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ABC News
ABC News
Business
Nicole Dyer, Tom Forbes and Kirsten Webster 

Decommissioned Gold Coast monorail carriages on track to become holiday accommodation in NSW

The Oasis monorail over Broadbeach on the Gold Coast. (Facebook: Oasis Shopping Centre)

After gathering dust in a storage yard for five years, the former Broadbeach monorail carriages may be on track for a new role as holiday accommodation after a private buyer has expressed interest in purchasing them.

The once "futuristic" public transport system was decommissioned on the Gold Coast five years ago.

Built in 1989, the monorail ferried passengers between the Oasis Shopping Centre and Jupiters Casino until it was mothballed in 2017.  

Trucking business owner Alberto Marques transported the carriages to his Arundel storage yard when the system shut.

He said the original buyer intended to use the carriages in a new theme park that never eventuated.  

"So we put them up [for sale] ... and maybe someone wants to do a cubby house."

Mr Marques said the carriages were in good condition and have remained untouched since they arrived in his yard. 

Alberto Marques says he bought the carriages from a person who was going to use them in a new theme park that was never built.   (Supplied: Alberto Marques)

"I have got two full sets which is one leading carriage at the front and back, because the monorail goes both ways, and then in the middle it's got three mid-carriages," he said.

"They've got the seats and the bars and the doors.

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

"He's really interested in the full set," he said.

The owner of the carriages says they've been untouched since they arrived in his storage yard. (Supplied: Alberto Marques)

"He's interested in taking them down to New South Wales … and he wants to set them up as a B&B [Bed and Breakfast].

"So people actually push the button and go inside the room."

The business owner said he expected to sell the leading carriages for between $3,000 and $4,000, while he hoped to sell the mid-carriages for between $2,000 and $3,000.

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