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  CAST (Cairns Action for Sustainable Transport)







CAST is a community group which formed in early 2008 from a diverse range of FNQ residents, who are concerned that current government transport policies seem to largely continue with 'business as usual'. We recognise that the extraordinary challenges of climate change and peak oil demand new and innovative approaches to transport issues.
Public Meeting
Sunday 18th March 2012
2:30PM Cairns City Place (cnr Lake & Shields Str)

 CAST is inviting the public and state and council election candidates to to discuss better public transport for Cairns and the use of exisiting rail infrastructure

RAIL - we've got it, we like it, lets use it!
While we agree that Cairns bus services are totally inadequate, we note that both the 2010 plan as well as the SCILUTS report call for the rail from Cairns to Gordonvale to be duplicated.
Yet State Government wants to ignore those reports and the wishes of Cairns people and keeps putting hundreds of million sof dollars only into car-dependant highways
In the face of climate change and peak oil it should surely be obvious to our political leaders, that we need to move as soon as possible from roads relying on fossil fuels towards rail using renewable electricity.
A Cairns Post survey showed that about 80% of respondents want trams in Cairns

CAST challenges all State Election Candidates to come and listen to the people and to work towards developing the Cairns region as a model for sustainability

Please help us advertise this event by emailing your friends and/or printing one of the below flyers and hang them up on your local noticeboard, thanks.

Better Public Transport for Cairns A4
CAST City Place Forum Poster A6
CAST City Place Forum Poster A5
Rail for Cairns


In the course of our campaign CAST has identified practical transport solutions, informed the public, organised bike-to-work rides and other direct actions, lobbied politicians, created information sheets and made submissions to various governments including the following:

CAST presentation of its sustainable transport option to the Public meeting on 18 March 2009 (to over 100 people, the Cairns Mayor and the state election candidates) [2.8Mb]

Infosheet on Cairns Southern Rail Tunnel

Infosheet on Dual Mode Rail
CAST submission to the FNQ 2025 plan

CAST submission to Infrastructure Australia (including support letters from politicians)


In coordination with www.needaride.com.au CAST member Andrea has created Carpool Cairns, an online easy-to-use car sharing facility for Far North Queensland which we encourage you to join.
CAST also supports the Walking School bus initiative by parents in Forest Garden.


For up to date news and discussions, please visit our blog.


If you support our call for better public transport, please feel free to contact Jonathan Strauss, 10 Draper Pl, Cairns 4870, ph: 40532340