rail transport in Queensland

{{Main|Construction of Queensland railways}}

Construction of the Queensland rail network began in 1864 with the first section of the Main Line railway from Ipswich to Grandchester being built. This was the first narrow-gauge main line constructed in the world Kerr, J. 'Triumph of Narrow Gauge', Boolarong Publications 1990 and, in 2013, was claimed to be the second largest narrow-gauge railway network in the world.{{cite web |title=Queensland's steam Railways |url=http://www.transporttrust.com/10041.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331155407/http://www.transporttrust.com/10041.html |archive-date=2009-03-31 |access-date=27 October 2013 |work=Transport Trust |df=dmy-all}}

At its maximum extent in 1932, the system totalled ~10,500 km of routes open for traffic.

In 1925, QR employed ~18,000 people, 713 locomotives, 930 passenger carriages, ~16,000 goods wagons, hauled ~five million tons of goods and ~30 million passengers, and made a return on capital of 3.2% before depreciation.

{{Main|Rail electrification in Queensland}}

Three significant electrification programs have been undertaken in Queensland which include the Brisbane suburban network, the Blackwater and Goonyella coal networks, and the Caboolture to Gladstone section of the North Coast line.

{{Main|Public float of QR National}}

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 core passenger service responsibilities. The commercial activities were formed into a new company called QR National Limited.{{cite news |url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-asset-sales-to-reap-15-billion-20090602-bthd.html |title=Queensland asset sales to reap $15 billion |work=Brisbane Times |first=Marissa |last=Calligeros |date=2 June 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019142829/http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/queensland-asset-sales-to-reap-15-billion-20090602-bthd.html |archive-date=19 October 2009 |df=dmy-all }}{{cite web |url=http://www.qld.gov.au/assetssale/ |title=Queensland assets sale |publisher=Queensland Government |access-date=20 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414092427/http://www.qld.gov.au/assetssale/ |archive-date=14 April 2010 |df=dmy-all }} The new structure was announced by the Queensland Government on 2 December 2009,{{Cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/govt-outlines-rail-freight-sale-20091208-kh7j.html|title=Govt outlines rail freight sale|date=8 December 2009|work=Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=5 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305001018/https://www.smh.com.au/business/govt-outlines-rail-freight-sale-20091208-kh7j.html|archive-date=5 March 2018|url-status=live}} and took place from 1 July 2010.{{cite news |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/hockridge-carrying-the-burden-of-queensland-rail/story-e6frg8zx-1225853814671 |title=Hockridge carrying the burden of Queensland Rail |first=Glenda |last=Korporaal |date=15 April 2010 |work=The Australian}}

{{See also|Rail gauge in Australia}}

The nascent Queensland Railways was persuaded that the way to reduce the cost of railway construction was to use a narrower gauge than the standard gauge of {{Track gauge|impsg}}. A prototype existed in Norway, but Queensland became the first rail operator in the world to adopt narrow gauge for a main line.{{When|date=July 2023}} The proposed {{Track gauge|3ft6in|lk=on}} gauge railway involved a {{convert|5|LT|t ST|1}} axle load and very sharp curves of {{convert|5|chain|m|2|abbr=none}} radius on the long climb to Toowoomba at about {{convert|610|m|ft}} above sea level. The maximum gradient was 1 in 50 (2%) uncompensated, which combined with a {{convert|5|chain|m|2|abbr=none}} radius curve gives an equivalent grade of 1 in 41 (about 2.5%). Although the proposed railway could only manage a top speed of {{convert|20|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}, that was claimed to be sufficient for a hundred years.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3165321 |title=Parliament |newspaper=The Courier |location=Brisbane |date=27 August 1863 |access-date=11 January 2013 |page=2 |publisher=National Library of Australia |archive-date=22 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222083637/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3165321 |url-status=live }}

One of the main advantages of a narrow gauge railway is that the earthworks required do not have to be as extensive as on railways of larger gauge.{{cite web |url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/railways/ |title=Railways in Australia and great train journeys |access-date=17 September 2010 |work=culture.gov.au |publisher=Australian Government |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100920020748/http://cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/railways/ |archive-date=20 September 2010 |df=dmy-all }} It was estimated that the cost of this standard of railway would be 25% of the cost of a standard gauge line built to the minimum standard considered possible with that gauge at the time.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}} This was a vital consideration since the colony of Queensland had a non-indigenous population of about 30,000 at the time. Standard gauge branch lines were later constructed in NSW with {{convert|5|chain|m|2|abbr=none}} radius curves and had the same low maximum speed.

