Queensland Rail (Queensland)Queensland Rail (Queensland) Queensland Rail, also known as QR, is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, Queensland Rail operates suburban and long-distance passenger services. It also owns and maintains approximately 8,000 kilometres of track in Queensland. Queensland Rail History Queensland Rail Beginnings Queensland Railways was the first operator in the world to adopt narrow gauge (in this case 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)) for a main line, and this remains the systemwide gauge within Queensland today. The colony of Queensland separated from New South Wales in 1859, and the new government was keen to facilitate development and immigration. Improved transport to the fertile Darling Downs region situated west of Toowoomba was seen as a priority. As adequate river transport was already established between the capital Brisbane and the then separate settlement of Ipswich, the railway commenced from the latter locality and the initial section, built over relatively flat, easy country opened to Bigge's Camp, at the eastern base of the Little Liverpool Range, on 31 July 1865. Called the Main Line, the only significant engineering work on that section was the bridge over the Bremer River to North Ipswich. Tunneling excavation through the Little Liverpool Range delayed the opening of the next section to Gatton by 10 months, but the line was opened to Toowoomba in 1867, the ascent of the Main Range being the reason for the adoption of narrow gauge. Built by the Queensland government to the unusual (for the time) gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in), the line largely followed the alignment surveyed by a private company, the Moreton Bay Tramway Company, which had proposed to build a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) horse-drawn tramway but had been unable to raise funds to do so beyond an initial start on earthworks. The adoption of narrow gauge was controversial at the time, and was largely predicated by the government's desire for the fastest possible construction timeframe at least cost. This resulted in adoption of sharper curves and a lower axle load than was considered possible using standard gauge, and an assessment at the time put the cost of a narrow gauge line from Ipswich to Toowoomba at 25% of the cost of a standard gauge line. In a colony with a non-indigenous population of 30,000 when the decision was made, it is understandable. Queensland Rail went on to develop an extensive network of railways to facilitate the economic and social development of the state, totaling 10,500 km at its peak in 1932. Changing transport patterns resulted in the closure of many development branch lines from 1948 onwards, but at the same time the main lines were upgraded to provide contemporary services, and from the 1970s an extensive network of new lines was developed, particularly to service export coal mines. Queensland Rail Electrification Commencing in November 1979 the Brisbane suburban network was electrified. In 1978, discussions were commenced on possible electrification of the Blackwater and Goonyella coal networks. This was due to an expected increase in coal traffic across the networks, ageing diesel-electric locomotive fleet and the increase in diesel fuel costs. By early 1983, a decision had been made to electrify the networks and by early 1984 contracts were already starting to be let for the new locomotives and other works for the project. The decision was made to electrify with the 25 kV AC railway electrification system as used on the Brisbane suburban network. This would allow future connection of the Brisbane network with the coal networks via the North Coast line. The Project Was To Be Carried Out In Four Stages: Stage 1: Electrification of the main line from Gladstone to Rockhampton, including parts of Rockhampton marshalling yard, then west to Blackwater and the coal mines in the area. This was a total of 720 kilometres (450 mi) of track. Stage 2: Electrification of the coal lines south of Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point, then west through the Goonyella system, south-west to Blair Athol and south to Gregory – linking the Goonyella system to the Blackwater system. This was a total of 773 kilometres (480 mi) of track. Stage 3: Electrification of the main western line from Burngrove to Emerald. This would allow electric freight from Rockhampton to Emerald. Stage 4: Electrification of the line from Newlands coal mine to Collinsville and north-east to Abbott Point. This stage never went ahead. In 1986 it was decided to electrify the North Coast line between Brisbane and Gladstone instead and this became known as Stage 4. Queensland Rail Interstate Expansion In September 1999 Queensland Rail was rebranded as QR. In March 2002 Queensland Rail purchased Northern