Sunshine Coast railway line
Section of Queensland's North Coast line / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Sunshine Coast railway line refers to the section of Queensland's North Coast line that has regular interurban passenger services, which connect Brisbane with the Sunshine Coast and as far north as Gympie. It is the longest line on the Queensland Rail Citytrain network.
Sunshine Coast line | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Status | Operational |
Owner | Queensland Rail |
Locale | Sunshine Coast |
Termini | |
Stations | 29 |
Website | queenslandrail.com.au |
Service | |
Type | Commuter rail/Intercity rail |
System | Queensland Rail Citytrain network |
Operator(s) | Queensland Rail |
Rolling stock | IMU (Gympie North & Nambour) SMU260/NGR (Nambour) |
Technical | |
Line length | 180 km (110 mi) |
Track length | 172.21 km (107.01 mi) |
Number of tracks | Quadruple to Northgate, triple to Petrie, double to Beerburrum, remainder single track with passing loops. |
Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
Electrification | 1988 |
Operating speed | 140 km/h (87 mph) |
Nambour and Gympie North services use the Caboolture line to Caboolture, then the North Coast line to Nambour and Gympie North. The line consists of four tracks from Roma Street to Northgate, then three tracks to Petrie, allowing Nambour & Gympie North express services to pass the local Caboolture services. The line is then double track to Beerburrum.
North of Beerburrum, the line is single track with passing loops at most stations. Due to the rapidly rising population on the Sunshine Coast and in hinterland towns, the annual compounded growth rate for morning peak passenger numbers on the line north of Caboolture is 6%, second only to the 7.1% figure for the Gold Coast line south of Beenleigh.
Traveltrain services; the Spirit of Queensland,[1] Spirit of the Outback[2] and the Bundaberg and Rockhamption Tilt Trains[3] traverse the line, along with Aurizon and Pacific National freight trains.
The North Coast railway line reached the Sunshine Coast area in 1890. In 1988, the section of the line was electrified for electric multiple units. Today, the Sunshine Coast railway line uses interurban passenger services operated by Citytrain.
Upgrades
In 2001, the Queensland Government started a study for the need to upgrade the North Coast Line between Caboolture and Landsborough.
On 14 April 2009, a new 14-kilometre (8.7 mi) double-track alignment from Caboolture to Beerburrum opened. A four kilometre section of the old line immediately north of Caboolture was retained for use as a passing loop, with the remainder of the old line lifted. This saw new stations at Elimbah and Beerburrum built. Glasshouse Mountains, Beerwah and Landsborough stations have all received major work including platform extensions and lifts.[4][5] The line is scheduled to be duplicated to Landsborough by 2021.[6]
In 2009, the platforms at Mooloolah, Palmwoods, Woombye, Eudlo, Eumundi, Pomona and Cooran were extended with scaffolding and plywood materials.[7] Initially intended as an interim arrangement until permanent extensions were built, the temporary platforms remain.[8]
A study has been completed into duplicating and straightening the line between Landsbrough and Nambour. It is proposed that two new tunnels and four upgraded stations (Mooloolah, Eudlo, Palmwoods and Woombye) will be constructed.[9]