Railways and Tramways of Australia

One rail novelty

 

Australia’s first monorail commenced operating at Seaworld on the Gold Coast on 15 August 1986.

 

The Seaworld monorail was built by Swiss company Von Roll Habegger. It consisted of a two-kilometre circuit. The elevated track had spans of 24 metres between columns. Upon opening there were two stations, one near the main entrance and one near the middle of the park. A third station was later opened at Seaworld Resort. Near the middle station was a siding with a maintenance depot.

 

Trains operating on the line had nine carriages. The leading car was a control car, the following seven cars each had two six-seat compartments, and the trailing car was a twelve-seat observation car. Maximum speed was 27 km/h. Two trains were in service when the monorail began operating, but another was obtained following the closure of the monorail system at Expo ’88.

 

Seaworld monorail was opened by Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson, who then rode on the inaugural service.

 

There have been four passenger monorails operating in Australia. They all opened during the 1980s and all were built by Von Roll Habegger. The four monorails and their operating years were:

• Seaworld, Gold Coast: 1986–2022

• Expo ’88, Brisbane: 1988

• Broadbeach, Gold Coast: 1989–2017

• Sydney: 1988–2013.

 

As time passed the Seaworld monorail became rundown and the operators were unable to obtain replacement parts. A decision was made to close it down.

 

Seaworld monorail was the first of Australia’s monorails to open and the last to close. During its years of operation, it completed 330,000 circuits. There were 23 million passenger journeys. It closed in 2022 after 36 years of operation and was dismantled in 2024.

 

While it was a fun novelty ride at Seaworld, the monorail was never a viable mode of mass passenger transportation.

 

Bibliography

J Beckhaus, ‘Australia’s first monorail’, Australian Railway, vol. 1, no. 3, February 1987, pp 25–6.

J Worboys, ‘Sea World Monorail: fond farewell to Gold Coast icon’, 9News, 19 August 2024, www.9news.com.au/national/seaworld-monorail-closes-down-after-three-decades-gold-coast-news/7bb5f01c-27e5-4eff-841c-4a0e54804f58, accessed 2 August 2026.

‘Monorail first at Seaworld’, Railways of Australia Network, vol. 24, no. 1, January–March 1987, p 58.