Testing is underway. Passengers are still not boarding. Here is what the data actually shows — and what it means for property along the corridor.
The Basics
Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 3 extends the existing tram network 6.7 kilometres south from Broadbeach South to Burleigh Heads. The project adds eight new stations and connects two of the southern Gold Coast's most active property markets to the existing light rail spine.
Construction began in October 2022. As of February 2026, the line has not opened to passengers.
Current Status: Testing
Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 3 construction
On the northern section — Broadbeach South to Miami North — testing is active. The first tram ran on Stage 3 tracks on the night of 12 November 2025. Controlled night-time testing followed from 26 November to 18 December 2025, running between 8pm and 4am using up to two trams. Final road pavement, footpath, and landscaping works on this section were completing through late 2025 and into early 2026.
On the southern section — Miami to Burleigh Heads — construction continues as of February 2026. Full-alignment testing across the complete 6.7-kilometre corridor is the next confirmed step, scheduled for the first half of 2026, once construction in the southern section concludes.
No passenger opening date has been confirmed beyond the current target of mid-2026.
Timeline: What Changed and When
The opening date has moved twice from its original target.
Target
Set When
Mid-2025
Stated at contract signing, March 2022, and groundbreaking, October 2022
Late 2025
Interim revision
Mid-2026
Revised September 2024
The mid-2026 target has been consistently stated by TMR and GoldLinQ since the September 2024 revision. It has not moved since — but it has not been tightened to a specific month either.
Cost: What the Budget Now Says
The project budget was revised upward in September 2024, coinciding with the schedule shift to mid-2026.
Amount
Original budget
$1,219,000,000
Revised budget (September 2024)
$1,549,000,000
Increase
approximately $330,000,000
Funding is shared across three levels of government: the Australian Government contributes $395,600,000, the Queensland Government $713,300,000 or more, and the City of Gold Coast $91,500,000. No further budget revision has been announced as of 24 February 2026.
Stage 4 Is Gone
On 1 September 2025, the Queensland Government formally cancelled Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 4 — the planned extension from Burleigh Heads south to Coolangatta via Gold Coast Airport. An independent review cited community opposition and estimated costs of up to $9,850,000,000.
For buyers weighing light rail access as a long-term infrastructure premium, this matters. Stage 3 to Burleigh Heads is now the end of the line. There is no approved or funded pathway to Coolangatta. Properties south of Burleigh Heads will not gain tram access under any current plan.
Any agent marketing a southern suburbs property on the basis of future tram access to Coolangatta is working from a plan that no longer exists.
Where Things Stand: Most Recent Official Statement
"The first tram successfully travelled on the new Stage 3 tracks on the night of 12 November 2025, between Broadbeach South and Miami North stations."
That statement remains the most recent confirmed government communication on record. Night-time testing across the northern section concluded on 18 December 2025. Construction between Miami and Burleigh Heads continues in preparation for testing and commissioning across the full alignment. No further ministerial statement has been published as of 24 February 2026.
Readers seeking the latest official position should check gclr3.com.au directly.
What This Means for Property
Light rail's effect on residential values along a corridor is well-documented in Queensland and nationally. The effect is not uniform, and it does not arrive before opening day.
Carrara sits on the existing Stage 1 and 2 network and has already absorbed a light rail premium into its land values. That repricing happened progressively as the line moved from construction to operation — not at announcement, and not at groundbreaking. The same pattern is the relevant reference for what may follow along the Stage 3 corridor.
Miami and Burleigh Waters carry the most direct exposure to the new stations. Miami in particular has drawn consistent buyer interest from owner-occupiers priced out of Burleigh Heads proper. Light rail access to Broadbeach and beyond — for work, dining, and the planned casino precinct — shifts Miami's commuter proposition meaningfully. A buyer who secured in Miami ahead of the testing phase now underway is sitting on a different calculus than one entering today.
Burleigh Heads already commands the strongest price premium on the southern Gold Coast. The addition of a tram terminus is unlikely to drive dramatic repricing in a suburb already operating at a high base. The practical benefit to Burleigh Heads residents is connectivity and convenience — not a step-change in perceived desirability.
What buyers should not assume: that mid-2026 is a firm delivery date. This project has moved from a mid-2025 original target through an interim late-2025 revision before arriving at its current schedule. Active northern testing is a genuine indicator of progress — but full-alignment commissioning across the southern section still follows, and infrastructure projects at this scale carry real commissioning risk. Buyers pricing in light rail access as a near-term certainty should factor that in.
The cancellation of Stage 4 also removes a pricing catalyst that some in the market applied speculatively to southern suburbs stock. That anchor is gone.
Stations: The 6.7-Kilometre Alignment
Eight stations connect Broadbeach South to Burleigh Heads. From north to south:
Broadbeach South (existing — interchange point)
Fern Street
Bald Hill
Miami North
Miami
Pearlinda Avenue
Burleigh Heads North
Burleigh Heads (terminus)
The spacing reflects the corridor's mixed character — moving through retail strips, residential streets, and the transitional zone between Broadbeach's density and Burleigh's village scale.
Licensed Queensland real estate agent, founder of Fields Real Estate and Lead Analyst at Fields Research. Covering Gold Coast market data, comparable sales analysis and suburb intelligence.
Where does your own home sit?
Fields keeps a record of every active listing and recent sale across the southern Gold Coast, and reads any address against the sales around it — the comparables, the range they support, and the method behind it. This analysis of the Gold Coast comes from the same database.
