The Cleveland railway line is a suburban

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 ...

, 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. 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 t ...

History

Queensland State Archives 2557 150hp Winton rail motor for Manly Cleveland line Cleveland Redland December 1930

Cleveland Railway Station, Queensland, June 2012

Following the opening of the

Wooloongabba Branch railway line The Wooloongabba Branch railway line was a branch line off the South Coast railway line in the inner southern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. It opened on 2 June 1884 to serve the wharves and industries along the Brisbane River at Woolloongab ...

from

Corinda Corinda is a suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Corinda had a population of 5,064 people. History The suburb takes its name from the Corinda railway station, which in turn was likely named after a local cattle sta ...

Stanley Street Stanley Street may refer to: Streets: *Stanley Street, Brisbane *Stanley Street, East Sydney *Stanley Street, Hong Kong *Stanley Street, Liverpool * Stanley Street (Montreal) * Stanley Street, Singapore In fiction: *Stanley Street, the prime setti ...

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west ...

in 1884, calls were made for extending the line to Cleveland to serve the developing farming area. A line was surveyed, and took an indirect route to avoid hilly country and to serve

Fort Lytton Fort Lytton is a heritage-listed 19th century coastal fort in the suburb of Lytton in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The name “Fort Lytton” is also used to describe the military base that surrounded the fort. Fort Lytton was built in ...

, a gun emplacement at the south entrance to the Brisbane River, then the major defence installation for the city. The line was opened to Manly in 1888 and extended to the first Cleveland station in 1889. An extension to the second Cleveland station opened in 1897, at which time the first Cleveland station was renamed West Cleveland (later Cleveland Central). The initial constricted terminus at Stanley St was replaced by a dual track line to South Brisbane in 1891, and the Cleveland line connection to it was realigned to junction at

Park Road railway station Park Road railway station is the junction station for the Gold Coast and Cleveland lines in Queensland, Australia. It serves the Brisbane suburb of Woolloongabba. It is served by Beenleigh, Cleveland and Gold Coast line services. Immediately ...

at that time. An extension of the Cleveland railway line to

Redland Bay Redland Bay is a coastal semi-rural locality in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. In the , Redland Bay had a population of 14,958 people. Since the first European settlers arrived in the mid-19th century, Redland Bay has remained a ...

and

Mount Cotton Mount Cotton is a rural locality in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mount Cotton had a population of 6,835 people. The area was colonised by Germans in the late 1860s after possible frontier wars with First Nations peop ...

was surveyed in 1889. The extension to Redland Bay was recommended by the Royal Commission into Public Works in 1922, but was never built. Duplication on the line from Park Road began construction in 1910. The duplication was opened progressly with the Park Road to Murarrie section opening on 17 June 1912. Duplication from Hemmant to Manly opened on 8 December 1912. The remaining section between Hemmant and Murarrie was completed in 1913. In 1960, the line from

Lota Lota may refer to: Places *Lota (crater), a crater on Mars *Lota, Chile, a city and commune in Chile *Lota, Punjab, village in Pakistan *Lota, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia **Lota railway station, a station on the Cleveland line **Lo ...

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 ...

was closed. The Redland Shire Council opposed the closure, and preserved the corridor. The opening of the Merivale Bridge in 1978 connected the Cleveland (and Beenleigh) line to the Brisbane CBD, and the line was electrified in 1982. The line beyond

was rebuilt to contemporary standards (50 kg/m rail, maximum 1 in 50 (2%) grades and minimum 430 m radius curves) and reopened on the original alignment to

Thorneside Thorneside is a coastal urban locality in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. In the , Thorneside had a population of 3,761 people. Geography The locality is bounded to the north-east by Waterloo Bay (), a part of Moreton Bay. It is ...

in 1982 and the line was electrified in 1983. The line was extended to the third Cleveland station (formerly Raby Bay) in 1987, reputedly to facilitate potential extension of the line to Redland Bay in the future, being electrified upon opening. The travel time of 46 minutes compares to the steam-era time of 82–86 minutes. A third line was laid between Park Road and Lindum railway station in the 1990s as part of the Fisherman Islands line to provide a dedicated freight track to the Port of Brisbane, being

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 ...

to connect to the Acacia Ridge freight Terminal and the Australian standard gauge rail network.

Line guide and services

Most services 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 t ...

. Service originate from Cleveland, or in the interpeak, Cannon Hill. The typical travel time between Cleveland and Brisbane City is approximately 56 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 a ...

). During weekday peak times, a few services run express between Morningside and Manly stations, 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 ...

. Prior to 2014, an afternoon service on school days only operated express between Cleveland and Buranda stations, stopping only at

, Manly and Lota. Cleveland line services typically continue as Shorncliffe line services. Passengers for/from the

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 Gold Coast lines can 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 ...

, Springfield 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

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

, Doomben and Northern lines (see list below) at Central.

References

External links

Queensland RailTransInfo
* {{Public transport in Queensland Brisbane railway lines Public transport in Brisbane 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Australia