Railways and Tramways of Australia

Queensland has the largest network of electrified railways in Australia, with 2174 km open in 2024. This is despite its first electric passenger trains not commencing service in Brisbane until 1979, which was 60 years after Melbourne and 53 years after Sydney. Electrified railways in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia use 25 kV AC, in contrast to the 1.5 kV (kilovolts) DC used in Victoria and New South Wales.

 

Industrial electric railways

Queensland’s first electric railways were built for industrial purposes. The Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company began using a small 2½-ton (2.5-tonne) General Electric electric locomotive in 1899 for hauling ore on its 2 ft 2 in (614 mm) gauge railway, which operated underground and on the surface. The company obtained a fleet of similar locomotives until 1911, and then larger locomotives. Electric traction was phased out and replaced by horses in 1914, by which time 22 different electric locomotives had been in use. Other electric locomotives were later used at the mine. Mount Morgan is approximately 40 km south-west of Rockhampton.

 

In Brisbane the City and Electric Light Company operated a three-kilometre line between sidings at Murarrie, on the Cleveland line, and Bulimba Power Station, near the Brisbane River. The railway was opened in 1925 and electrified in 1926. A four-wheel locomotive hauled coal wagons along the line, which was in operation for around 40 years.
 

Suburban electric railways

Electrification of the Brisbane suburban railway network was considered by the Queensland Government in 1915 but did not progress. In the years following the Second World War electrification was examined again. A system using the same 1500 V DC current as used in Melbourne and Sydney was recommended and approval of the project was given in February 1950. Preliminary works commenced but were later abandoned. Further reports considered electrification again in the 1960s and early 1970s before electrification was approved in 1974. Elrail Consultants were appointed to oversee construction; work commenced on 10 September 1974.

 

The first section of government railway in Queensland to be electrified was a 34-km section between Darra and Ferny Grove on 17 November 1979. Darra is south-west of the central business district and Ferny Grove is north-west, so trains travelling between the two destinations went through the city. A grand opening was held to mark the event, featuring a banquet for invited guests, a mardi gras for the public and a cavalcade of transport. Stage 2 was opened the following year, on 20 September 1980, between Darra and Ipswich.

 

Further extensions to the electrified network were made until all of the Brisbane suburban network was electrified. Lines extending to the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Rockhampton are also electrified. As new passenger railways opened in Brisbane, they were electrified upon services commencing.

 

Extensions of the electric passenger network

The dates of opening of the electrified railways in Queensland used by passenger trains are listed below.

Date                            Railway electrified

17 November 1979     Ferny Grove–Darra

20 September 1980     Darra–Ipswich

3 August 1982             Mayne–Exhibition–Roma Street

18 September 1982     Roma Street–Kingston; Bowen Hills–Shorncliffe; Corinda–

Yeerongpilly (Down line)

15 October 1983         Park Road–Thorneside

23 April 1983              Northgate–Petrie

3 November 1984       Kingston–Beenleigh; Corinda–Yeerongpilly (Up line)

28 June 1986               Petrie–Caboolture

26 July 1986               Thorneside–Wellington Point (re-opened railway)

6 September 1986       Rockhampton–Gladstone

24 October 1987         Wellington Point–Cleveland (re-opened railway)

28 January 1988          Eagle Junction–Eagle Farm (Pinkenba line)

28 April 1988              Caboolture–Nambour

4 February 1989          Nambour–Gympie North

3 July 1989                 Gympie North– Gladstone

21 December 1993      Ipswich–Rosewood

26 February 1996        Beenleigh–Helensvale (new railway)

12 October 1997         Helensvale–Nerang (new railway)

31 May 1998               Nerang–Robina (new railway)

8 February 2001          Airport Junction–Airport (new railway)

14 December 2009      Robina–Varsity Lakes (new railway)

17 January 2011          Darra–Richlands (new railway)

1 December 2013        Richlands–Springfield Central (new railway)

3 October 2016           Petrie–Kippa-Ring (new railway)

 

Electrified passenger train network

Passenger train services in the Brisbane suburban and interurban area are provided by Queensland Rail on its Citytrain network, which is the passenger network in South East Queensland. In 2023–24 there were 47.25 million passengers carried on the Citytrain network. The following lines have regular electric passenger train services.

• Caboolture line

• Exhibition line

• Ferny Grove line

• Doomben line

• Airport line

• Shorncliffe line

• Redcliffe Peninsula line

• Ipswich line

• Springfield line

• Rosewood line

• Beenleigh line

• Cleveland line

• Gold Coast line

• Sunshine Coast line.

