The
North Coast railway line is a narrow gauge railway line in
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It runs from
BrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, along the Queensland coast to Cairns in
Far North QueenslandFar North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...
. The line is electrified between Brisbane and
RockhamptonRockhampton can refer to:* Rockhampton, Queensland is a city in Queensland, Australia* Rockhampton City, Queensland, a suburb of Rockhampton, Queensland* Electoral district of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia...
. Along the way, the 1680 km railway passes through the numerous towns and cities of eastern Queensland including
NambourThe area now known as Nambour, was first settled in 1870. The town was then called Petrie's Creek. In 1890 the Maroochy Divisional Board was established...
,
Gladstone- Education :Gladstone has several primary schools, three high schools, and one university campus, Central Queensland University. It is also home to CQIT Gladstone Campus.- Recreation :...
, Rockhampton,
MackayMackay is a city on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia, about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is nicknamed the sugar capital of Australia because its region produces more than a third of Australia's cane sugar....
and Townsville. The line though the middle of Rockhampton
runs down the middleOn-street running or street running is when a railroad track or tramway track runs directly along city streets, without any separation. The rails are embedded in the road....
of Denison Street.
Branch lines
Many lines branch off the North Coast Line. The
Mary Valley Railway branches off near
GympieGympie may refer to:* Gympie, a city in Queensland, Australia** Gympie Airport** Electoral district of Gympie** Gympie Region, its local government authority* Gympie Gympie , a stinging plant...
, with the Valley Rattler operating on the branch for heritage and scenic tours. The
Monto LoopThe Mungar Junction to Monto Branch Railway is in Queensland, Australia. Having lost out to Bundaberg for a rail link to Mount Perry, Maryborough turned the tables by securing a link to the Central and Upper Burnett districts of Queensland, where minerals had been found...
branches off at Mungar near
MaryboroughMaryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...
. 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,
SarinaSarina is a town in central Queensland, Australia. It is situated south of the city of Mackay, and approximately north of the city of Rockhampton. At the 2006 census, Sarina had a population of 3,285....
and
BowenBowen is a town on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Bowen had a population of 7,484.-Geography:Bowen is located on the north-east coast of Australia, at exactly twenty degrees south of the equator. In fact, the twentieth parallel crosses the main street...
.
Services
Many trains operate on the North Coast Line each day. QR
CitytrainCitytrain is the brand name of urban, suburban and inter-urban electric passenger railway services in South East Queensland, Australia. Its network, centering in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, is approximately in route length...
operates frequent suburban services to Caboolture and numerous interurban services to Nambour and Gympie. Long distance services, operated by
QRQueensland Rail, also known as QR, is a government-owned railway operator in the state of Queensland. Under the control of the Queensland Government, Queensland Rail operates the inner-city and long-distance passenger services, as well as some freight operations and gives railway access to other...
TraveltrainTraveltrain provides long range passenger rail services in Queensland, run by Queensland Rail. Its flagships are the electric and diesel Tilt Trains, servicing Brisbane – Rockhampton and Brisbane – Cairns respectively...
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 NationalPacific National is one of Australia's largest private rail freight businesses. Originally a joint venture between Patrick Corporation and Toll Holdings; it is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Asciano Limited following the restructure of Toll Holdings....
Queensland. More than 11 million net tonnes of produce are transported via the line annually, including sugar, grain, minerals and cattle.
History
The
early railwaysRail transport in Queensland began in 1865. Today it is one of the largest narrow gauge railway network in the world.-Public float:On 2 June 2009 the Queensland Government announced the 'Renewing Queensland Plan', with Queensland Rail's commercial activities to be separated from the Government's...
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 OfficeMobile post offices deliver mail and other postal services through specially equipped vehicles, such as trucks and trains.-United Kingdom:The United Kingdom pioneered the modern use of what it calls the Travelling Post Office , a railway service that operated for the first time in 1838...
s 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
RockhamptonRockhampton can refer to:* Rockhampton, Queensland is a city in Queensland, Australia* Rockhampton City, Queensland, a suburb of Rockhampton, Queensland* Electoral district of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia...
. 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.