Gold Coast’s disused monorails are set to become holiday accommodation in NSW

After gathering dust in a storage yard for five years, Broadbeach’s former monorails could be well on their way to a new role as holiday accommodation after a private buyer expressed interest in buying them.

The once ‘futuristic’ public transport system was taken out of service on the Gold Coast five years ago.

Built in 1989, the monorail carried passengers between Oasis Mall and Jupiters Casino until it was mothballed in 2017.

Trucking company owner Alberto Marques hauled the carts to his Arundel storage yard when the system went down.

He said the original buyer intended to use the cars in a new theme park that never saw the light of day.

“So we set them up [for sale] …and maybe someone wants to make a playhouse.”

Mr Marques said the cars were in good condition and have remained undamaged since arriving at his yard.

“I have two complete sets, a main carriage at the front and back, because the monorail goes both ways, and then in the middle there are three intermediate carriages,” he said.

“They have the seats, the bars and the doors.

Mr Marques said he was negotiating with a surgeon interested in buying the cars and trucking them to a property near New Italy in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales.

“He’s really interested in the full set,” he said.

“He’s interested in taking them to NSW…and he wants to set them up as a B&B [Bed and Breakfast].

“So people press the button and walk into the room.”

The company owner said he expects to sell the main cars between $3,000 and $4,000, while he hopes to sell the middle cars between $2,000 and $3,000.