The choice of the non-standard {{Track gauge|3ft6in}} gauge, approved very narrowly by parliament, was and still is controversial.Kerr, J. 'Triumph of Narrow Gauge' Boolarong Publications 1990{{Page needed|date=July 2023}} Thus the die was cast for a large narrow-gauge system, which was copied by three other Australian states as well as a number of other countries. Queensland's decision to use narrow gauge was influential on New Zealand's decision to adopt narrow gauge as its uniform gauge in 1870.{{cite journal|title=The Big Decision: Which Gauge to Adopt?|author=Rob Merrifield|journal=New Zealand Railway Observer|date=October–November 2021|number=369|pages=158–162|publisher=New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society}}

A hundred and fifty years later, Queensland is still sparsely populated (5.5 million in 2024), but many trains hauling coal are some of the longest and heaviest in the world, with Aurizon currently trialling coal trains of 25,000 tonne gross load that are ~4.5 km long.{{Citation needed|date=July 2023}}

QR had one rack railway, with grades as steep as 1 in 16.5 (6%), which was on the branch to Mount Morgan. It was bypassed by a conventional line in 1951 with grades of 1 in 50 (2%). The bypass closed in 1987. The rack system was the Abt rack system, the same type used by the Mount Lyell Railway in Tasmania.

File:QRIMU109airint.jpg at the International Airport on its way to the Domestic Terminal]]

Historically, the government-owned Queensland Rail has been the main rail operator in Queensland. The exception has been the standard-gauge link from New South Wales into Brisbane. When opened in 1930, it was operationally a part of the New South Wales system and run by that government-owned railway, under agreement with Queensland which owned the line. From 1994, National Rail took over the operation of virtually all standard-gauge freight services to and from Brisbane, as part of a reorganisation of interstate freight in Australia.{{cite web |url=http://www.railgrafx.id.au/Articles/NorthCoast.pdf |work=Railway Digest |date=November 2007 |pages=20–29 |title=All Change on the North Coast |author=Alan Shaw |access-date=22 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706122951/http://www.railgrafx.id.au/Articles/NorthCoast.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2011 |df=dmy-all }}

In 2002, QR entered the standard-gauge market through subsidiary Interail, by 2004, it was running freight services from Brisbane through to Melbourne. Today, standard-gauge freight services are operated by Pacific National after its acquisition of National Rail, and Aurizon (formerly a Queensland Rail subsidiary, QR National).

On the narrow gauge, Queensland Rail operates all passenger services. In 2005, the first non-QR narrow gauge commercial rail operation started in Queensland, with Pacific National commencing operation of container services between Brisbane and Cairns,{{cite web |url=http://www.pacificnational.com.au/cust_access/queensland.asp |title=Pacific National Queensland |access-date=22 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323053833/http://www.pacificnational.com.au/cust_access/queensland.asp |archive-date=23 March 2010 |df=dmy-all }}{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/qld/content/2005/s1321660.htm |title=Making Tracks |date=11 March 2005 |author=Jenny Woodward |work=Stateline Queensland |publisher=www.abc.net.au |access-date=22 June 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111075621/http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/qld/content/2005/s1321660.htm |archive-date=11 November 2012 |df=dmy-all }} followed in 2009 by their entry into the export coal market.{{cite web |url=http://www.railexpress.com.au/archive/2009/may-20-09/other-top-stories/pn-commences-qld-coal-haulage-operations/?searchterm=None |title=PN commences Qld coal haulage operations |date=20 May 2009 |work=Rail Express |author=Jennifer Perry |access-date=22 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001145437/http://www.railexpress.com.au/archive/2009/may-20-09/other-top-stories/pn-commences-qld-coal-haulage-operations/?searchterm=None |archive-date=1 October 2009 |df=dmy-all }} Queensland Rail's subsidiary Australian Railroad Group have also entered the Queensland narrow-gauge freight market, operating trains between Townsville and Mount Isa in its own right.{{cite web |url=http://www.arg.net.au/where/Pages/QLD.aspx |title=QLD – Where We Work – Australian Railroad Group Internet |access-date=22 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090629143706/http://www.arg.net.au/where/Pages/QLD.aspx |archive-date=29 June 2009 |df=dmy-all }} Standard-gauge passenger services are provided by the New South Wales Government's NSW TrainLink using its XPT.

