Do you support bringing light rail to the Sunshine Coast and how would you benefit?

If light rail is not operating by 2025, the Sunshine Motorway, Nicklin Way and other major roads in the Sunshine Coast area will be "gridlocked" ie roads will be completely jammed with stationary motor vehicles as occurs on the Gateway Motorway between Bruce Highway and Gateway Bridge when collisions and roll overs occur on this section of road. The State Govt should also "fast track"(pardon the pun) commencement date for the CAMCOS rail project between Beerwah Station and Maroochydore.

First up, I would say that I agree entirely that the Sunshine Coast needs a drastically improved public transport system based around line haul principles. Over the last 40 years, I have developed concepts for both light rail and busway systems on various continents.

Light rail is a very expensive and rigid form of rapid transit. The critical advantage is having its own right of way. Busways can provide all the advantages of light rail at a fraction of the cost if they have their own rights of way. Unfortunately, the Brisbane Busways have been built to standards that are more more…

The question isn't 'if', but 'when'. Oil production has already peaked. Light rail should have been introduced to the coast a decade ago. Heavy rail would be even better. The coast certaily has the population to warrant it. It is insanity to be pouring hundreds of millions into road making when petrol/diesel prices are going to rise very steeply in the not-to-distant future.

Light rail becomes viable once the population reaches 500,000.

Our population is expected to reach 500,000 in 2031. That's 20 years!

Until then, we need to improve the bus network - fast, convenient, regular.

We will still need the bus network even after light rail is built to take the passengers to their final destinations.

So for the next 20 years, we need to improve the buses. They are the only form of public transport that we have on the coast.

I live in Tewantin. There's no mention of the light rail including the northern end of the Sunshine coast which is a shame. I would have like to have seen it cover this area right down to Caloundra. Just to get to Brisbane via rail is a pain as I have to drive to Nambour if I want a return trip. So a light rail does not have any benefits for us up here.

It is not tram that is important but a dedicated transport route that is fast and efficient with very frequent bus/trams so you can just go along and know you will be picked up within 10mins or 15mins so don't need to worry about timetables. It needs to be almost as quick and easy as using a car, and certainly cheaper if travelling alone or with one other person.

The great thing about trains is that the route and stops are very clear. For example in London I will always use theunderground rather than buses as it is so clear to see how to get from A to B

I have used a tram system in Manchester UK which is great as it is direct along an old rail route until it hits the city centre, when it goes along the streets. This is the ultimate solution when fitting a new system into an exiting town. On the SC there may be places where a dedicated route could exist in places, but in heavily developed areas the tram/bus could use the roads.

will light rail zigzag through the suburbs or just travel up nicklin way and the motorway?

the light rail will have to support the suburbs

I fully support the introduction of light rail to the Coast. I would be a regular user of it - probably daily, depending on work/living arrangements. But it needs to be better set up and managed than our current bus network. The key pillars of success of any of the world's excellent public transport systems are: efficiency, cost-effectiveness, reliability and flexibility in response to changing passenger needs. I would argue the buses currently don't tick any of those boxes.

Excuse my ignorance, but how is light rail powered? Is solar an option? I have always thought our buses should run on solar generated power (reducing fuel costs and therefore ticket prices). I mean, this is the Sunshine Coast...we have a fair bit of sunshine, right?

Yes, though if we are thinking of this at all, we need to consider the whole coast right up to Noosa/Tewantin. Australian culture is been totally focussed on the car as the primary mode of transport especially in lower density regional areas. I'm not sure if i would benefit that much due to the likley 20+years until it is operational but my children might and their children ........ WE NEED STRONG POLITICIANS WHO THINK BIG PICTURE!

I am in favour of planning for the city of the future having an advanced public transport system. Fast connection from the airport and also from intrastate rail services is essential. The trick is, putting value in the appropriate places, by having the right mix of transport services. Buses certainly serve a purpose here and will also become greener with new technologies. Light rail is the fastest and most comfortable medium, and would attract many travellers away from cars. My primary wish in this regard, is having a light rail connection to Nambour and or Landsborough rail Stations, to provide through services to other Queensland cities.

Whatever the outcome, the system should be a tourist attraction in its own right. Much like Kuranda's sky lift, it should be both practical and elegant solution.

I think that a light rail network would be a great asset to the Sunshine Coast, especially along the coastal strip, with extensions to inland towns as needed. The beauty of light rail is the ability to extend the network as needed, once the initial lines are set up. It is a quick and flexible system. I remember when it is initially set up in San Diego, California, and started with two lines, which were eventually extended over a period of a few years to a reasonably large network. It was very popular, efficient, and cheap to travel on.

Transport on the Sunshine Coast is more than just a joke now. This is a serious issue that needs to be acted on now before our state of transport terminally cripples the future of our beautiful region. The light rail is the environmentally responsible answer to our transport woes while protecting the ecology of the coast. The light rail will bring more students to the region and importantly will be the reason why we retain those students once they graduate where at the moment we are losing many of our most talented graduates to the cities because of lack of infrastructure. Transport is the crux of any successful town or city. A rapidly growing destination needs to have the support of an innovative council and community in order to sustain and profit from that growth. The potential positive impact the light rail will have on local tourism is enormous. If the light rail does not go ahead as proposed I for one will be bitterly disappointed with my community and disheartened with what future of the Sunshine Coast holds for me.

