two major bus stations – Southport and GCUH. The Southport bus station is located in the heart of the suburb on Scarborough Street which provides regular and high frequency services to mainly the northern suburbs. GCUH bus station is situated on the western part of Southport, servicing Gold Coast University Hospital and the northern part of the Griffith University, Gold Coast campus. All services are part of the Translink integrated fare system. An extension to the light rail system was announced in October 2015. Its intention was to operate from the previous terminus at Gold Coast University Hospital to Helensvale railway station. The extension opened ahead of schedule on 17 December 2017, months before the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Helensvale is the suburb's nearest railway station, located 11 km from the Southport CBD. The railway line provides a connection to Brisbane city and Brisbane Airport. The Light Rail extension to Helensvale now operates integrally with the University Hospital to Broadbeach South line, with connections at Helensvale to Brisbane (Roma Street). Notable residents David Dodd (born 1985), association footballer who played for Brisbane Roar Ben Edmondson (born 1978), cricketer Georgia Godwin (born 1997), artistic gymnast Grant Hackett (born 1980), swimmer Laurence Naismith (1908–1992), English-born actor, died in Southport 1992. Mitch Nichols (born 1989), association footballer for Perth Glory in the A-League Tommy Oar (born 1991), association footballer playing for FC Utrecht James O'Connor (born 1990), rugby union footballer, Wallabies Nick Riewoldt (born 1982), Australian rules footballer with St Kilda. Casey Stoner (born 1985), motorcycle racer, 2007 and 2011 MotoGP World Champion, was born in Southport Jai Taurima (born 1972), long jump athlete Jim Wilson (born 1967), journalist and radio host See also List of Gold Coast suburbs References Sources Further reading External links Coastal towns in Queensland Populated places established in 1874 Australian Grand Prix 1874 establishments in Australia Central business districts in Australia