1 hour ago, Gazza said:

Just on the point about trams and roundabouts....the road rule in that situation in Victoria is that trams passing through roundabouts have right of way.

On the Gold Coast, they are seen as moving targets and as such are worth bonus points when you hit them 

I also don't see why you can't have both. Like every 4th tram say could go to the spit. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Run a combination of trams that go from Broadbeach Sth to the spit and ones that only go from main beach. 

 

To to look at the system as a whole that all trams go to the same destination is probably pretty short sighted long term anyway. 

Most likely to go to Helensvale & Harbour Town to the north, Airport & Robina to the south. 

The limitation is the shared core network, can only push so many trams through the core. Airport <-> Helensvale will consume the most trams, with the remainder on the other route. 

A separate spur makes timetabling, rostering and ease of use much more difficult, as well as consuming trams needed for the much higher demand destinations. 

How many would catch a bus to Seaworld vs Robina, Helensvale, Airport & Harbour Town?

Edited December 31, 20168 yr by red dragin

I can't see them ripping up the gold coast highway to continue to tram to the airport when it was planned by state/federal government for the railway already. The last piece of the puzzle has been purchased to allow it to continue past reedy creek/varsity lakes now, plus they have already started the track works for dual tracks in the northern end of the coast to allow for proper express services, so I can see the train becoming a reality over the g-link.

They won't rip up the GC highway? Then how did the first bit get built

I Certainly think we will se the tram get to OOL, or at least to Burleigh heads in the medium term.

The tram is ultimately going to be the more useful thing because it links travellers with the coastal strip.

The only way I see rail working is for a completely separate line being attached to an existing station - See Hong Kong Disneyland for example. Build the line, buy two trains, have them run opposite each other with a short passing loop\siding at the halfway mark allowing them to cross paths.

They don't impact on the rest of the network at all.

But, as has been pointed out, the road area along the spit is tight in some places, and even getting a single line through there would be difficult. Elevated track works perfectly because you can drop a pylon almost anywhere without impacting much - hence why monorail works well.

I get why monorail wouldn't be viewed favourably by many, but it is the best option in the circumstances. As for not being utilised in the middle of the day (i know that discussion has been pretty much had) those saying the spit is utilised throughout the day are correct. There are shopping venues there, plenty of hotels, dining and entertainment, beaches, plenty of people go fishing up near the seaway, or just a picnic - and again what is being overlooked is when the casino and hotels are built there will be many more reasons to visit the spit. Getting some sort of mass transit option to the spit is a necessity. THe party atmosphere (and those under the influence) should have an option so as not to drive.