The Gold Coast light rail line has carried nearly 100,000 passengers a day since the beginning of the Commonwealth Games, transport and main roads minister Mark Bailey has said.
100,000 is three times the daily average, and – if official – would break the previous daily high of 80,000 passengers recorded the day Stage 1 of the line opened in July 2014.
The light rail line – now with an expanded with Stage 2 link between Gold Coast University Hospital and Helensvale station – has been operating 24 hours a day during the Games, with services arriving every 6 minutes during the busiest period of the day.
“It’s great to see so many people using the light rail network and other public transport modes to travel to events during the Commonwealth Games,” Bailey said.
“The Palaszczuk Government has delivered almost $1 billion in transport infrastructure leading up to the Games, including $420 million towards building Gold Coast light rail stage 2. This was a major milestone and will be a lasting Commonwealth Games legacy for years to come.”
John Witheriff, GoldLinQ’s chairman, said the way the light rail network had responded to the pressures of increased patronage demand during the Games put it in good stead for the future. “Public transport is a critical part of the Gold Coast’s future success,” Witheriff said.
“We’ve had extra staff on the ground doing a great job to assist with these unprecedented passenger volumes and we thank everybody for their patience.”
Heavy rail figures are also up, with a reported 180,000 being carried from Brisbane and Varsity Lakes to the Games.
Peter Beattie, the chair of GOLDOC, told ABC Radio that the state’s transport planning and efforts in communicating – including with the public – were, in large degree, to thank for the absence of major disruptions so far.
“So, was that message strong? Yes. Did it need to be? Yes. Perhaps we were a little bit too aggressive in terms of how we did it, but in the end people moving around without disruption, that’s what’s important,” he said.