Government Statement: Industry invited to jump on board The Wave
Iâm still unsure if the BRT component is on the old CAMCOS alignment or if it is following the SCMT corridor. If they pave the heavy rail alignment with BRT thatâs absolutely moronic
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If this video is to be believed, looks like they will be following the rail corridor and bypassing mooloolabah, which would be absolutely stupid. Article also has an updated map showcasing the alignment
A âseamlessâ public transport system - except for the mode change at Birtinya.
The pin in the video is incorrect for Birtinya, itâs actually about 2km further south than where the video shows it as. The map in the article looks much more detailed though and suggests that the wave will literally be a busway built on the CAMCOS corridor.
I tend to be biased toward rail, but I think many can agree that building a busway on a protected rail corridor is the definition of stupidity, and poses serious risks to the possibility of heavy rail north of Birtinya ever being built. Itâs ironic that they spruik the DSCL portion of the alignment having 160km/h and ignoring the reality that the metro vehicles will do exactly half of that.
If we assume the olympics is behind the sudden mode change and rush to get it finished, why can they not just build a temporary bus lane for the 2032 games and push on with heavy rail from 2033 onwards? It canât be much cheaper building an entire busway from Birtinya to the airport than a heavy rail line from Birtinya to Maroochydore.
I know they always say donât let perfect be the enemy of good, but there arenât any other heavy rail corridors conveniently sitting around waiting to be built on the Sunshine Coast. This is it.
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Yeah the map in the video is pretty vague, it doesnât show the wye into Maroochydore CBD from the CAMCOS alignment either.
I feel like this deserves some kind of press release. Basic points being
- Support rail to Maroochydore
- Support staging project for cost
- do not support building BRT on heavy rail alignment. Support building BRT on SCMT alignment from Birtinya to Maroochydore instead
- open to options for mode from Maroochydore to MCY
Would it be possible to design/engineer/build a structure along the corridor that can serve as a busway initially, before being converted to heavy rail at a later date without having to bulldoze the lot? Maybe a structure that can be fitted with a Slab Track set up, for example, at a later date. Or something along those linesâŚ
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I would only be open to bus transit being used on the corridor if it was in fact future proofed for that.
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They could be well thinking along those lines.
Iâd like to think so, but I fear that could be giving them too much creditâŚ
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The video and map are a bit too vague to make a judgement about whether the Metro BRT bus will be in the same corridor as heavy rail.
I would like to see explicit confirmation before forming a view on it.
A more important question is what will the train frequency on day 1 be? Will it be a service every 30 min? I think we should be getting more frequency given how much effort it will take to build.
Not unless itâs driver only operations.
The implication seems to be âmuch better than what there is nowâ. Under DSCL V1 the intention was to build a stabling facility south of Beerwah and another at Birtinya, whether both will remain under âthe waveâ I imagine is yet to be decided. The bar is pretty low, I live walking distance to Beerwah station and we get 20 minute headway inbound in the AM peak and similar outbound in the PM peak, itâs off peak where it drops to 90 minutes.
It would be silly to spend all this money duplicating the track to Beerwah and then building the entire new line for just 30 minute frequency, although that would already be a huge improvement.
Frankly Iâm just glad they are committing to keeping it 160km/h dual track, part of me was concerned theyâd just do a single track to begin with as a way to try and save time and money.
I will be extensively documenting and sharing construction of both B2B duplication, the station rebuild and DSCL construction, I may need my own thread once it kicks off 
Donât think the original CAMCOS alignment actually went into Mooloolaba (would be very expensive acquiring and demolishing houses to actually go into the area) CAMCOS also went into Mountain Creek as per the current DSCRL alignment.
Edit: In regards to Mooloolaba buses, surely painted bus lanes on Brisbane Road and Walan Street may suffice per the old CoastConnect Busway proposal following the existing HF 600 bus route to help keep them on-time during morning and afternoon peak hours.
Those structures are called freeways, highways, or motorways.
Agreed. Mooloolaba is largely a destination that is off major transport routes and it doesnât really have a congestion problem, especially with the recent works completed to sigh add more lanes. Current traffic even in school holidays is not excessive, the only pinch point is the Tuckers Creek bridge where 2 inbound lanes merge into 1, however Stage 4 of the MTCU will resolve this.
The bigger issue is Alexandra Parade which has more than sufficient room for a full length dedicated bus lane in each direction, however a committed army of NIMBYS that protect their valued on-street parking until their last breath. As I understand it causes major delays on 600/611/615/616 services especially during busy holiday periods. We donât definitively know if this route will make up part of âthe waveâ in some way, however if it does the government will have a delicate issue on their hands.
Yet somehow, Sydney manages 15-minute frequency on most suburban lines, without DOO, and Melbourne, which has DOO, doesnât. Itâs almost like the two are almost entirely unrelated.
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Proved to be a very expensive venture. So the Government went stuff you we are going straight to driverless.
A larger fare box has buffered it a bit in Sydney. It would never happen here though.
Driver only is the only way forward to increasing commuter train frequency here in Qld, responsibly and economically.
The briefing showed the BRT connection following the planned rail route including the Y into Maroochydore.âŚ.as long as the intent (itâs not clear that it is) is to then finish the route with rail when time allows then this solution is ok.
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If a BRT is to be constructed from Birtinya station, I feel like the BRT would be better if it went alongside the coast, serving Mooloolaba and Maroochydore. Afterwards, the BRT will then reconnect with the DSCRL somewhere at Mountain Creek or Buderim.
If the rail line gets extended to Maroochydore CBD, then it seems that it would be an awkward short rail line that branches off the main railway to MCY and beyond. The BRT may be a good deviation for passengers travelling from the railway line (Birtinya and Mountain Creek) to the dense coastal suburbs (Maroochydore and Mooloolaba); and the railway line could be extended to MCY and Noosa.
But fingers crossed that âThe Waveâ BRT does not fully replace the rail option for the DSCRL corridor.
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Stage 1 of the SCPT project would be a much better use for the bi artics than paving over the rail corridor
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