Central railway station, Brisbane

"Brisbane Central" redirects here. For the Queensland electoral division, see Electoral district of Brisbane Central.

Central
Station statistics
Address	Cnr Edward Street & Ann Street, The City
Coordinates	27.4659°S 153.0261°E / -27.4659; 153.0261
Lines	Airport Line   Beenleigh Line   Caboolture Line   Cleveland Line   Doomben Line   Exhibition Line   Ferny Grove Line   Gold Coast Line   Ipswich Line   Springfield Line   Nambour and Gympie North Line   Shorncliffe Line
Platforms	6 total (3 island platforms)
Other information
Accessible
Owned by	Queensland Rail
Fare zone	1
Services
Preceding station   Queensland Rail   Following station Roma Street Terminus Airport Line Fortitude Valley toward Domestic Terminal Fortitude Valley toward Bowen Hills Beenleigh Line Roma Street toward Beenleigh Roma Street Terminus Caboolture Line Fortitude Valley toward Caboolture Fortitude Valley toward Bowen Hills Cleveland Line Roma Street toward Cleveland Roma Street Terminus Doomben Line Fortitude Valley toward Doomben Roma Street One-way operation Exhibition Line Fortitude Valley One-way operation Roma Street Terminus Ferny Grove Line Fortitude Valley toward Ferny Grove Fortitude Valley toward Bowen Hills Gold Coast Line Roma Street toward Varsity Lakes Fortitude Valley toward Bowen Hills Ipswich Line Roma Street toward Rosewood Fortitude Valley toward Bowen Hills Springfield Line Roma Street toward Richlands Roma Street Terminus Nambour and Gympie North Line Fortitude Valley toward Gympie North Roma Street Terminus Shorncliffe Line Fortitude Valley toward Shorncliffe

Central railway station is, as the name suggests, the central railway station for the Queensland Rail City network in the Brisbane central business district, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. A major interchange for train services on the City network, Central is located in Zone 1 of the TransLink integrated public transport system.

History

For more details on this topic, see Rail transport in Queensland.

The first building for Central railway station was a structure of wood and corrugated galvanised iron, and opened on 18 August 1889 as a terminus of the line after Roma Street railway station. In 1891 the tunnel to Brunswick Street railway station (now Fortitude Valley railway station) was opened so trains could run directly from Central to northern destinations.

Looking east to the main station entrance across the Edward and Anne Street from the verandah of the People's Palace in 1911

View to the west toward the platforms circa 1911.

An elegant new station was constructed and opened in 1899 with arches of corrugated galvanised iron over the platforms and a portico on Ann Street.

In 1904, Central had the only electro-pneumatic system in Australia for changing points and signals.

A new entrance with its distinctive row of clocks was constructed in 1901 in sandstone from nearby quarries. Anne Street was widened in 1954 for the construction of government offices which required the portico to be demolished.

The vaulted roof was removed in 1966 and replaced by awnings over each platform.

Redevelopment of the station began in 1968 and 1970 with office towers built over the platforms at the Edward Street end, involving the demolition of the 1901 entrance buildings and the construction of a modern pedestrian retail concourse behind the old station buildings.

Further redevelopment in the 1980s saw the Sheraton Hotel towers (now Sofitel Brisbane) built over the remaining platforms.

In 1996, four new tunnels were constructed between Central and Brunswick Street (now Fortitude Valley) and Roma Street stations, with two new platforms added to Central to increase capacity, especially with new services commencing on the rebuilt Gold Coast line.

Station configuration

Central railway station is located at the northern end of the Brisbane central business district on Ann Street, directly opposite ANZAC Square. Pedestrian access is available from the main entrance at the corner of Ann and Edward Streets, the pedestrian subway connecting ANZAC Square with Upper Edward Street and from the corner of Ann Street and Creek Street. Lesser used access points are located off Wickham Terrace and from Edward Street via the courtyard of the Railway Centre, the headquarters of QR National.

There is elevator access to Central Station from Ann Street opposite the Shrine of Remembrance, and from Wickham Terrace on the northern corner of the complex. There are also escalators to Central Station from ANZAC Square Arcade, next to ANZAC Square.

The Central Station complex houses a McDonald's restaurant, newsagents, cafes, a men's hairdresser, and a QR Travel Centre.

Services by platform

Central railway station serves all suburban and interurban lines. The platforms at Central are numbered from 1 to 6, with 1 being the easternmost platform and 6 the westernmost. Services typically use platforms in a predictable fashion, however during peak periods, some services may use different platforms from those listed below:

Platform	Line	Stopping Pattern	Notes and Comments
1 / 2	Beenleigh Line	All stations and peak-hour limited stops services to Kuraby, Kingston and Beenleigh
	Gold Coast Line	Intercity express services to Varsity Lakes
	Cleveland Line	All stations and peak-hour limited stop services to Manly, Thorneside and Cleveland
3 / 4	Ferny Grove Line	All stations and peak-hour limited stops services to Mitchelton and Ferny Grove
	Airport Line	Airtrain service to Brisbane Airport
	Nambour and Gympie North Line	Intercity express services to Gympie North
	Doomben Line	All stations services to Doomben
	Shorncliffe Line	All stations and peak-hour limited stop services to Shorncliffe
	Exhibition Line	Special event services to the Exhibition (Anti-clockwise direction)
5	Ipswich and Rosewood Line	All stations and peak-hour limited stops services to Ipswich and Rosewood*	* Limited Peak-hour through services to Rosewood. Most Rosewood services require a change of trains at Ipswich
	Springfield Line	All stations services to Richlands
	Exhibition Line	Special event services to the Exhibition (Clockwise direction)
6	Caboolture Line	All stations and peak-hour limited stop services to Petrie and Caboolture	* Counter-peak and some weekend services to Nambour require a change of trains at Caboolture.
	Nambour and Gympie North Line	Intercity express services to Nambour*
	Exhibition Line	Special event services to the Exhibition (Anti-clockwise)

Gallery

• 

  A Suburban Multiple Unit on platform 3

• 

  Central station, off Ann Street, combines elements of the 1899 building with later extensions

• 

  Looking towards platforms 4 to 1

• 

  Clock tower entrance on Ann Street

• 

  Sofitel Brisbane atop Central

• 

  Wickham Terrace entrance

External links

• Queensland Rail
• TransLink
• Central Station at QROTI