Rivers Railroad and rebranded it Interail, fulfilling a long held ambition of to expand beyond its state borders. In March 2003 Queensland Rail entered the Hunter Valley coal market when Interail commenced a contract from Duralie Colliery to Stratford Mine. Another coal contract was won in late 2003 for the haulage of coal from Newstan Colliery, Fassifern to Vales Point Power Station. In 2004 Interail began running Brisbane to Melbourne and Sydney to Melbourne intermodal services. In June 2005 Queensland Rail acquired the CRT Group. In June 2006 the Western Australian business of the Australian Railroad Group was purchased. Queensland Rail Privatisation In June 2009 the Queensland Government announced the privatisation of Queensland Rail's freight business. This resulted in Queensland Rail's freight assets being transferred to QR National (now Aurizon) from 1 July 2010. Redcliffe Peninsula Railway Line In October 2016 the opening of a new rail line to the Redcliffe Peninsula resulted in the failure of the rail network. Hundreds of services were cancelled without notice due to a lack of trained drivers and staff. Passengers experienced extended delays and promised services which did not arrive. Several weeks after the service interruptions, Queensland Rail CEO Helen Gluer announced her resignation from the company, along with chairman Michael Klug. It was announced on 27 October 2016, that the director-general of the Department of Transport and Main Roads, Neil Scales, would replace Helen Gluer. An inquiry into Queensland Rail's train crewing conducted by Phillip Strachan was completed in February 2017. The report determined that Queensland Rail had operated for a number of years with insufficient train crews, paying overtime to cover all the scheduled services and had failed to recruit sufficient additional train crew in anticipation of the opening of the Redcliffe line, creating a severe shortfall of train crew resulting in the cancellation of many services. The report blamed Queensland Rail for having an unwieldy management structure that relied on intuition rather than accurate forecasting and a reluctance to share bad news. Queensland Rail Commissioners The Commissioners of the Queensland Railways Included:
Queensland Rail Services Queensland Rail City Network Queensland Rail, in partnership with TransLink, provides Urban and Interurban rail and bus services throughout South East Queensland. These rail services operate on eleven rail lines including Beenleigh, Caboolture, Cleveland, Doomben, Exhibition, Ferny Grove, Gold Coast, Gympie North, Ipswich-Rosewood, Redcliffe Peninsula, Shorncliffe, and Springfield lines. Queensland Rail provides train services on these lines with its rolling stock of electric multiple units, which includes the Electric Multiple Units (EMU), the Suburban Multiple Units (SMU), the Interurban Multiple Units (IMU) and the InterCity Express (ICE). Due to low patronage, lines such as the Pinkenba line have been closed and replaced by bus services known as a RailBus. During some times of the day trains on the Nambour line and Doomben line are also replaced by the RailBus. Queensland Rail Long-Distance Trains Queensland Rail Operate These Long-Range Passenger Rail Services:
Annual patronage for these services in 2011/12 was 795,000. In 2007/08, the subsidy for the Brisbane-Cairns route was $130 million, or $900 per passenger. In 2001/02 it was $270 million. Queensland Rail Also Operate These Tourist Trains:
Queensland Rail Fleet Current City Network Fleet Class: EMU00 Type: Electric multiple unit Top speed (km/h): 100 Built: 1979–1987 Number of units: 87 Routes: City network Notes: Planned to be progressively retired alongside the ICE units from 2018. Class: ICE150 Type: Electric multiple unit Top speed (km/h): 120 Built: 1988–1989 Number of units: 8 Routes: City network (Sunshine Coast line only) Notes: Planned to be progressively retired alongside the EMU units from 2018. Class: SMU200 Type: Electric multiple unit Top speed (km/h): 100 Built: 1994–1995 Number of units: 12 Routes: City network Notes: Planned (along with the SMU220 units) to replace the EMU units as the trains primarily used on lines throughout the city. Class: IMU100 Type: Electric multiple unit Top speed (km/h): 140 Built: 1996–1997 Number of units: 10 Routes: City network Class: SMU220 Type: Electric multiple unit Top speed (km/h): 100 Built: 1999–2001 Number of units: 30 Routes: City network Notes: Planned (along with the SMU200 units) to replace the EMU units as the trains primarily used on lines throughout the city. Class: IMU120 Type: Electric multiple unit Top speed (km/h): 140 Built: 2001–2002 Number of units: 4 Routes: City network Class: IMU160 Type: Electric multiple unit Top speed (km/h): 130 Built: 2004–2011 Number of units: 28 Routes: City network Class: SMU260 Type: Electric multiple