Bell Bay Line

{{Short description|Railway line in Tasmania, Australia}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}

{{Use Australian English|date=January 2012}}

{{Infobox rail line

| box_width =

| name = Bell Bay Line

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| type = Heavy rail

| system =

| status = In use

| locale = Launceston, Tasmania

| start = Western Junction, Tasmania

| end = Bell Bay, Tasmania

| stations =

| open = 1973

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| owner = Government of Tasmania

| operator = TasRail

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| linelength_km = 57.3

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| gauge = {{RailGauge|1067mm|lk=on}}

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| map = {{Bell Bay Line}}

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}}

The Bell Bay Line is a freight rail corridor connecting the port of Bell Bay to the main rail network of Tasmania.{{cite web | year = 2007 | url = http://www.ncc.gov.au/images/uploads/DERaTRAp-001.pdf | title = Tasmanian rail network | publisher = Australian Government | accessdate = 2010-01-18 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110216220322/http://www.ncc.gov.au/images/uploads/DERaTRAp-001.pdf | archivedate = 16 February 2011 }}{{cite web | year = 2009 | url = http://www.railtasmania.com/lines/bellbay_line.htm | title= Bell Bay Line | publisher= Rail Tasmania | accessdate= 2010-01-18}} The Railway Line was built in 1973 to connect the Longreach sawmill to the rail network, and was extended to Bell Bay in 1974.

Traffic on the line was initially limited to woodchip logs to Longreach, with the occasional train to George Town and Bell Bay. By the 1990s, log traffic to Longreach by rail was decreasing, and container traffic to the port of Bell Bay was increasing. Today the only traffic on the line is containers to and from Bell Bay. At present, the railway line is included in the Federal Government's AusLink initiative{{cite web | year = 2007 | url = http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/transport/publications/files/Tasmanian_Corridor_Strategy.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090919192032/http://infrastructure.gov.au/transport/publications/files/Tasmanian_Corridor_Strategy.pdf | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2009-09-19 | title = AusLink Network Corridors | publisher = Australian Government | accessdate = 2010-01-18 }}