 

The Airport line is owned by Airtrain, a privately-owned company that has a licence from Queensland Transport to operate the railway line to Brisbane airport. Train services are integrated into the Queensland Rail network, running from Brisbane airport to the CBD and the Gold Coast.

 

In addition to the Citytrain network, electric passenger trains also operate from Brisbane to Bundaberg and Rockhampton. The Tilt Train is an electrically-powered Tilt Train that runs along this route. There are eight northbound services of the electric Tilt Train between Brisbane and Rockhampton each week, with seven southbound between Rockhampton and Brisbane. Additionally, four services commence at Brisbane and terminate at Bundaberg each week, while five services commence at Bundaberg and terminate at Brisbane. The total distance of the rail journey between Brisbane and Bundaberg is 351 km, and between Brisbane and Rockhampton the distance is 639 km.

 

Electrified freight train network

With the electrification of Brisbane’s suburban railway network making good progress, attention turned to the coal railways of the state, which provide significant revenue earnings. The economic benefits of electrifying the coal railways included reduced crewing costs, the possibility of using electric locomotives that provided almost double the traction horsepower of diesel locomotives then in service, reductions in locomotive maintenance costs of up to 50%, increases in rolling stock productivity of 20%, and savings in fuel coasts of up to 50%.

 

Approval was given for the Main Line Electrification Project in 1984, which included the main line between Caboolture, a northern suburb or Brisbane, and Rockhampton, and various coal railways extending inland from the coast. The line between Brisbane and Rockhampton is also used by passenger trains. The project proceeded in four stages:

 

Stage 1: Electrification of the heavy-haul coal railway between Gladstone, Rockhampton and Blackwater, and including the various mine branches around Blackwater. This stage consisted of 720 km of single track.

Stage 2: Electrification of the Goonyella railway system, which brings coal trains into coal export terminals at Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay (around 40 km south of Mackay). Connection with the Stage 1 system was made near Gregory (north of Emerald). This stage consisted of 773 km of single track.

Stage 3: Electrification of an extension of Stage 1 westward by 62 km from Tolmies (west of Blackwater) to Emerald. A 22 km rail connection between Clermont and Blair Athol was constructed, although electrification of this line was not included in the project.

Stage 4: Electrification of the North Coast Line between Caboolture and Gladstone. This stage consisted of 530 km of single track.

 

On 2 June 1986 the overhead wiring was electrified in Callemondah Yard (near Gladstone) and on 6 September that year the electrification was opened between Gladstone and Rockhampton. The Main Line Electrification Project was completed with the last section of the Main Line between Gympie North and Gladstone was ready for electric train. On 3 July 1989 new Electric Multiple Unit express passenger services commenced operating between Brisbane and Rockhampton.

 

The electrified freight network in Queensland today consists of the electrified section of the North Coast Line between Brisbane and Rockhampton, the Blackwater system and the Goonyella system. The Blackwater System is mostly electrified. It extends from Callemondah (near Gladstone) to Gregory, Minerva and Rolleston, and includes numerous balloon loops and spur lines. The section from Callemondah to Rocklands (near Rockhampton) is along the North Coast line, while the section from Rocklands to Nogoa (near Emerald) is along the Central line. The Goonyella System is completely electrified. It extends from Hay Point (around 40 km south of Mackay) to North Goonyella, Blair Athol Mine, Gregory Junction and Hail Creek, and also includes numerous balloon loops and spur lines. A link from Oaky Creek to Gregory connects the Goonyella System with the Blackwater System.

 

References

Armstrong, J, ‘Brisbane rail electrification stages 1 and 2’, Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, no. 538, August 1982, pp. 165–192.

Churchman, GB, Railway electrification in Australia and New Zealand, IPL, Sydney, 1995.

‘Evolution of modern rail’, The Workshops Rail Museum

 <https://theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Histories+of+Queensland/Transport+Road+and+rail/Evolution+of+modern+rail#.Xq1dSnduKUk>.

Mewes, D, ‘Early Australian electric locomotives: part III Mount Morgan Gold Mining Company, Mount Morgan, Queensland’, Light Railways, no. 99,

     January 1988, pp. 17–20.

‘Queensland’, Here and There, Supplement to Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, no. 590, December 1986, p. 95–6.

Queensland Rail <www.queenslandrail.com.au>.

Read, RG & Drake, AM, ‘Queensland Railways Main Line Electrification Project’, International Heavy Haul Railway Conference, Brisbane, 1989.

Hanlon, P & B Webber, Rail motors, railcars, EMUs and tilt trains of Queensland, Australian Railway Historical Society, Queensland Division,

     Brisbane 2011.