Mayor Tom Tate said if money wasn't committed by the end of March the crucial rail link wouldn't be ready for the main event.

Gold Coast City Council hopes to link the city's existing light-rail line to the Brisbane-Gold Coast passenger line in order to transport for hundreds of thousands of sports fans travelling to and around the Glitter Strip during the major sporting event.

However Cr Tate said the project remained up in the air.

"If we don't get a commitment [from the state government] about starting work by March 2015, then it won't be ready for the Games in April 2018," Cr Tate said.

"The design work is done, the engineering part is ticked off and we propose going from Griffith University [on the Gold Coast] up to Parkwood and then to Helensvale," Cr Tate said.

He said John Witheriff, the chairman of GoldLinq which is joining the project in a public-private partnership, said the scheme was "shovel ready".

"GoldLinq are confident because Gold Coasters voted with their feet, with the first stage of light rail," he said.

"You can imagine if they connected it to heavy rail, how many more are going to embrace it from further west and the commuters from Brisbane."

Cr Tate met with new Commonwealth Games Minister Kate Jones to explain the project on Thursday.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last week said the LNP's promise to connect the Gold Coast's light rail to the heavy rail passenger rail was based on asset sales.

"I recall about three years ago – about three and half years ago - the former Labor government commissioned a study to see what is feasible in terms of that extension," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"I will be asking the Deputy Premier [Jackie Trad], who is also responsible for transport, to find that report so we can have a look at in detail."

Ms Trad is still receiving departmental briefs on a series of transport and infrastructure projects.

The Queensland government declined to provide a more detailed response on Sunday.