North Coast railway line, Queensland

QR North Coast Line

Legend 0km Brisbane (Roma Street) 51km Caboolture, end of suburban services Wamuran Branch 64km Beerburrum, end of dual track 82km Landsborough 104km Nambour 131km Cooroy 173km Gympie North, end of interurban CityTrain network 174km Mary Valley Railway 207km Theebine, start of Kingaroy line 243km Owanyilla Woodchip 250km Mungar, start of Monto System 262km Maryborough West, to Maryborough & wharves 8km 264km Colton, start of the Hervey Bay branch 309km Howard 351km Bundaberg 460km Miriam Vale Gladstone area 527km Barney Point 529km Gladstone 529km Auckland Point 534km Callemondah 535km Golding Coal Unloader and Power Station loop 536km Start of Moura System 542km Comalco & Fishermans Landing 557km East End Branch 10km 565km Mount Larcom 585km Raglan 632km Rocklands, Start of Blackwater System 638km Rockhampton 641km Yeppoon Branch, 13km 642km Glenmore 648km Parkhurst 811km St Lawrence 915km Yukan, Start of Goonyella System 916km Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay Coal Unloaders 926km Sarina 959km Mackay 959km Marian Branch 23km 969km Mackay Harbour 1084km Proserpine 1146km Bowen Harbour 1149km Bowen 1156km Merinda 1158km Newlands System 1165km Abbot Point 1249km Home Hill 1260km Ayr 1270km Pioneer Mill 1293km Invicta Mill 1293km Giru 1328km Zinc Smelter 1330km Mount Isa System 1331km Stuart 1340km Townsville Port 1341km Townsville 1365km Yabulu 1365km ex line to Greenvale Nickel 1449km Ingham 1502km Cardwell 1545km Tully 1594km Innisfail 1622km Babinda 1658km Gordonvale 1680km Cairns Tablelands System

The North Coast railway line is a narrow gauge railway line in Queensland, Australia. It runs from Brisbane, along the Queensland coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The line is electrified between Brisbane and Rockhampton. Along the way, the 1680 km railway passes through the numerous towns and cities of eastern Queensland including Nambour, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville. The line though the middle of Rockhampton runs down the middle of Denison Street.

Branch lines

Many lines branch off the North Coast Line. The Mary Valley Railway branches off near Gympie, with the Valley Rattler operating on the branch for heritage and scenic tours. The Monto Loop branches off at Mungar near Maryborough. At Rockhampton the Longreach Line branches off and The Spirit of the Outback operates a passenger service between Brisbane and Longreach. The Western Line branches off at Townsville, with The Inlander operating to Mount Isa. In addition, coal and freight lines branch off at Gladstone, Rockhampton, Sarina and Bowen.

Services

Many trains operate on the North Coast Line each day. QR Citytrain operates frequent suburban services to Caboolture and numerous interurban services to Nambour and Gympie. Long distance services, operated by QR Traveltrain run many passenger trains along the route, which includes their flagship electric and diesel tilt trains to Rockhampton and Cairns.

Freight services are operated by QRNational and Pacific National Queensland. More than 11 million net tonnes of produce are transported via the line annually, including sugar, grain, minerals and cattle.

History

The early railways in Queensland started at a sea or river port and made their way inland. They were connected by coastal shipping. The North Coast Line developed as a connection between these ports. It took until 1924 to reach Cairns as the financial resources of this lowly populated state were limited.

Travelling Post Office

Travelling Post Offices operated on the line between October 1900 and 1930. They were housed in a separate van where mail was collected, delivered and sorted as the train was in motion. At places where the train did not usually stop mail arms were erected, from which an occupant of the mail van could retrieve a mail bag whilst the train was travelling; deliveries were effected by dropping a bag of mail onto the platform. The first TPO service was from Brisbane to Bundaberg. In 1908 it was extended to Rockhampton. From 1924 mail was carried by train to Townsville but without a TPO service being established. Up to six post offices were open at the same time to meet staffing and timetable constraints.

See also

• Rail transport in Queensland