Arup worked for the GoldLinQ consortium as lead design consultant for the project, providing detailed design and construction-phase services.
The 13km light railway links key areas along the Gold Coast from Parklands to Broadbeach with 15 at-grade stations and one underground station.
鈥淚t's rewarding to see our innovative design and whole of life solutions making a difference for the community on the Gold Coast,鈥� Murray Kretschmer, Queensland transport and resources leader at Arup. 鈥淲e are incredibly proud to be involved in delivering Queensland鈥檚 first light rail system 鈥� a transformational project for the Gold Coast that will change the way people move around in one of the country鈥檚 most vibrant and diverse cities.鈥�
The delivery of the detailed design required a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on a number of Arup disciplines including rail alignment, civil alignment, drainage, signals, bridge structures, retaining walls, pedestrian modelling, lighting and geotechnics.
鈥淭echnically it has been a difficult project owing to its unique site location in a highly constrained area and the challenging ground conditions,鈥� said Arup project manager Sarah McIntosh. 鈥淲e designed an innovative embedded trackform solution, integrating the road and light rail environments 鈥� a first for Queensland 鈥� while ensuring safety was at the forefront of the design.鈥