A long-awaited rail line connecting the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay and Brisbane is a step closer to construction after the Queensland government has committed almost $3 billion towards the first stage of the project.
  • ZagorathOPEnglish
    2·
    9 months ago

    It’s incredibly disappointing that the local council has decided not to do light rail, which would have been such a perfect companion to this, connecting up the slightly more inland heavy rail stations with the local communities and the beaches. But this being done is in itself great news.

    • ZagorathOPEnglish
      2·
      9 months ago

      I’ll also add that I hope that even though it’s not planned to support high speed rail right now, it’s designed in such a way as to be as easy as possible to be upgradable to that in the future. Because Sunshine Coast to Brisbane to Gold Coast is a fantastic place where high speed rail would provide such an incredible benefit, on the way to a full Sunshine Coast to Melbourne HSR system in the more distant future.

        • ZagorathOP
          1·
          8 months ago

          It would be a much better investment than say, expanding the Bruce Highway

          I hear you, and we’re going to act on that. Here’s a second Bruce Highway. You’re welcome!

          — Queensland government

            • ZagorathOPEnglish
              2·
              8 months ago

              Just in case you weren’t aware, I was referring to a specific plan that is currently in the early stages. Absolutely fucking bonkers. How about spending all that money on duplicating the rail line North of Beerburrum, and increasing the frequency with which it operates? (Or better yet, upgrading it to high speed rail!)

              researching my candidates for the Gold Coast City Council

              They run as independents down there, don’t they? How easy is it to find which party they’re affiliated with, out of interest?

                • ZagorathOP
                  2·
                  8 months ago

                  didn’t realise you were referring to an actual project

                  Haha yup. Fun times.

                  his website is all yellow and blue

                  Amusingly, that’s the BCC colours, so we’re he in Brisbane that might not necessarily have indicated a party allegiance. But yeah, I do find it weird that Councillors outside of Brisbane hide their party allegiance. I’m not sure why but it seems so ubiquitous. Is it a rule or something?

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    1·
    9 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    A long-awaited rail line connecting the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay and Brisbane is a step closer to construction as the Queensland government commits almost $3 billion towards the first stage of the project.

    Deputy Premier Cameron Dick on Sunday announced $2.75 billion towards building a 19km dual track from Beerwah to Caloundra, the first stage of the Direct Sunshine Coast Rail project.

    The state government said the first stage could be completed by the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and was estimated to make the commute from Caloundra to Brisbane 45 minutes faster than driving during peak hours — which Mr Dick said “will bust congestion” on local roads.

    But the state’s Opposition deputy leader Jarrod Bleijie said Sunday’s announcement was a “cut” to the Sunshine Coast rail project, and the LNP would not support it unless Beerwah connected to Maroochydore by 2032.

    Mr Bleijie criticised the state government for not delivering the entire rail line to Maroochydore in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

    Mr Addison said given a rail line to Maroochydore was announced by former premier Peter Beattie in 2005, the project was now costing substantially more than the initial estimate “because of government inaction”.

    The original article contains 635 words, the summary contains 198 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!