Rail transport in Queensland
Queensland Rail heritage locos of the PB15, C17 and BB18¼ classes haul a special train for the 125th anniversary of QR on the Little Liverpool Range west of Grandchester, July 1990.
Northbound Spirit of Capricorn service at Bundaberg station, ~1989
3903 hauls a special train east of Emerald on the Central Line, over the Nogoa River bridge, September 1989.
The rail network in Queensland, Australia, was the first in the world to adopt 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge for a main line. In 2013, it claimed to be the second largest narrow gauge network in the world. The network consists of the following lines:
- the North Coast Line (NCL), extending 1,680 kilometres (1,040 mi) from Brisbane to Rockhampton, Townsville and Cairns
- four east–west lines (and associated branch lines), including:
- the Western line from Brisbane to Toowoomba and Charleville
- the Central Western line from Rockhampton to Longreach and Winton
- the Mt Isa line from Townsville to Mount Isa
- the Tablelands line from Cairns to Forsayth
- four export coal networks, including:
- the original narrow-gauge Southern line that provided a rail connection to Sydney, extending from Toowoomba to the New South Wales border at Wallangarra, plus the South Western line west from Warwick to Thallon;
- two lines extending south of Brisbane, a 140 km/h (87 mph) narrow gauge passenger line from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, and a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) line to the New South Wales border connecting to the line to Sydney
- the isolated Normanton to Croydon line, now operated as a tourist service as The Gulflander
- the isolated 19 kilometres (12 mi) 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) private freight line at Weipa hauling bauxite from a mine to the export terminal
- over 3,000 km of 2 ft (610 mm) gauge sugar cane lines servicing 19 sugar mills (see Tramways section below).
Passenger services include:
- Long distance trains from:
- Brisbane to Cairns
- Townsville to Mount Isa
- Brisbane to Longreach
- Brisbane to Charleville
- Brisbane to Sydney via XPT
- the Translink network providing services:
- north to Caboolture, Ferny Grove, Gympie, and Kippa-Ring
- east to Brisbane Airport, Cleveland, Doomben, and Shorncliffe
- south to Beenleigh and Varsity Lakes
- west to Ipswich, Rosewood, and Springfield.
The Translink network consists of approximately 300 km and 151 stations.