The Kuranda Scenic Railway is a

tourist railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

service that operates along the heritage-listed

Cairns-to-Kuranda railway line The Cairns-to-Kuranda Railway is a heritage-listed railway line from the Cairns Region to the Shire of Mareeba, both in Queensland, Australia. It commences at Redlynch, a suburb of Cairns and travels up the Great Dividing Range to Kuranda wi ...

. Constructed in 1891, the line runs from

Cairns, Queensland Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

, over the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

to the town of Kuranda on the

Atherton Tableland The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...

. Along the way, the route passes through the Macalister Range, as well as the suburbs of Stratford,

Freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

and Redlynch. Along the way, the train also stops at a lookout, which provides views of

Barron Falls Barron Falls ( Aboriginal: ''Din Din'') is a steep tiered cascade waterfall on the Barron River located where the river descends from the Atherton Tablelands to the Cairns coastal plain, in Queensland, Australia. In 2009 as part of the Q150 ...

. Train services operate every day of the year, except on Christmas Day. A one-way trip takes approximately one hour and 55 minutes. The railway line is in length. It is still used for some freight services and other passenger services, including

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 For ...

Attractions

The

tropical garden A tropical garden is a type of garden that features tropical plants and requires heavy rainfall or a decent irrigation or sprinkler system for watering. These gardens typically need fertilizer and heavy mulching. Tropical gardens are no longer e ...

s Kuranda rail station are a well-known attraction in the area. Downhill the line cuts through the

Barron Gorge National Park Barron Gorge National Park is a protected area in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It is predominantly within the locality of Barron Gorge. Geography The park is 1,404 km northwest of Brisbane and from Kuranda. Barron Gorge ...

. The tourist train stops at a lookout, with a sweeping view of

. A number of smaller waterfalls are passed, including Stoney Creek Falls, just metres from the train. The station is a short walk into town where there is a zoo, markets, art galleries and ethnic Aboriginal crafts. In the zoo, there is the option to hold a koala and feed kangaroos, a true Australian experience. At the bottom of the mountain, where many people pick up the train,

Freshwater railway station, Queensland Freshwater railway station is on the Cairns-to-Kuranda railway line (part of the Tablelands railway line) in Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Aus ...

has an information centre, a gift shop, and a café that is inside of an old train carriage. As the train travels up and down, a detailed and informative commentary of the railway's construction is provided.

History

StateLibQld 1 242476 Kuranda Railway Station

Construction of the railway began in 1886. The railway was completed as far as Kuranda in 1891. Passenger services began operations on 25 June 1891. Many people died as numerous tunnels and bridges were built. 15 hand-made tunnels and 37 bridges were built to climb from sea level to 328 metres up the Macalister Range. Three million cubic metres of earth had to be excavated during construction. The first operation of a tourist train from Cairns to Kuranda was in 1936, using four longitudinal seating carriages. In 1995 major repairs had to be carried out after a severe rock fall damaged the track. On 26 March 2010 the train was derailed by a landslide injuring 5 of the 250 passengers on board. The service was closed until 7 May 2010 while a geotechnical review of the track and risk assessments were completed.

Carriages

There are two gold class carriages where refreshments and finger food are served on the journey. In the standard carriages there are two booths that face each other which create a section, and there are five of these sections in each carriage. The carriages are very rustic and have been restored to look like the original ones, the wood work is very detailed and everything about the carriage is like being sent back in time. Although the red leather seats can become very hot and the breeze in the train is very minimal, the carriages are quite impressive.

Awards

In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. Q15 ...

celebrations, the Kuranda Scenic Railway was announced as one of the

Q150 Icons The Queensland's Q150 Icons list of cultural icons was compiled as part of Q150 celebrations in 2009 by the Government of Queensland, Australia. It represented the people, places and events that were significant to Queensland's first 150 years. ...

of Queensland for its role as a "structure and engineering feat". Kuranda Scenic Railway on top of a bridge

References

External links