unit Top speed (km/h): 130 Built: 2008–2011 Number of units: 35 Routes: City network Class: NGR700 Type: Electric multiple unit Top speed (km/h): 140 Built: 2015–2018 Number of units: 25 Routes: City network (Airport and Gold Coast lines only) Notes: Are used on the Airport and Gold Coast lines during the 2018 Commonwealth Games, with more to gradually be introduced to the fleet. The rest of the 35 units with working toilets will also be used on the Caboolture, Ipswich/Rosewood and Sunshine Coast lines, while the other 36 units without toilets will be used on all other lines. Queensland Rail Locomotive Fleet (1) Class: DL class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 50 Built: 1961 Number of units: 1 Notes: DL4 backup for the Gulflander. Class: 1720 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 100 Built: 1966–1970 Number of units: 15 Routes: Kuranda Scenic Railway, Traveltrain services and infrastructure trains. Class: 2150 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 100 Built: 1966–1970 Number of units: 6 Routes: Traveltrain services and infrastructure trains. Class: 2400 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 100 Built: 1966–1970 Number of units: 5 Routes: Traveltrain services and infrastructure trains. Class: 2470 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 100 Built: 1980–1983 Number of units: 5 Routes: Traveltrain services and infrastructure trains. Traveltrain fleet Class: Electric Tilt Train Type: Tilting electric multiple unit Top speed (km/h): 160 Built: 1997 Number of units: 2 Routes: North Coast line Class: Diesel Tilt Train Type: Tilting diesel multiple unit Top speed (km/h): 160 Built: 2003, 2014 Number of units: 3 Routes: North Coast line Notes: Tourist train fleet Class: 45 hp rail motor Type: Railmotor Top speed (km/h): 40 Built: 1931 Number of units: 1 Notes: Based at Normanton, used for charters. Class: 102 hp rail motor Type: Railmotor Top speed (km/h): 50 Built: 1950 Number of units: 1 Routes: Gulflander Class: 1800 class Type: Railmotor (trailers) Top speed (km/h): 50 Built: 1952–1954 Number of units: 2 Routes: Gulflander Class: 2000 class Type: Railmotor Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1956–1971 Number of units: 3 Routes: Savannahlander Notes: Operated by private contractor. Queensland Rail Heritage Fleet Class: A10 class Type: Steam locomotive Top speed (km/h): 40 Built: 1865–1866 Number of units: 1 Notes: No. 6 operational, Australia's oldest operational steam locomotive. Usually placed on display at the Workshops Rail Museum when not required for special trains. Class: PB15 class Type: Steam locomotive Top speed (km/h): 65 Built: 1899–1926 Number of units: 1 Notes: 732 being overhauled. Class: C17 class Type: Steam locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1920–1953 Number of units: 2 Notes: 974 operational, 1000 being restored to working order. Class: DL class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 50 Built: 1939 Number of units: 1 Notes: On display at the Workshops Rail Museum. Class: AC16 class Type: Steam locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1943 Number of units: 1 Notes: 221A operational. (USATC S118 Class) Class: DD17 class Type: Steam locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1948–1952 Number of units: 1 Notes: 1051 restored to working order, currently under heavy overhaul. Beyer-Garratt Type: Steam locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1950–1951 Number of units: 1 Notes: 1009 stored pending overhaul BB18¼ class Type: Steam locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1950–1958 Number of units: 2 Notes: 1079 and 1089 operational. Class: 1150 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1952 Number of units: 1 Notes: 1159 stored pending restoration. Class: 1400 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1955 Number of units: 1 Notes: 1407 stored pending restoration. Class: 1170 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1956 Number of units: 1 Notes: 1170 stored pending restoration. Class: 1900 class Type: Railmotor 80 Built: 1956 Number of units: 1 Built: 1901 Notes: operational, also used as a track inspection vehicle. Class: 2000 class Type: Railmotor 80 Built: 1956–1971 Number of units: 6 Notes: 2034, 2036 and 2057 operational, also used as inspection vehicles. 