference between a suburban road and an airport runway which is subject to much larger, heavier vehicles and greater forces upon them, especially during landings.
I would also suspect the ground conditions in Brisbane to be more favourable than the ground under the GC Airport.
The Adelaide Street tunnel was also very slow and horrendously expensive for its length, but was worth it to avoid displacing the Adelaide Street bus routes. Such a benefit wouldn’t exist under the GC Airport.
I mean, the Tugun Bypass exists. If that was built with the end of the runway just over the road, then a relatively small double track tunnel wouldn’t be too far fetched.
The Tugan Bypass did cost $543 million in 2008 dollars though…
And the tunnel was cut and cover, being built before the runway was extended.