I am a mechanical engineer involved in the design, manufacture, testing and maintenance of railway rolling stock and appreciate the value of light rail. However the Sunshine Coast is lacking in the one most important link to the outside world of transport and that is the much mooted but undelivered CAMCOS. This is more important than a localised light rail system and should be in situ before any light rail system is implemented. Moreover the light rail route must not interfere with the CAMCOC corridore in any way. If the light rail is to cross the CAMCOS corridore it must more…

I used the light rail in Perth WA from the northern suburbs to the city over a period of seven years ..... and can only say it was a dismal FAILURE as parking anywhere near the stations was always completely unavailable regardless of time and day. As usual a good idea collapses with lack of serious planning for Park and Ride so count me out. I would much prefer a shorter more efficient direct service to Brisbane ..... once again, no parking is available at Landsborough or other stations serving the Sunshine Coast.

Ten years ago we arrived on the coast and there was talk of extended rail lines .... a case of too much talk and no action .... how many more expensive "studies" do we need?? Pardon my cynicism - in whose lifetime will we see progress ... our current newborns??

Light rail needs to be considered as part of a comprehensive integrated transport policy for the Sunshine Coast, not looked at as a stand alone solution. We need to be able to move efficiently not only within the Sunshine Coast, but to link the Sunshine Coast with a fast inter-city connection. It's pathetic that we can't get from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane or to Brisbane Airport on public transport, unless we have half a day to do it, with several changes of bus and train on the way, and with poor connections between bus and train services.

And the Sunshine Coast integrated transport network needs to be part of a state and national transport network. Regional Queensland deserves to be better connected.

There are some very good comments made and it is hard to disagree with many of them. However, I don't think that we always have to sacrafice one thing for another. The buses will need to improve and, light rail will be needed and, Camcos is also essential. These things do not need to be alternatives to each other. Image is very important for our region and the rail system should be used to boost our image. Our beaches are beautiful but we all know that this alone will not be enough to guarantee our lifestyle, environment and economy. There are many kilometeres of beach, and we can start with the Kawana strip which could become more of an attraction to tourists and locals if we could shrink the distance from population/tourist centres, and improve the visual appeal of Nicklin Way. I believe a light rail system would help prevent urban sprawl and boost our economy. The biggest single challenge is funding. Innovative solutions are needed. The coast needs big thinkers and the will to make this happen.

Light rail will only work if it is not bogged down in official red tape either, State, Federal or Regional Council, therefore taking a generation or two to actually, no pun intended, 'get on the rails'.

Instead of implementing prestige projects to deal with the problems that unsustainable population growth will bring, let's nurture what's left of the serenity that sets this region apart from Brisbane and the Gold Coast. It's so easy to spoil and there's no way back, ever.

If you'd like to live in a crowded place with great public transport - there's an ever increasing choice of big cities around the world, but please let's cherish what we have here.

I do not understand the logic of creating yet another transport route (light rail) when the existing ones do NOT work. A rail trip from the Sunny Coast to Brisbane is over two hours, expensive and no guarantee of a seat. Why extend a system that desperately needs an overhaul?

Why not fix the existing rail network before creating another problem? Also, there is an existing bus network on the coast that is also ineffective.

Why not look at creating FREE bus services from major housing estates to local shopping areas with the purchase of $10 or more from the shops in question? This is the model used overseas very effectively. The shops benefit from increased trade and the bus services are actually used (most buses on the Sunshine Coast run empty or with only a few passengers).

Finally, the proposed light rail network would decimate areas of our natural coastline. Why would anyone want to ADD to the destruction of this beautiful place.

Here's an idea, why not resurrect the old cane train tracks (the land and network crisscrosses much of the coast) and use that instead??????

For a start we need to get the buses working properly now. The buses do not go where people want, take too long to get there, cost too much and are not suitable for grocery shopping.

At an estimated cost of 2 billion for light trams, that’s $6666 for every resident on the Sunshine Coast; it would be cheaper to buy everyone a motor scooter!

Why doesn’t the council pressure the State government to build the Coastal rail line earlier? That would increase public transport along the growth corridor as well as to Brisbane and not cost ratepayers a cent. Buses can then link to the trains just like Brisbane.

Finally let’s not forget the overhead powerlines these trams need to run, they are not very attractive.

I strongly believe in a light rail system if it is extended to Noosa to make the whole coast accessible. Also it needs to be integrated with improved bus and train services to enable locals and tourists alike to travel the coast easily, and get to the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane Airports without the frustrating and time consuming mix of transport currently required.

Again, I'd like to highlight the dire situation we already face at a State level with rail? Why create new links when the existing ones don't work?

http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/story/2012/03/14/push-for-basket-case-rail-spending/

I understand light rail is to be for the Coast, but visitors from Brisbane would have to travel for hour and hours to get to Noosa from Brisbane because of the terrible connection.

The debate about whether light rail will work cannot be separated from a discussion about density. Is the administrator of this site intending to open that discussion? In the long term the only choice for the coast is an increase in density or a continuing urban sprawl. Should we get this debate out in the open? What kind of city are we creating for future generations? Increased density in nodes along an intended rail line will greatly increase the prospect of success. Is Urban Sprawl more desirable?