The Airport railway line opened to passengers in May 2001.{{Cite news | page = 50 | last = Debritz | first = Brett | title = Airtrain off to a flying start | newspaper = The Sunday Mail | date = 6 May 2001 }} Under a BOOT scheme – build, own, operate and transfer – the Queensland Government licensed Airtrain Citylink to build the rail line, to own and operate it, and hand the entire infrastructure over to the Queensland Government after 35 years when the company will then cease to exist.{{cite web|url=http://www.transfield.com.au/activities/brisbane_airtrain.htm |title=Transfield – Current Activities – Brisbane Airtrain |access-date=25 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103111212/http://www.transfield.com.au/activities/brisbane_airtrain.htm |archive-date=3 November 2009 }}{{cite web|url=http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=25119|title=Brisbane Airport rail link to go ahead|access-date=25 March 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610015201/http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=25119|archive-date=10 June 2011|df=dmy-all}} Airtrain Citylink contracted Transfield Services to build, operate and maintain the line and finally Airtrain Citylink contracted Queensland Rail to provide rolling stock for the rail line.{{cite web|url=http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=9089|title=Extra Rollingstock for Airtrain Services|access-date=25 March 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610015233/http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=9089|archive-date=10 June 2011|df=dmy-all}}

In 2010, the Queensland government privatised the narrow gauge freight haulage and all standard gauge components of Queensland National. In 2012, the organisation renamed itself Aurizon.

In March 2005, Pacific National Queensland became the first non-Queensland Rail narrow gauge commercial rail operation in Queensland, with the commencement of container services between Brisbane and Cairns. They now operate intermodal services to various destinations along the coast of Queensland. In 2018 they became responsible for sugar haulage in Central and North Queensland.

On 16 August 2019, Watco Australia announced that the first two of eight WRA Class locomotives units were being delivered to Australia. The company have stated that they would begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2019.{{Cite book|title=The Dispatch July 2019 - Watco Companies|publisher=Watco Australia|year=2019}} WRA001 and 002 arrived at the Port of Brisbane on the vessel Tarago on 9 October 2019 and were transferred to Warwick behind QR locomotive 1724.

BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) is a 50/50 partnership between the two named companies, operating 9 coal mines in the Bowen Basin. BMA Rail was authorised to operate on the Goonyella coal network from 1 January 2014, and purchased 13 Siemens E40 AG-V1 electric locomotives, designated as the BMACC class, numbered BMACC001-BMACC013. It has the potential to operate its own trains if contract haulage rates from either Aurizon or Pacific National are unacceptable.{{cite web|url=https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/bma-plans-to-use-its-own-trains-to-move-coal/|title=BMA plans to use its own trains to move coal - Australian Mining|date=6 November 2012|access-date=5 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305000604/https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/bma-plans-to-use-its-own-trains-to-move-coal/|archive-date=5 March 2018|df=dmy-all}}

{{see also|List of tramways in Queensland|Narrow-gauge railways in Australia|Rail transport in South Australia|Rail transport in Australia}}

File:A 610mm gauge sugar cane train runs parallel to the NCL near Mackay.jpg near Mackay]]

Except where noted,https://youtube.com/shorts/9K1DWEaIajs?si=1u8UBaNbOmHmm1BK this section relates to sugar cane lines in Queensland built to narrower than {{Track gauge|3ft6in}} gauge, and in this section the term ‘narrow gauge’ means a gauge less than {{Track gauge|3ft6in}}. Non sugar cane tramways covered by their own entries are:

• Aramac Tramway
• Ballara Tramway
• Beaudesert Shire Tramway
• Belmont Tramway
• Buderim Tramway
• Cooloola Tramway
• Innisfail Tramway
• Laheys Tramway
• Mapleton Tramway
• Mill Point Settlement Site
• Stannary Hills Tramways
• Munro Tramway

Sugar cane tramways were usually developed in conjunction with sugar mills as the major transport system for conveying harvested sugar cane for processing. As this is a seasonal traffic, minimising cost was a significant consideration, and the adoption of {{Track gauge|2ft}} gauge enabled lines to be laid with minimal earthworks, sharp curves, and sometimes temporarily in cane fields so cut cane can be loaded directly onto wagons.

