Rail duplication? Don’t count on it until after Olympics

PCBA Secretary, Paul Brandenburg, Marty Hunt MP, Andrew Powell & PCBA President Fraser Austin.

ANYONE hoping to see the North Coast rail line duplicated through Palmwoods to Nambour before the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games should temper their expectations, according to Glass House MP Andrew Powell.

Mr Powell told the PCBA meeting the State Government and construction industry were already stretched by a huge pipeline of Sunshine Coast transport projects. “I’d be lying to you to say anything north of Landsborough is going to happen before 2032,” he said. “It just simply can’t.”

Work is underway on the first stage of the Beerburrum to Nambour rail upgrade, including duplication between Beerburrum and Beerwah, while planning continues for the longer-term needs of the line towards Nambour.

Mr Powell said major projects including The Wave rail connection towards Caloundra and Maroochydore, Caloundra Road works and other road upgrades meant Transport and Main Roads and the construction workforce had little spare capacity before 2032.

But both MPs said extending duplication north remained important. Mr Hunt said changing population and transport priorities meant the next stages would need to be considered carefully.

Mr Powell said the State had already protected a future rail corridor between Landsborough and Nambour.

But the existing line was built on an alignment more than a century old, he said, with curves, single-track sections and limited opportunities for passenger and freight trains to pass.

Duplicating the line would not only improve passenger services but allow more freight to move by rail rather than road. “If we duplicate the line through to Nambour, it frees up freight,” Mr Powell said. “It means freight trains aren’t waiting for passenger trains.”