The Cleveland railway line is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

extending east-southeast 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 Sou ...

, the state capital of

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 , established_ ...

, Australia. It is part of the

Queensland Rail City network The Queensland Rail Citytrain network, provides urban, suburban and interurban electric passenger railway services in South East Queensland, Australia. History The first railway in Queensland did not run to Brisbane, but ran from Ipswich to ...

History

Queensland State Archives 2557 150hp Winton rail motor for Manly Cleveland line Cleveland Redland December 1930

Cleveland Railway Station, Queensland, June 2012

Following the opening of the Wooloongabba Branch railway line from Corinda to Stanley Street in

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west ...

in 1884, calls were made for extending the line to Cleveland to serve the developing farming area. A line was surveyed, and took an indirect route to avoid hilly country and to serve Fort Lytton, a gun emplacement at the south entrance to the Brisbane River, then the major defence installation for the city. The line was opened to Manly in 1888 and extended to the first Cleveland station in 1889. An extension to the second Cleveland station opened in 1897, at which time the first Cleveland station was renamed West Cleveland (later Cleveland Central). The initial constricted terminus at Stanley St was replaced by a dual track line to South Brisbane in 1891, and the Cleveland line connection to it was realigned to junction at

Park Road railway station Park Road railway station is the junction station for the Gold Coast and Cleveland lines in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba. It is served by Beenleigh, Cleveland and Gold Coast line services. Immediately ...

at that time. An extension of the Cleveland railway line to Redland Bay and Mount Cotton was surveyed in 1889. The extension to Redland Bay was recommended by the Royal Commission into Public Works in 1922, but was never built. Duplication on the line from Park Road began construction in 1910. The duplication was opened progressly with the Park Road to Murarrie section opening on 17 June 1912. Duplication from Hemmant to Manly opened on 8 December 1912. The remaining section between Hemmant and Murarrie was completed in 1913. In 1960, the line from Lota to Cleveland was closed. The Redland Shire Council opposed the closure, and preserved the corridor. The opening of the

Merivale Bridge The Merivale Bridge is a double track railway bridge crossing the Brisbane River. It crosses the Milton Reach of the river, slightly to the west of the William Jolly Bridge. Exclusively a railway crossing, it is located between the stations o ...

in 1978 connected the Cleveland (and Beenleigh) line to the Brisbane CBD, and the line was electrified in 1982. The line beyond Lota was rebuilt to contemporary standards (50 kg/m rail, maximum 1 in 50 (2%) grades and minimum 430 m radius curves) and reopened on the original alignment to Thorneside in 1982 and the line was electrified in 1983. The line was extended to the third Cleveland station (formerly Raby Bay) in 1987, reputedly to facilitate potential extension of the line to Redland Bay in the future, being electrified upon opening. The travel time of 46 minutes compares to the steam-era time of 82–86 minutes. A third line was laid between Park Road and

Lindum railway station Lindum railway station is located next to Iona College, on the Cleveland line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Wynnum West. The location of "Lindum" was once a suburb named for a residential house in the area. In the ...

in the 1990s as part of the Fisherman Islands line to provide a dedicated freight track to the Port of Brisbane, being

dual gauge In railway engineering, " gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to ...

to connect to the Acacia Ridge freight Terminal and the Australian standard gauge rail network.

Line guide and services

Most services stop at all stations to

Bowen Hills railway station Bowen Hills railway station is located on the North Coast line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Bowen Hills. North of the station, the Ferny Grove line branches off. The station is one of four inner city stations t ...

. Service originate from Cleveland, or in the interpeak, Cannon Hill. The typical travel time between Cleveland and Brisbane City is approximately 56 minutes (to Central). During weekday peak times, a few services run express between Morningside and Manly stations, for faster travel times for commuters working in the

Brisbane central business district Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the ...

. Prior to 2014, an afternoon service on school days only operated express between Cleveland and

Buranda Buranda is a neighbourhood in the southern Brisbane suburbs of Greenslopes and Woolloongabba in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The location is an important transport hub for southern Brisbane. Logan Road and Ipswich Road pass ...

stations, stopping only at Thorneside, Manly and Lota. Cleveland line services typically continue as Shorncliffe line services. Passengers for/from the

Beenleigh Beenleigh is a town and suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Beenleigh had a population of 8,252 people. A government survey for the new town was conducted in 1866. The town is the terminus for the Beenlei ...

and Gold Coast lines can change at Park Road;

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line rai ...

, Springfield and

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

lines at Roma Street; and

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

, Doomben and Northern lines (see list below) at Central.

References

External links

Queensland RailTransInfo
* {{Public transport in Queensland Brisbane railway lines Public transport in Brisbane 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Australia