Three contractors have been shortlisted for the Logan and Gold Coast (LGC) Faster Rail and Loganlea Station Relocation projects and, over the next six months, will put forward their proposals for the individual project packages, including design, construction plans and cost.
The contractors shortlisted are:
- ActivUs consortium (consisting of CPB Contractors, Acciona Contractors, UGL Engineering, SMEC Australia and WSP Australia) and Activate consortium (consisting of John Holland Queensland, Aurecon Australasia and AECOM Australia) have been shortlisted for the LGC Rail Package
- Two joint ventures have been shortlisted for the LGC OLCR Package – Beilby Holdings with JF Hull Holdings, and BMD Constructions with Fulton Hogan Construction
- ADCO Construction, DT Infrastructure and the joint venture of Martinus Rail and Degnan have been shortlisted for the Loganlea Station Relocation Project
The successful companies to deliver the works will be announced in late 2024.
The announcement follows a year of progress including refining the reference design, extensive survey and geotechnical investigation works and community engagement.
The Queensland Government is also working towards important final environmental approvals from the Federal Government.
The LGC Faster Rail will remove five level crossings, improving journey times and safety for road and rail users. This includes building three road-over-rail overpasses and removing two level crossings, while upgrading intersections and improving the local road network.
The project will also deliver modern and accessible stations between Kuraby and Beenleigh, which will provide improved access to the train network for all Logan residents.
With Cross River Rail well underway, the 20km section of rail line between Kuraby and Beenleigh (the Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail project corridor) is the next critical bottleneck to unlock, to provide capacity for more frequent rail services in the future.
Increasing the number of tracks from two to four and allowing the free movement of both all-stops and express trains will mean more of Queensland’s fastest services can run more frequently and more reliably.
This will allow public transport users to arrive at modern and accessible stations and spend less time waiting on the platform for a service to arrive, which means easier connections to the rest of South East Queensland through the existing rail network as well as the new services to be delivered through Cross River Rail and the Direct Sunshine Coast Line.
The LGC Rail package will deliver the major rail works between Kuraby and Beenleigh including duplicating the tracks from two to four, station upgrades, local road works and active transport connections. The design and construction of this complex brownfield project will be delivered through an alliance contract.
The Loganlea Station project will relocate and upgrade Loganlea train station to better connect customers with nearby health, education, and community services – particularly Logan Hospital.
The Loganlea Station Project is projected to cost $173.8 million.
The broader LGC Faster Rail project is jointly-funded by the Queensland and Federal Governments with a 50-50 commitment towards the project cost of $5.75 billion.
Queensland Minister for Transport, Main Roads and Digital Services, Bart Mellish, said that LGC Faster Rail is a critical project that will allow more of our fastest trains to run more often.
“Shortlisting proponents to deliver these works is an important and exciting step towards a major upgrade on our South East Queensland rail network,” Mr Mellish said.
“Once finalised, all of these projects will help to connect our growing communities with more frequent and reliable train services between Brisbane, Logan and the Gold Coast.
“The additional tracks will also mean more services can run, allowing customers to arrive at new, modern and accessible train stations and spend less time waiting on the platform for a train to arrive.”
Queensland Minister for Health and Ambulance Services and Member for Waterford, Shannon Fentiman, said that the growing community needs more train services, faster trains, station upgrades and active transport connections, and that’s exactly what the government is delivering.
“The Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail project means less time commuting and more time with family,” Ms Fentiman said.
“I’m thrilled we’ve now reached this significant milestone and look forward to seeing what those who’ve been shortlisted come up with for this game changing project.”
Featured image: A digital render of the new Woodridge widened underpass. Image credit: Queensland Government.