File:StateLibQld 1 43059 Sugar tram travelling along Currie Street, Nambour, ca. 1939.jpg, ca. 1939]]

The first recorded use of a locomotive hauled tramway for sugar cane transport in Queensland was at a plantation at Morayfield (now an outer suburb of Brisbane) in 1866 using {{Track gauge|3ft}} gauge. The plantation was not a success, however another tramway built at Maryborough in the same year was successful.

A {{Track gauge|42in}} gauge tramway was established at the Pioneer Mill near Ayr in 1875, and in 1881 a {{convert|50|mi|adj=on}} tramway network had been established to service CSR Homebush and Victoria mills. The Herbert mill had an {{convert|8|mi|adj=on}} network by 1882, and further tram networks were established as the sugar industry expanded, all {{Track gauge|2ft}} gauge with the exception of the Pioneer Mill system.

In 1911 the Queensland Railway Department built a tramway from Chinchilla to Wongongera (now Barakula) to transport railway sleepers made from logs taken from the state forest at Barakula and milled at the Barakula sawmill (approx {{Coord|-26.4279|150.5044|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=Barakula sawmill (former)}}). The route of the Barakula tramway was based on an earlier plan to construct a railway line from Chinchilla to Taroom that was subsequently abandoned in favour of a railway line from Miles to Taroom.{{cite news|date=16 May 1911|title=RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT.|page=5|newspaper=The Brisbane Courier|issue=16,643|location=Queensland, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article19688747|via=National Library of Australia|access-date=15 November 2021|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115220352/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/19688747|url-status=live}}{{cite news|date=16 September 1911|title=DOWNS RAILWAYS|volume=LIV|page=5|newspaper=Darling Downs Gazette|issue=9853|location=Queensland, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180616721|via=National Library of Australia|access-date=15 November 2021|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115220313/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/180616721|url-status=live}} The tramway operated until 1970.{{Cite web|title=From Charley's Creek to Chinchilla|url=https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/History/Documents/QR014.3_150Storyboards_Chinchilla_LR_0515.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=9 November 2021|website=The railway through Queensland's south and west|publisher=Queensland Rail|archive-date=13 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313115749/https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/History/Documents/QR014.3_150Storyboards_Chinchilla_LR_0515.pdf}}

At the end of World War I surplus equipment that had been used to rail supplies to the trenches was used to expand the sugar cane networks.

Originally cane was harvested by hand, and the ‘standard’ 4 wheel wagon was loaded by stacking the ~2 m lengths of cane between upright stakes.

In the 1950s mechanical harvesting was introduced, and cane ‘bins’ were required to hold the ~200 mm lengths (‘billets’) of cane produced by that harvesting process. Most cane bins are 4 wheel with a 4-6 tonne capacity, but some mills utilise bogie bins with a capacity of ~10 tonnes.

Diesel mechanical and diesel hydraulic locomotives replaced steam locomotives in the 1950s and 1960s. Cane must be processed within 12 hours of harvest for maximum yield, so the transportation timing dictated the size of a cane tramway network when mills were first established. When diesel locomotives were introduced, their increased utilisation rates enabled the size of a potential network to grow, resulting in the rationalisation of both the tramways and a reduction in the number of mills. Today some of the ‘main lines’ of tramways are of a standard equivalent to a {{Track gauge|3ft6in}} gauge main line, with (in some cases) concrete sleepers, ballast and heavy rail allowing relatively high speed transport of the cane from further distances whilst still meeting the 12-hour ‘delivery from harvest’ timeframe.

Queensland Railways sold a closed branchline in 1964 to the Gin Gin Cooperative Mill{{cite web | url=http://www.queenslandplaces.com.au/gin-gin | title=Gin Gin | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309185311/http://www.queenslandplaces.com.au/gin-gin | archive-date=9 March 2015 | df=dmy-all }} in Gin Gin which converted it to a {{Track gauge|2ft|lk=on}} sugar tramway.{{cite book | title=The Wallaville Branch Line |

author = Milne, Rod | publisher=Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin | date= June 1997 |pages=179–187}}

With the development of higher standard road networks, some mills have converted to road transport for some or (in a few cases) all cane delivery.

