Greenvale railway line is in northern
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. It carries nickel ore from a mine in
Greenvale to the
Queensland Nickel's refinery in
Yabulu
Yabulu is a town and coastal suburb in the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In the , Yabulu had a population of 697 people.
Geography
Yabulu is approximately north of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The Bruce Highway passes thro ...
, approximately north of
Townsville
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
.
History
Construction commenced in 1972 of a branch line from the
North Coast railway line at
Cobarra, north of Townsville. It was long. It featured 5 tunnels through the
Hervey Range. It was opened in 1974 and operated until 1992 when the mine ran out of ore.
Ore was then shipped from New Caledonia to the port of Townsville and railed from there to Yabulu until the refinery closed in 2016.
Proposals were made to try to retain part of the line as a tourist route but nothing came of it. In mid-2000 the railway tracks were removed but other infrastructure such as tunnels and easements remain. The track has been for walking, mountain biking and
four-wheel-driving and there have been proposals to formalise this use, but collapses of tunnels along the route have raised safety issues.
Route
The route from the mine to the refinery was:
References
{{Railway lines in Queensland , state=expanded
Railway lines in Queensland