The Goonyella railway system is located in
Central Queensland, Australia. It services the coal mining area of the
Bowen Basin, carrying coal to the
Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminals 20 km southeast of
Mackay Mackay may refer to:
*Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives
Mackay may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Mackay Region, a local government area
** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region
*** Mackay Airport ...
, as well as products to other destinations by way of connections to the
North Coast Line at Yukan and the
Central Line at Burngrove via the
Gregory coal mine branch. It is also connected to the coal loading terminal at Abbot Point (20 km northwest of
Bowen Bowen may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Bowen, Queensland, a town
* Bowen Hills, Queensland, a suburb
** Bowen Hills railway station, a railway station in Bowen Hills
** Bowen Park, Brisbane, a park in Bowen Hills
* Bowen Bridge, crossing the Derw ...
) by the
GAP line. The line opened on 5 November 1971 and runs for 477 kilometres.
A 200 km extension called the Carmichael Rail Network was built in 2021.
The Goonyella system is
narrow gauge and electrified using
25 kV 50 Hz
Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...
.
The line has been duplicated from Hay Point to Wotonga (174 km) and features
CTC signalling over the entire system.
Mines
The Goonyella Coal Chain services 25 mines, carrying coal from
BHP Mitsubishi Alliance, Anglo Coal,
Bravus Mining & Resources, Macarthur Coal, Peabody Energy Australia, Xstrata and ANCI. The system currently operates under a demand-pull model, with rail haulages being designated by the ports, and the shipping stem.
The rail line transports coal from
Carmichael coal mine
The Carmichael coal mine is a coal mine in Queensland, Australia which produced its first shipment of coal in December 2021.
The mine has drawn criticism for its environmental impacts on the Great Barrier Reef, water usage and carbon emissio ...
, Gregory Mine,
Oaky Creek coal mine,
German Creek coal mine,
Foxleigh coal mine,
Norwich Park coal mine, Lake Vermont Mine,
Saraji coal mine,
Peak Downs Mine, Millennium Mine, Poitrel Mine, Moorvale Mine, Burton Downs Mine, Carborough Downs Mine, Issac Plains Mine,
Moranbah North coal mine,
Goonyella Riverside Mine,
Hail Creek coal mine, Clermont Mine, Riverside Mine,
North Goonyella coal mine,
South Walker Creek coal mine
The South Walker Creek Coal Mine is a coal mine in Strathfield, Isaac Region, Central Queensland region of Australia. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 298 million tonnes of coking coal, one of the largest coal reserves in Asia and the wor ...
, and
Blair Athol coal mine
The Blair Athol Coal Mine is a coal mine located in the Bowen Basin of Central Queensland, Australia. It is located over the former site of the township of Blair Athol. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 195 million tonnes of thermal coal, ...
.
See also
*
Rail transport in Queensland
References
External links
Map of North Queensland Rail Coal Network1925 map of the Queensland railway system
Railway lines in Queensland
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Australia
Xstrata
Railway lines opened in 1971
Buildings and structures in Central Queensland
1971 establishments in Australia
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