The Inlander is an Australian passenger train. It was introduced by

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 ...

on 12 February 1953 using new steel air-conditioned carriages built by

Commonwealth Engineering Commonwealth Engineering (often shortened to Com-Eng, later Comeng was an Australian engineering company that designed and built railway locomotives, rolling stock and trams. History Smith and Waddington, the predecessor to Commonwealth E ...

Rocklea Rocklea is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Rocklea had a population of 1,595 people. Geography Rocklea is located 9 kilometres south of the city. The west of the suburb is bordered by the Oxley Creek. The ...

Background

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

introduced air-conditioned trains in 1935, and

decided to follow suit in the late 1940s. Steel carriages were designed to travel to all parts of the system, meaning a maximum axle load of 9 tons, which was a challenge for the dining cars. New features included showers in the sleeping cars, roomettes in first class and head end power cars, especially necessary where trains may be delayed by floods or other events, as was often the case.

History

The Inlander was the first air-conditioned train in Queensland, replacing the Mail train with its wooden carriages and providing a more comfortable and cleaner service to this dry and dusty region.The Inlander
Queensland Rail

Today

As of September 2020, it operates twice-weekly on the Great Northern line from the coastal city 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 ...

to the mining city of

Mount Isa Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, bas ...

. The train is relatively slow, taking 21 hours (overnight) to complete a journey of 977 kilometres. The westbound service (3M34) departs

Townsville Railway Station Townsville railway station is located on the North Coast railway line, Queensland, North Coast line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the city of Townsville. The station has one platform. Opposite the platform lies a passing loop. It is also ...

at 12:40pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays and arrives at

Mount Isa Railway Station Mount Isa ( ) is a city in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, Australia. It came into existence because of the vast mineral deposits found in the area. Mount Isa Mines (MIM) is one of the most productive single mines in world history, base ...

at 9:35am on Thursdays and Sundays. The eastbound service (3231) departs Mount Isa Railway Station at 1:35pm on Thursdays and Sundays and arrives at Townsville Railway Station at 10:10am on Fridays and Mondays Until the end of 2014, the train consisted of sitting cars, sleeping cars with

roomette A roomette is a type of sleeping car compartment in a railroad passenger train. The term was first used in North America, and was later carried over into Australia and New Zealand. Roomette rooms are relatively small, and were originally g ...

twinette A twinette is a sleeping-berth compartment for two persons in a train. The term "twinette" is in common use only in Australia and New Zealand (unlike "roomette", which originated in North America and is more widespread); thus the double-berth co ...

s and triple sleeping cabins and a club car where food could be purchased. The sleeping cars were withdrawn from 1 January 2015. Catering is provided by at seat snack packs and a dining car. On 16 June 2021, a $1M Business case was announced by the

Queensland State Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

to investigate replacement of

The Westlander ''The Westlander'' is an Australian passenger train operated by Queensland Rail on the Main and Western lines between Brisbane and the outback town of Charleville. Background In the 1888 timetable the train from Brisbane to Roma was officiall ...

Spirit of the Outback The Spirit of the Outback is a long-distance passenger rail service in Queensland, Australia, operated by Queensland Rail's Traveltrain division. Route Debuting in November 1993 by combining the former '' Capricornian'' and '' Midlander'' tr ...

and Inlander Services' rollingstock.

Subsidy levels

In 2016, the service was estimated to have carried 4,511 people in the previous financial year, with the effective subsidy paid by the Queensland State Government for each passenger amounting to an estimated $3,436 (total subsidy $15.5m). In 2021, the service carried 2,833 people in the previous financial year, with the effective subsidy paid by the Queensland State Government for each passenger at $5,086.06. Annual patronage and government subsidy per passenger trip for direct operating costs
Parliamentary Question on Notice 13 October 2021

References

External links

The Inlander
OpenStreetMap {{DEFAULTSORT:Inlander Named passenger trains of Queensland Night trains of Australia Railway services introduced in 1953 1953 establishments in Australia