2005, 2024 and 2031 stored. Class: 1450 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1957 Number of units: 3 Notes: 1450, 1455 and 1459 stored pending restoration. Class: 1250 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1959 Number of units: 1 Notes: 1262 on display at Workshops Rail Museum. Class: SX carriages Type: Passenger car Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1961–1962 Number of units: 7 Notes: Formed into one 7-car set. Class: 1600 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1962 Number of units: 1 Notes: 1603 stored pending restoration. Class: 1460 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1964 Number of units: 1 Notes: 1461 stored pending restoration. Class: 1270 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1964 Number of units: 2 Notes: 1270 stored pending restoration, 1281 on display at Workshops Rail Museum. Class: DH class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 50 Built: 1966 Number of units: 2 Notes: DH2 and DH71 stored. Class: 1620 class Type: Diesel locomotive Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1967 Number of units: 1 Notes: 1620 Operational. Queensland Rail Special Cars Class: Vice-Regal Car Top speed (km/h): 80 Built: 1903 Number of units: 1 Notes: Car 445 is a special saloon retained for use by the Governor of Queensland and is still considered a working item of rollingstock in the QR fleet, however it is on permanent loan to Workshops Rail Museum. (1) This table only includes locomotives owned by Queensland Rail. QR also hires locomotives from Aurizon as required. Queensland Rail Operating Information Industry: Railway Operator Founded: 31 July 1865 Headquarters: Brisbane, Australia Area served: Queensland Key people: Nick Easy Phillip Strachan Revenue: $1,932m (2011/12) Operating Income: $692m (2011/12) Net Income: $128m (2011/12) Number of Employees: 7,312 (June 2012) Parent: Government of Queensland Quick Guide to Australia Country Guides & Australia Tourism Attractions Country Guides - Days Out - Tourism Attractions - Theme Parks - Family Days Out - Tourism Guides Quick Guide to Australia Places to Visit & Australia Cultural Tourism Theatres - Museums - Art Galleries - Cathederals - Synagogues - Mosques - Temples Festivals - Concerts - Gigs - Sport Stadiums - Sport Events - Airports Zoological Gardens - Aquariums - Racing Tracks - Racing Circuits - Athletics Tracks Quick Guide to Australia Rail Guides & Australia Rail Tourism Rail Tickets - Railway Maps - Railway Tourism Advice - Rail Passes - Rail Tours - Eurostar Eurail - Interrail - Train Stations - Metro Stations - Underground Stations Railway Modelling - Railway News Train Tickets - Rail Tours - Luxury Rail Tours - Europe Rail Pass - Steam Trains - Rail Journeys HS2 - Mountain Trains - Heritage Trains - Cog Trains - High Speed Rail - Escorted Rail Tours Cable Cars - Funicular - Gondola Lifts - Tramways - Ski Lifts - Ski Pass Railway Companies of the World - Heritage Railways - Steam Trains - Luxury Rail Journeys Airport Shuttles - Night Trains - Sleeper Rail Cars - High Speed Trains - TGV - Eurostar Cog Railways - Swiss Mountain Railways - Train Journeys - Express Trains Quick Guide to World Train Companies Amtrak - Orient Express - Rovos Rail - Rocky Mountaineer - Glacier Express Jungfrau Express - Gotthard Panorama Express - Jungfrau Travel Pass- Express Trains Eurostar - British Pullman - Bernina Express - Shongololo Express - Blue Train - Danube Express Trans Siberian Express - GoldenPass Panoramic - Golden Eagle Train - Andean Explorer Swiss Travel Pass - Jacobite - El Transcantabrico - Tren Al Andus - Hiram Bingham Australia Business Centre - Australia Exhibitions Business Centre - Trade Exhibitions - Trade Shows - Trade Fairs - Trade Events Trade Exhibition Staff - Trade Exhibition Stands - Trade Show Help Australia Business Centre - Australia Procurements Business Incorporation - Procurements - Business Leads - Foreign Exchange Business Insurance - Shares - Commodities - Futures - Property Sales - Money Transfer Asset Finance - Asset Leasing - Crowd Funding - Currency Transfer Australia Business Centre - Australia Freight Rail Freight - Rail Cargo - Multimodal Freight - Road Freight - Air Freight - Sea Freight Freight - Cargo - Containers - Pallet Delivery - Letter Delivery - Parcel Delivery Australia Business Centre - Australia Finance Business Finance - Business Insurance - Business Cards - Apprentices - Need Staff - Jobs Vehicle Finance - Car Insurance - Car Leasing - Commercial Property - Foreign Exchange Utility Swop - Utility Gas - Utility Electricity - Utility Oil - Utility Solar Power Rail Finance - Business Leasing - Crowd Funding - Currency Transfer Insurance - Utilities - Savings - Credit Cards - Car Insurances - Car Finance - Pensions Quick Guide to World Travel & Australia Tourism Hotels - Hostels - Flights - Car Rental - Flight + Hotel - River Cruises - Cruises B&B - Holiday Homes - Apartment Rentals - Chalet Rental Summer Holidays - Holiday Deals - Beach Holidays - Short Trips - Package Holidays Summer Vacations - Vacation Deals - Beach Vacations - Weekend Breaks - Package Vacations Winter Holidays - Winter Holiday Deals - Ski Holidays - Ski Lift Passes - Short Breaks Winter Vacations - Winter Vacation Deals - Ski Vacations - Ski Pass - Weekend Trips | |||||
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