<span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> Stage one of the $1.2 billion Gold Coast light rail system has been opened to the public, following a two-year development. </span> <p>Arup, working as the lead design consultant for the GoldLinQ consortium, provided detailed design and construction phase services. Murray Kretschmer, Arup’s transport and resources leader for Queensland, said the stage one opening was a rewarding development for the company.</p><p>“We are incredibly proud to be involved in delivering Queensland’s first light rail system,” Kretschmer said, “a transformational project for the Gold Coast that will change the way people move around in one of the country’s most vibrant and diverse cities.”</p><p>Arup is working alongside fellow GoldLinQ members McConnell Dowell Constructors, Bombardier Transportation Australia and KDR Gold Coast.</p><p>Stage one of the G:Link Gold Coast light rail system, known simply as ‘The G’, runs from Gold Coast University Hospital to Broadbeach South.</p><p>When complete, The G will link 15 stations between Parklands and Broadbeach, along 13km of high capacity infrastructure.</p><p>Queensland minister for transport and main roads Scott Emerson said the light rail will be especially well received with the G20 and 2018 Commonwealth Games coming up for the region.</p><p>“The light rail will give local residents more than a world-class public transport network,” Emerson said. “Light rail has a proven track record for revitalising cities by connecting people and places, and attracting investment.”</p><p>The federal government has invested $365 million into the $1.2 billion project. The Queensland government contributed $464 million, and the Gold Coast City Council provided $120 million. The GoldLinQ consortium covered the remaining $250 million-or-so in funding.</p><p>Bryan Nye, chief executive of the Australasian Railway Association (ARA), welcomed the opening.</p><p>“Light rail is the ideal way to revitalise the Gold Coast,” he said.</p><p>“Each of the fourteen trams running along this network can transport up to 309 passengers at any given time, which will see the removal of hundreds of cars from the busy streets and an overall decrease in congestion.”</p><p>“In a world first, surfers can bring their boards onto the new trams, with tailored frames installed to slide in and hold surfboards securely whilst in transit.”</p><p>“With the ACT and NSW governments also investing in light rail for their capital cities, it is great to see light rail really make its mark in Australia,” Nye said.</p><p>Arup’s delivery of stage one of the project, the company said, drew on a number of its disciplines, including rail alignment, civil alignment, Trackform traction bonding, permanent way, OHL, drainage, signs and lines, signals, bridge structures, retaining walls, pedestrian modeling, CCTV, conduit, flooding, lighting, pavements, noise and vibration and geotechnics.</p><p>Arup project manager Sarah McIntosh said, “Technically it has been a difficult project owing to its unique site location in a highly constrained area and the challenging ground conditions.</p><p>“We designed an innovative embedded trackform solution, integrating the road and light rail environments – a first for Queensland – while ensuring safety was at the forefront of the design.”</p>
