Business
1 August, 2025
New horizons
PIECES of Far Northern iconic tourism history will be sold off when Skyrail starts decommissioning its current gondola cars as chapter two of the highly successful venture gets underway over the next two and a half years.
Skyrail chairman Dr Ken Chapman said some of the 30-year-old cabin cars would be available as souvenirs as 114 new unique gondolas were commissioned as part of an $85 million upgrade of the tourist attraction.
He said people would be able to acquire their own slice of history.
“Well, do you want to buy one? They’d make a great souvenir,” he said.
“You know, what a thing to have in your backyard. We’ve got a year yet, but we’ll talk about it then.”
Otherwise, the gondolas, like all of the materials being replaced, would be recycled, Dr Chapman said.
“Everything is going to get recycled. We’re very big on that, we’ve got a quarter of a decade of continuous year on year sustainability improvements.”
Details of the reinvestment were revealed at the Smithfield venue on Tuesday to a who’s who of the region’s tourism sector, including representatives of Tourism Tropical North Queensland, Cairns Airport, Experience Co., The CaPTA Group, Tourism Australia, Tourism and Events Queensland and other organisations.
The next stage of the cable way has been dubbed Skyrail 2.0 and involves:
Floor-to-ceiling transparent gondolas uniquely designed for Skyrail. The walk-in gondolas with foldup seats will allow prams and wheelchairs to manoeuvre directly into the gondola without assistance and be positioned comfortably to enjoy the view
Whisper-quiet componentry will amplify the sounds of rainforest birds
Skyrail’s Smithfield, Red Peak, Barron Falls and Kuranda Terminals and Stations will be redeveloped
The tower and station foundations will remain untouched, with all works focused on replacing and enhancing infrastructure from the ground up, along with all the cableway’s haul ropes, while much of the budget will be spent on upgrading machinery to deliver the safest, highest-tech componentry available
The design phase is underway and construction will start from July next year for a full reopening late in 2027.
Dr Chapman said the family decided it was “time to step up to the next level and I am very pleased to announce an $85 million upgrade”.
He said it was “a very big investment” and would allow the business to grow beyond the hundreds of thousands of people who travelled on the network each year.
“Skyrail’s reputation as one of the world’s longest, most complex and impressive gondola cableways will be assured for another three decades when the $85 million privately-funded redevelopment is completed in late 2027,” Dr Chapman said.
“Our sixth generation Far North Queensland family is very proud of the economic, social and environmental contribution Skyrail has made to the Cairns regional economy and, with more than 100,000 operational hours over three decades of operations, it is time to make a significant reinvestment in our local business.
“Over the next 30 years, Skyrail will inject $1.5 billion into the Cairns regional economy, supporting 43,283 jobs and the retention of more than 470,000 visitor nights to Cairns, in addition to $92.5m in revenue for the Queensland Government and $556.3m for the Australian Government.
“The construction phase alone will add some $8m to the Cairns economy and around $15.8m to the broader Australian economy creating an additional 97 jobs.”
Europe-based global cableway leader Doppelmayr Group, which has strong experience working in national parks and other sensitive environments, has been appointed to spearhead the project.
Doppelmayr Australia general manager Shaun Turner said the project “stands out as a huge challenge and career defining highlight for me and my team”.
Tourism Tropical North Queenland chief executive officer Mark Olsen said it was “an amazing day”.
He said despite the strong headwinds in the world’s economy the Chapman family had backed the tourism industry with the investment.
“They could have kept the money and do something else with it, but you don’t Ken, you show vision and leadership,” Mr Olsen said.
He said Skyrail attracted more international visitors than the state of Tasmania.
Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison, who launched the project, said Skyrail was “an absolutely iconic and important product, not just for the region, but all of Australia”.
She said the gondolas over the rainforest were synonymous with the marketing of Australia.
State assistant tourism minister and Barron River MP Bree James said the three most significant tourism assets of the region were the Reef, the airport and Skyrail.
‘It (Skyrail) is one of the best tourism assets in Australia and the key reason people come to the region,” she said.
Stage 1 Smithfield line upgrade
July 2026 – October 2026
Guests can take the shuttle bus between Smithfield and Kuranda when the Smithfield line grade is underway. They will experience Skyrail between Kuranda and Barron Falls with complimentary ranger guided tours, interpretive displays, The Edge lookout, historical precinct, boardwalks and lookouts.
Stage 2 normal operations
November 2026 – June 2027
Skyrail will operate as usual between Smithfield and Kuranda with the new upgraded gondolas in use between Smithfield and Red Peak.
Stage 3 Kuranda line upgrade
July 2027 – November 2027
During the Kuranda line upgrade round trip experiences will operate between Smithfield terminal and Red Peak with the new upgraded gondolas
A shuttle will operate between Smithfield and Kuranda
The cableway will be closed for about four weeks after the July school holidays in 2026
The business employs 160 staff who will be fully employed during the changeover.
