The Beenleigh railway line is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

extending east-southeast from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Central railway station, the state capital of

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 , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is part of the

Queensland Rail City network The Queensland Rail Citytrain network, provides urban, suburban and interurban electric passenger railway services in South East Queensland, Australia. History The first railway in Queensland did not run to Brisbane, but ran from Ipswich to ...

History

Originally known as the Logan railway line, the line opened to

Loganlea Loganlea is a suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , Loganlea had a population of 7,321 people. Geography The eastern boundary of Loganlea is marked by a winding section of the Logan River. The north of the suburb is a ...

in April 1885 being the first section of the

South Coast line The South Coast Line is an intercity rail service operated by NSW TrainLink that services the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The service runs from , and runs the entire length of the eponymous South Coast railway line to . T ...

which was opened beyond Beenleigh to

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

in 1889. The original city terminus of the line was Stanley St, South Brisbane until a dual track line was constructed from Dutton Park to South Brisbane opposite the Victoria Bridge opening in 1891. The railway originally approximately paralleled Fairfield Road between

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 ...

and

Yeronga Yeronga is a southern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Yeronga had a population of 6,535 people. Geography The suburb is bounded to the west and north by the Brisbane River and to the south-east by ...

. Following the

1893 Brisbane flood The 1893 Brisbane flood, occasionally referred to as the Great Flood of 1893 or the Black February flood, occurred in 1893 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The Brisbane River burst its banks on three occasions in February 1893. It was the ...

, the Fairfield Deviation realigned the route above the flood level onto the current alignment. The line from Dutton Park to Yeerongpilly was duplicated at the same time. The

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

line from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

NSW ) , 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 ...

which opened in 1930 was built parallel to the line from Salisbury to South Brisbane. The section from Yeerongpilly to Kuraby was duplicated between 1950 and 1952.Kerr, J. 'Triumph of Narrow Gauge' Boolarong Publications 1990 With increasing popularity of the

motor car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

, the South Coast line was closed beyond Beenleigh in 1964. The opening of the

Merivale Bridge The Merivale Bridge is a double track railway bridge crossing the Brisbane River. It crosses the Milton Reach of the river, slightly to the west of the William Jolly Bridge. Exclusively a railway crossing, it is located between the stations of ...

in 1978 connected the Beenleigh (and Cleveland) line to the Brisbane CBD, and the line was electrified in 1982. The Merivale Bridge was converted to

dual gauge In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...

in 1986 and standard gauge passenger trains now terminate at Roma St. The Gold Coast line was progressively rebuilt on a new alignment south of Beenleigh from 1996. The section from Kuraby to Beenleigh was duplicated in association with the re-establishment of the Gold Coast line in 1995. The standard gauge line was converted to dual gauge and electrified at the same time, and the third line was extended from Salisbury to Kuraby in 2008.

Line guide and services

Most services stop at all stations to

Roma Street railway station Roma Street railway station is located in the Brisbane central business district, Queensland, Australia. It is the junction station for the North Coast railway line, Queensland, North Coast, Main Line railway, Main, Gold Coast railway line, Go ...

. The typical travel time between Beenleigh and Brisbane City is approximately 59 minutes (to

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

). During weekday peak times, a few services may skip stations between Altandi and Park Road for faster travel times for commuters working in the

Brisbane central business district Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the ...

. From 2025 the line will utilize

Cross River Rail Cross River Rail is an underground railway project through central Brisbane, which is, , under construction. Cross River Rail will see the development of a new rail line underneath Brisbane River, and the redevelopment of a number of stations ...

and stop at the three new stations in the inner city. Beenleigh line services typically continue as Ferny Grove line services. Passengers for/from the Gold Coast line change at either South Bank, Altandi, Loganlea or Beenleigh; Cleveland line change at Park Road;

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

and

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

lines at Roma Street; and all other lines at Central.

Gallery

File:StateLibQld 1 251348 Women loaded with parcels and cases, leaving a train via the tracks.jpg, Passengers, leaving the New South Wales Railways carriage on the right side, transferring to a Queensland train on the left at Clapham Junction, Moorooka, probably during WW2 File:StateLibQld 2 43195 Interstate train passing through Fairfield, Brisbane, 1930.jpg, First train to Sydney passing Fairfield, 1930 File:Dia 0180.jpg, NSWR loco 8025 and another haul the Sydney bound 'Brisbane Limited' past the former Gloucester Road station site, 1987 File:Fairfield Railway Station, Queensland, July 2012.JPG, Fairfield railway station, 2012 File:Dia 0219.jpg, QR loco 2400 hauls an empty Sunlander consist through Yeronga station (in order to turn the train), 1987. The station has since been replaced with a brick structure File:Dia 0216.jpg, NSWR loco 44216 and another haul the northbound 'Brisbane Limited' across the Corinda line at Yeerongpilly, 1987 File:Dia 0217.jpg, QR loco 2493 hauls a short container train across the Standard Gauge line to Sydney at Yeerongpilly station, 1987. Note the Standard Gauge loco shed in the background File:QR EMU unit 07 in original colour scheme on a Beenleigh bound train at Rocklea, ~1987.jpg, QR EMU unit 07 in original colour scheme on a Beenleigh bound train at Rocklea, ''ca.''1987. Note the dual gauge rail on the third line

References

External links

Queensland Rail
* {{Public transport in Queensland Brisbane railway lines Public transport in Brisbane Railway lines opened in 1885 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Australia