The Queensland government has broken a key election promise by scrapping the final stage of the Sunshine Coast direct rail line. Before being elected in October the LNP repeatedly promised to have trains running along a new corridor from Beerwah to Maroochydore by 2032. But after the project was scrutinised as part of a 100-day Olympics infrastructure review the premier revealed on Tuesday the heavy rail line would stop at Birtinya, about 13 kilometres short of Maroochydore. A connecting metro bus service will instead take commuters to Maroochydore and then on to the Sunshine Coast Airport. The project has been dubbed "The Wave", with passengers able to travel by public transport from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast, albeit not by train the entire way. Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli said she was excited despite the government's backflip. "For the first time, we will have a new, modern public transport system that connects the airport as well as more services connecting east and west," she said. "We've needed it for decades. "The whole reason that council was involved in the Games bid was for that legacy, for that infrastructure, to deliver the public transport and venue infrastructure for the people of the Sunshine Coast long into the future." Opposition leader Steven Miles accused Premier David Crisafulli of lying. "Instead of getting trains to Maroochydore they'll run buses to Maroochydore," he said. The Sunshine Coast heavy rail line has full state and federal funding to Caloundra, but not into the most populated parts of the coast. Mr Crisafulli denied the decision was a broken promise, instead framing it as an extra commitment by including the airport. "We promised people they'll be able to get on public transport at Maroochydore and head into Brisbane," he said. "[Now] they're going to be able to do that from the airport. "It became clear that the missed opportunity, by not allowing someone to be able to fly into the Sunny Coast and get on public transport, [that] was too great a missed opportunity to let go." Sunshine Coast Airport general manager Kylie Ezzy said the plan was exciting and would provide a "vital link" between the airport and Maroochydore. Expert backs buses Griffith University adjunct professor Matthew Burke said he was "delighted" by the trackless trams or buses now slated for the Birtinya-Maroochydore-Sunshine Coast Airport corridor. He said a mass transit solution was sorely needed for the booming region which suffered from a lack of public transport options. "The Sunshine Coast is now an absolute oddity … it's exceptionally car-based," Dr Burke said. He argued trackless trams were cheaper, quicker to roll out, and offered a more flexible solution to moving large crowds of people through built-up areas. "They've got high ceilings on every seat, so there's not that terrible back-of-the-bus, squished-in, horrible experience that sometimes happens on diesel buses." A spokeswoman for the federal Infrastructure Minister said any requests for more funding would be considered "based on a robust business case and costings" provided by the Queensland government. Region let down, rail advocate says A Sunshine Coast rail advocate Jeffrey Addison said the region had been let down by the decision to scrap the heavy rail line to Maroochydore. "You can't go making late-in-the-game promises of rail into the heart of Maroochydore because there's an election coming up and then trash it," the Rail Back on Track spokesperson said. Mr Addison said the shift would force Olympic athletes and spectators to transfer from train to bus to reach venues. "A train has much more population capacity to it than a bus network," he said. Mr Addison also questioned whether the revised project could be completed in time for the Games. "We're looking at more than 30 kilometres of new track and they expect to finish it in less than seven years? It's a big ask," he said. Sunshine Coast federal MP Andrew Wallace said the plan was a "good compromise" because it included an airport link. "I would have liked to have seen rail go all the way to Maroochydore," he said. "[I could] throw my toys out of the cot and say 'this is not what we wanted', but I think in some respects this is actually exceeding what we need." Mr Wallace said the state government had not requested federal funding and may fund the project itself. Indoor stadium scrapped The Sunshine Coast is listed to host Olympic soccer and basketball matches, the marathons, race walk, road cycling, mountain biking, and kiteboarding, plus Paralympic marathons and cycling. To stage those the region was promised a major upgrade of the outdoor stadium at Kawana with a large new indoor sports centre next door, an athletes' village, and a mountain bike facility. However the indoor sports centre, which would have eventually provided 11 courts for community use as a games legacy, was not included in government plans announced on Tuesday. It comes despite the government's independent review recommending the indoor stadium should be built. Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has long opposed the facility, given it would displace the local Kawana Dolphins rugby league club in his electorate. But an alternative proposal for a multipurpose facility comprising a hotel, athletes village, and sports area looks to have the green light at Maroochydore. Property developers Walker Corporation proposed a huge, billion-dollar entertainment precinct, dubbed the Horizon Centre, in recent months. It is not known if the 7,000-seat arena, athletes village, and five-star hotel is that same proposal. This is despite the review noting it had "no business case or detailed operating model".