Nambour, about 100 km north of Brisbane had a sugar tram network until 2003, when the mill closed due to plantations being sold for urban development reducing the district crop harvest to an unviable size.

The Rocky Point Mill situated about 50 km south of Brisbane had a {{convert|5|mi|0|adj=on}} tramway which opened in 1924 and closed following flood damage in 1951. Road transport has been used for that mill since then.

File:Daintree + train Killaloe, 2015.JPG, 2015]]

In 2014 there were 19 sugar cane systems (18 of which use {{Track gauge|2ft|disp=or}} gauge) with a combined trackage of {{convert|3000|km}} hauling approximately 36M tonnes of sugar cane each season. The average distance cane is hauled is 35 km, with the longest line being 119 km. Average speed is 40 km/h (due to the wagons not having brakes), and the maximum load is 2000 tonnes, being 1 km long.

It is understood the Pioneer Mill is considering converting its network to {{Track gauge|610mm}} gauge to enable it to more easily procure rolling stock and to facilitate greater efficiency of operations with two neighbouring mills, which currently share 25 km of dual gauge track.

Contemporary sugar cane tramways are quite advanced technically, utilising relatively heavy rails cascaded second hand from other operators, remote-controlled brake vans, concrete sleepers (in places), ballast and tamping machines. The 19 separate tramways cooperate in research and development.

In the 2020s, railway enthusiast volunteers are making efforts to preserve Queensland's sugar cane tramway history. However, they are few in number, have limited resources, and many of the tramway relics have already disappeared. When a sugar mill closes, the owner or operator is often obliged to remove everything, and another difficulty is that tramway lines often run through privately owned farms.{{cite news |last1=Burgin |first1=Robert |title=Preserving cane train history before Australian rail buffs run out of puff |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-24/rail-buffs-push-to-preserve-australian-cane-train-history/104376684 |access-date=30 September 2024 |work=ABC News |date=24 September 2024 |language=en-AU}}

In 2024 the so-called Inland Railway from Melbourne to Brisbane is under construction which will provide a dual gauge replacement for the sharp curved and steeply graded narrow gauge line from Helidon to Toowoomba.

File:QR EMU unit 07 in original colour scheme on a Beenleigh bound train at Rocklea, ~1987.jpg in original colour scheme at Rocklea, 1987 with the dual gauge line in the foreground]]

File:QR EMU unit 22 on a westbound train at Oxley Station, ~1999.jpg, 1999]]

For Translink services as far as Gympie North, Queensland Rail's rolling stock is electric and air-conditioned.

• Electric Multiple Units (EMU) – 88 three car units introduced from 1979, now being phased out as a result of the introduction of 700 series{{cite web|title=Citytrain fleet – Electric Multiple Unit|url=http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/emu/emu.asp|access-date=25 March 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930082500/http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/emu/emu.asp|archive-date=30 September 2009|df=dmy-all}}
• Suburban Multiple Units (SMU)
• 200 Series (SMU200) – 11 in service (12 built){{cite web|title=Citytrain fleet – Suburban Multiple Unit 200 Series|url=http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/smu/smu200.asp|access-date=25 March 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930082342/http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/smu/smu200.asp|archive-date=30 September 2009|df=dmy-all}}
• 220 Series (SMU220) – 30 in service (30 built){{cite web|title=Citytrain fleet – Suburban Multiple Unit 220 Series|url=http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/smu/smu220.asp|access-date=25 March 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930085500/http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/smu/smu220.asp|archive-date=30 September 2009|df=dmy-all}}
• 260 Series (SMU260) – 36 in service (36 built){{cite web|title=Citytrain fleet – Suburban Multiple Unit 260 Series|url=http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/smu/smu260.asp|access-date=25 March 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608121811/http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/smu/smu260.asp|archive-date=8 June 2009|df=dmy-all}}
• Interurban Multiple Units (IMU)
• 100 Series (IMU100) – 10 in service (10 built){{cite web|title=Citytrain fleet – Interurban Multiple Unit 100 Series|url=http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/imu/imu100.asp|access-date=25 March 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608121935/http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/imu/imu100.asp|archive-date=8 June 2009|df=dmy-all}}
• 120 Series (IMU120) – 4 in service (4 built){{cite web|title=Citytrain fleet – Interurban Multiple Unit 120 Series|url=http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/imu/imu120.asp|access-date=25 March 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20090917193818/http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/imu/imu120.asp|archive-date=17 September 2009|df=dmy-all}}
• 160 Series (IMU160) – 28 in service (28 built){{cite web|title=Citytrain fleet – Interurban Multiple Units 160 Series|url=http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/imu/imu160.asp|access-date=25 March 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608121807/http://www.citytrain.com.au/about/fleet/imu/imu160.asp|archive-date=8 June 2009|df=dmy-all}}
• 700 Series (Also known as NGR) - 75 six car units when delivery is completed, operating on both Interurban and suburban routes.
• InterCity Express (ICE) – 8 two car units plus 4 trailers (20 cars in total) introduced in 1988.

