The Fisherman Islands railway line is an Australian dual gauge freight only line to the

Port of Brisbane Port of Brisbane is the shipping port and coastal suburb of the City of Brisbane, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. In the , Port of Brisbane had no residents living in the suburb. The port is the largest in the state of Queensland. ...

History

In 1980,

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 ...

built a freight-only line between Cannon Hill and Fisherman Islands. It paralleled the existing Cleveland line from Cannon Hill to Lytton Junction, east of

Lindum Lindum Colonia was the Latin name for the settlement which is now the City of Lincoln in Lincolnshire. It was founded as a Roman Legionary Fortress during the reign of the Emperor Nero (58–68 AD) or possibly later. Evidence from Roman tomb ...

, before continuing to Fisherman Islands on its own alignment."Green light for Fisherman Island standard gauge" ''

Railway Digest ''Railway Digest'' is a monthly magazine, published in Sydney, covering contemporary railways of Australia. Overview The magazine's publisher is the Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS), NSW Division. The first issue was published in ...

'' May 1992 page 171 In 1992, the

Queensland 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 ...

announced that construction would commence on an 11 kilometre dual gauge rail link from

Dutton Park Dutton Park is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Dutton Park had a population of 2,024 people. Geography Dutton Park is located about south of the Brisbane CBD. It is bounded to the north-east ...

to Cannon Hill, with the existing line from Cannon Hill to Fisherman Islands to be converted to dual gauge. This would connect the

to the NSW North Coast line and the standard gauge network. Prior to its construction, freight between the Port of Brisbane and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

had to be either

transhipped Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...

or wagons

bogie exchange Bogie exchange is a system for operating railway wagons on two or more gauges to overcome difference in the track gauge. To perform a bogie exchange, a car is converted from one gauge to another by removing the bogies or trucks (the chassis cont ...

d at

Acacia Ridge Acacia Ridge is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Acacia Ridge had a population of 7,429 people. Geography Acacia Ridge is south of the central business district. It is within the local government are ...

. This was funded under the Federal Government's One Nation Program. Construction commenced in September 1993. To avoid congestion, a

grade separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tra ...

junction was built at Dutton Park, where the new line branched off from the NSW North Coast line to allow the line to operate without interfering with

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 Beenl ...

and

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

line services."Fisherman Islands Standard Gauge Progress Report" ''Railway Digest'' November 1993 pages 467/8 On 15 July 1996, the line opened from Dutton Park to

Murarrie Murarrie (formerly Mooraree) is an eastern riverside Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Murarrie had a population of 4,303 people. Queensport is a neighbourhood within Murarrie (). ...

. Narrow gauge workings commenced to Fisherman Islands in November 1996 with the first standard gauge train operating on 28 March 1997."First Standard Gauge Train to Fisherman Islands" ''Railway Digest'' May 1997 page 13

References

{{Reflist Brisbane railway lines Railway lines opened in 1980 1980 establishments in Australia