The Ipswich and Rosewood line refers to the section of the Main Line to

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

that has a regular

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

rail service Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

, extending southwest from 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 also colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD", "the city", or simply "town". The CBD is located on a point ...

. It is part of the

Queensland Rail City network Railways in South East Queensland consist of a large passenger and freight rail network centred on Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Suburban and interurban passenger rail services are operated by Queensland Rai ...

History

Main Line

The

Main Line railway The main line, or mainline in American English, of a railway is a track that is used for through trains or is the principal artery of the system from which branch lines, yards, sidings, and spurs are connected. It generally refers to a route be ...

from

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

was opened in 1876, as part of an extension of the first railway line from Ipswich to Bigge's Camp (now

Grandchester Grandchester is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Grandchester had a population of 467 people. Geography Grandchester is located west of the ...

) on 31 July 1865. Originally built as single track, the section was duplicated from 1885 to 1887, indicating how quickly the traffic volume grew on the line. The Albert Bridge was built to accommodate two tracks in 1876, though only one was laid at the time. The line west of Ipswich was duplicated to Wulkuraka in 1902 and to Grandchester (past

Rosewood Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus '' Dalbergia'', but other woods are often ca ...

) in 1913. The section from Roma Street to

Corinda Corinda is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Corinda had a population of 5,555 people. History The suburb takes its name from the Corinda railway station, which in turn was likely named after a local cattle sta ...

( was quadruplicated in 1963, and extended to Darra (a further ) in 2011, which became the junction for the first section of the new Springfield line at that time. The Roma Street–Darra section was the first section electrified in 1979, with the section to Ipswich electrified in 1980. The line was electrified from

in 1993 while Minister for

Transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

was the local member.

Branch lines

The

Brisbane Valley railway line The Brisbane Valley railway line was a railway connection in Queensland, Australia connecting Ipswich, Queensland, Ipswich, west of Brisbane, to the upper Brisbane River valley. Progressively opened between 1884 and 1913, the railway provided ...

, branching from the Main Line after

Wulkuraka railway station Wulkuraka is a western suburb of Ipswich in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the , Wulkuraka had a population of 1,325 people. Geography The Main Line railway enters the suburb from the east ( Sadliers Crossing) and exits to t ...

, was opened to

Lowood Lowood is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Lowood had a population of 4,082 people. Geography The town is on the Brisbane River, west of th ...

in 1884, Esk in 1886, and Yarraman in 1913. Passenger services operated to Toogoolawah until 1989, and freight services until closure of the line in sections in 1988 and 1993. A line to

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

opened in 1912, branching from the Main Line east of

Rosewood railway station Rosewood railway station is located on the Main line railway in Queensland, Australia. It serves the town of Rosewood. History The now-closed Marburg branch railway line split from the Main Line railway at Rosewood. Services Rosewood is the ...

. It was closed in sections from 1964 to 1995, and some of it is today the

Rosewood Railway Museum The Rosewood Railway Museum is located near Rosewood, Queensland, Rosewood, Queensland, Australia on the former Marburg railway line, railway to Marburg, Queensland, Marburg first opened in 1909. The museum utilises a station and yard located a ...

; the Museum Junction station is at the truncated southern end of the line before Railway Street. A line to a coal loading

balloon loop A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains. Bal ...

at Ebenezer was opened in 1990, junctioning from the Main Line west of Thagoona railway station. The initial section of the

Springfield railway line Springfield railway line is a suburban railway line in Brisbane, Australia that branches from the Ipswich/Rosewood line after Darra railway station. Construction of the line started on , and it opened on 2 December 2013. The line was develope ...

from Darra to Richlands was opened one week early in January 2011 to assist with transportation when the Main Line between Darra and Ipswich was closed due to severe flooding. The Richlands– Springfield section opened in 2013. A new branch line has been proposed on an alignment extending south from Ipswich to Yamanto, then east to Ripley, and connecting with the Springfield line.

Route and stations

Most services originate in Ipswich and stop at all stations to

Bowen Hills railway station Bowen Hills railway station is located on the North Coast line in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Bowen Hills. North of the station, the Ferny Grove line branches off. The station is one of four inner city stations th ...

. The typical travel time between Ipswich and Brisbane City is approximately 58 minutes (to Central). Rosewood services typically act as a shuttle between Rosewood and Ipswich stations, with selected peak direction services continuing through Ipswich. The typical travel time between Rosewood and Ipswich is 18 minutes. During weekday peak times, a number of the Ipswich services skip stations between Darra and Milton, stopping only at

Indooroopilly Indooroopilly ( , colloquially Indro ) is a riverside suburb south-west of the Brisbane CBD, Queensland, Australia. In the , Indooroopilly had a population of 13,622 people. Geography Indooroopilly is bounded to the south and south-east by ...

for faster travel times for commuters working in the

. Passengers for/from the Rosewood line change at Ipswich,

Beenleigh Beenleigh is a town and suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Beenleigh had a population of 8,425 people. A government survey for the new town was conducted in 1866. The town is the terminus for the Beenle ...

, Gold Coast and

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

lines at Roma Street, and all other lines at Bowen Hills. During times of disruption in the inner south of Brisbane,

and Gold Coast line trains can be maintained via the Ipswich line, using the Corinda-Yeerongpilly railway line to bypass track closures between South Brisbane and Yeerongpilly.

Former service to Corinda via South Brisbane

The

Corinda–Yeerongpilly railway line The Corinda–Yeerongpilly line (also known as the Tennyson line) is a railway line in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It connects the Beenleigh railway line, Beenleigh and Ipswich railway line, Ipswich lines for freight t ...

, also known as the Tennyson line, connects the

and Ipswich lines for coal, grain and intermodal freight services to the Port of Brisbane and Acacia Ridge intermodal terminal. It was the only connection between the northern and southern portions of the Brisbane suburban network until the

Merivale Bridge The Merivale Bridge is a double track railway bridge crossing the Brisbane River. It crosses the Milton Reach of the river, located in between the Go Between Bridge and the William Jolly Bridge. Exclusively a railway crossing, it is located b ...

opened in 1978. Commuter services were defunct in 2011 due to low patronage.

Gallery

Brisbane City Train Lines.jpg, Section of the line between

Toowong Toowong ( ) is a riverside Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 12,556 people with a median weekly household income of $1,927. Geography Toowong is ...

and

Taringa Taringa is a suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser o ...

Rosewood Railway Station, Queensland, May 2012.JPG,

, 2012 StateLibQld 1 87516 Makeshift bridge of railway wagons during the 1890 flood in Auchenflower, Brisbane.jpg, Makeshift bridge of railway wagons during the 1890 flood between Milton and Auchenflower to allow passengers to reach the city. This photograph was taken in the vicinity of Eagle Terrace looking towards Park Road. (Description supplied with photograph.)

References

External links

Translink – About trains
* {{Public transport in Queensland Brisbane railway lines Public transport in Brisbane