All trains are electric multiple units with a driver cabin at both ends, with the exception of EMU60 through to EMU79 (now all withdrawn) which had a driver's cab at one end, and guard only cab at the other end. These units also had only 3 powered bogies (per 3 car set) compared to the 4 powered bogie arrangement for the remaining EMUs. The 1X0 and 2X0 series units consist of three cars each, while the 700 series are 6 car units.

The 700 series, built in India, suffered from a design fault for disability access. Due to the rejection of an exemption application to the Australian Human Rights Commission, rectification work was required involving the fitting of a second toilet that met the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 requirements.{{cite web|title=Human rights exemption for new trains rejected, leaving door open for legal action - Brisbane Times, March 29 2018|date=29 March 2018 |url=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/human-rights-exemption-for-new-trains-rejected-leaving-door-open-for-legal-action-20180329-p4z70a.html|access-date=8 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409043031/https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/human-rights-exemption-for-new-trains-rejected-leaving-door-open-for-legal-action-20180329-p4z70a.html|archive-date=9 April 2018|df=dmy-all}}

Image:Cairns-tilt-train.JPGs in Queensland]]

Long-distance services are operated by Traveltrain, a division of Queensland Rail. Traveltrain services mainly cater to a tourist market.

• Tilt Trains
• The Electric Tilt Train operating from Brisbane to Rockhampton
• The Spirit of Queensland, a Diesel Tilt Train operating from Brisbane to Cairns which replaced The Sunlander, a locomotive hauled train that was withdrawn in 2014.
• Locomotive hauled trains
• The Spirit of the Outback operating from Brisbane to Longreach. When introduced in 1993, it combined two previous trains, the Capricornian and The Midlander.
• The Inlander operating from Townsville to Mount Isa
• The Westlander operating from Brisbane to Charleville
• Tourist Trains
• The Gulflander, a rail motor operating on the Normanton to Croydon line
• The Kuranda Scenic Railway operating from Cairns to Kuranda
• The Savannahlander, a rail motor operating from Cairns to Forsayth

Queensland's first premier passenger service was the Sydney Mail, introduced in 1888 when the New South Wales line opened to Wallangarra. From 1923 it included a Parlour Car, which was transferred to the Townsville Mail in 1930 following the opening of the {{Track gauge|1435mm|allk=on}} line to Brisbane from Sydney.

In 1935 the Sunshine Express was introduced on the Brisbane – Cairns service, being the first completely roller-bearing equipped train in Australia.

The Inlander was the first train in Australia with air-conditioned sleeping cars.

Rail Ambulances, possibly unique to Queensland, operated from 1918-1990. More detail is provided in this article.

A list of QR steam locomotives is contained here

A list of QR diesel locomotives is contained here

A list of electric locomotives operating in Queensland is contained here

{{Portal|Queensland}}

• Rail transport in South East Queensland
• Rail transport in Australia
• List of tramways in Queensland
• Railway accidents in Queensland

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.qr.com.au/ Queensland Rail]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20091030090557/http://www.history.qr.com.au/ History of Queensland Rail]

{{Railway lines in Queensland|state=collapsed}}

{{Australian rail|state=collapsed}}

{{Queensland}}