Cairns railway station is a railway station in Cairns City,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, serving the city of Cairns. The stations is the terminus of the North Coast line from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

and the terminus for the

Tablelands railway line The Tablelands railway line is a railway line in North Queensland, Australia. It was opened in a series of sections between 1887 and 1916. It commences at Cairns and at its maximum extent, reached Ravenshoe at the southern end of the A ...

to the Atherton Tableland. Two tourist railway services operate from here: the

Kuranda Scenic Railway The Kuranda Scenic Railway is a tourist railway service that operates along the heritage-listed Cairns-to-Kuranda railway line. Constructed in 1891, the line runs from Cairns, Queensland, over the Great Dividing Range to the town of Kuranda o ...

and the

Savannahlander The Savannahlander is an Australian passenger train service (primarily serving tourists) that operates in Far North Queensland. It travels on the Tablelands railway line and the Etheridge railway line from the coastal city of Cairns to Forsay ...

. The station has two platforms. It is integrated with the

Cairns Central Cairns Central Shopping Centre is in Cairns City, Cairns, Far North Queensland, Australia. It is Cairns' biggest shopping centre. The centre was opened in late 1997 and is the second multi-story shopping centre in northern Queensland. The sh ...

Shopping Centre, with the platforms being built underneath parking areas.

History

The original station was built in 1891, as part of the opening of the first stage of the Tablelands railway to Atherton Tableland, extended over many years to many branches, serving timber, mining, pastoral and tobacco resources. The station building was two-storey timber, with ornate verandahs: typical of tropical architecture of the era. The 1897

Mulgrave Shire Tramway The Cairns-Mulgrave Tramway was a private tram line from Cairns to the Mulgrave River in Queensland, Australia. It was built until 1897 to serve the Mulgrave Sugar Mill, Mulgrave Central Sugar Mill, built in 1895. The line, which led through diff ...

headed south, was extended, then was absorbed into the North Coast Railway, connecting Brisbane to Cairns via many coastal towns which had hitherto been ports for railways to the hinterland. That route was completed in 1924, and Cairns became a major tourist destination; the line was known as the Sunshine Route; new stock was built in the 1930s for the main train, now named Sunshine Express. After years of

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and postwar austerity, the

Queensland Railways Department Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

embarked on improvements in the early 1950s. New airconditioned trains were added on key routes: the Brisbane - Cairns one was named

The Sunlander ''The Sunlander'' was a long distance passenger rail service operated by Queensland Rail on the North Coast line between Brisbane and Cairns in Queensland between June 1953 and December 2014. It has been replaced by the ''Spirit of Queenslan ...

. Cairns railway station was rebuilt in 1955: two storey cream brick of modern design. As the first modern station, and serving a major destination, it featured prominently in publicity material. Unlike other main stations on the line, it didn't gain a full dining room or bar, just a snackbar kiosk. As well as the Brisbane trains, the station served regional and commuter trains south and inland: mainly railmotors of three vintages, plus some mixed trains. These were withdrawn progressively. The extensive yards and loco facilities opposite the station were closed and dismantled to release the site for redevelopment. Surviving freight and servicing facilities were relocated to be adjacent to the cargo port. The tracks to the south were relocated out of street running and via the port too. The current station was opened by the Minister for Transport Vaughan Johnson on 7 May 1996, on the side of the site opposite the August 1955 station. It was built as part of the

Shopping Centre and is under the shopping centre's car park.

Services

Cairns is the terminus of Traveltrain's ''

Spirit of Queensland The Spirit of Queensland is a Queensland Rail long distance passenger rail service. It is operated by a diesel powered Tilt Train that runs five times a week on the North Coast line between Brisbane and Cairns, a distance of 1,681 kilometres ...

'' service to Brisbane Roma Street Station. from June 1953 to December 2014, Cairns was the terminus of

service which was operated by

Traveltrain Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

(the long-distance passenger division of

Queensland Rail Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

) It is the starting point for

, as well as the ''

'' service to Forsayth.

Platform layout and facilities

The station consists of two platforms, located under the car park for Cairns Central Shopping Centre. Platform 1 is used by the

service to

and the

to Forsayth, and has a direct link to the Cairns Central Shopping Centre. Platform 2 is used for

services and has a direct link to Bunda Street. There is also a Queensland Rail travel centre in the platform 1 concourse and a ticket office for the Kurada Scenic Railway in the platform 2 concourse.

Transport links

Cairns station is the starting point for Premier Motor Services services to

.Timetables
Premier Motor Services The Platforms of Cairns Station in July 2021

References

External links

Cairns station
Queensland's Railways on the Internet {{Queensland Rail railway stations, Spirit of Queensland=y, Kuranda=y, state=collapsed North Queensland Regional railway stations in Queensland North Coast railway line, Queensland Transport in Cairns Buildings and structures in Cairns Cairns City, Queensland Tablelands railway line, Queensland