The Southern railway line is a railway in the Darling Downs region of Queensland

Queensland

Queensland 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...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , 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...

.

The 197km-long line branches from the Western line at the major regional city of Toowoomba

Toowoomba, Queensland

Toowoomba is a city in Southern Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital city, Brisbane. With an estimated district population of 128,600, Toowoomba is Australia's second largest inland city and its largest non-capital inland city...

, 161km west of Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane 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...

, and proceeds south through the towns of Warwick

Warwick, Queensland

Warwick is a town in Queensland, Australia, lying south-west of Brisbane. It is the administrative centre of the Southern Downs Local Government Area. In 2006 the town of Warwick had a population of 12,562....

 and Stanthorpe

Stanthorpe, Queensland

Stanthorpe is a town situated in south east Queensland, Australia. The town lies on the New England Highway near the New South Wales border 223 km from Brisbane via Warwick, 56 km north of Tenterfield and 811 m above sea level. The area surrounding the town is known as the Granite Belt...

 to the New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

-Queensland state border at Wallangarra

Wallangarra, Queensland

Wallangarra is a village on the border between Queensland and New South Wales in Australia. It is the third most southerly town in Queensland, 258 km south west of Brisbane. Wallangarra is on the Queensland side of the border and Jennings is on the New South Wales side...

.

The first section of the Southern railway opened from Toowoomba to Millhill (now a northern suburb of Warwick) on 9 January, 1871 and was extended to Stanthorpe on 3 May, 1881. The Southern line was completed to Wallangarra on 14 February, 1887. The first passenger trains between Brisbane and Sydney ran on 16 January, 1888, when the New South Wales Main North railway line was opened.

Prior to the completion of the New South Wales North Coast Line

North Coast railway line, New South Wales

The North Coast Line is the primary rail route in the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions of New South Wales, and forms a major part of the Sydney-Brisbane rail corridor....

 in 1932, the Southern line formed part of the main interstate rail link between Brisbane and Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 via the New South Wales Main North Line

Main North railway line, New South Wales

The Main North Line is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and the New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisbane, however this required a change of gauge at Wallangarra...

. The railway systems of the two states use different gauges - New South Wales uses 1435mm (4ft. 8½in.) standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

, while Queensland uses 1067mm (3ft. 6in.) narrow gauge

Narrow gauge

A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...

. This necessitated a break of gauge at Wallangarra. Wallangarra station consisted of an island platform, with a narrow gauge track on the west side and standard gauge on the east. The state border traverses the station platform at its southern end.

Passenger trains no longer service the Southern line, though the route still sees freight activity. The entire length of the line has been retained in service by QR Limited

Queensland Rail

Queensland 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...

, the state-owned rail operator.