Cairns railway station is a railway station in Cairns City,

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 , establishe ...

, Australia, serving the city of

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

. The stations is the terminus of the North Coast line from

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

and the terminus for the Tablelands railway line to the

Atherton Tableland The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...

. Two tourist railway services operate from here: the Kuranda Scenic Railway and the

Savannahlander The Savannahlander is an Australian passenger train service (primarily serving tourists) that operates in Far North Queensland. It travels on the Tablelands railway line and the Etheridge railway line from the coastal city of Cairns to For ...

. The station has two platforms. It is integrated with the

Cairns Central Cairns Central Shopping Centre is in Cairns City, Cairns, Far North Queensland, Australia. It is Cairns' biggest shopping centre. The centre was opened in late 1997 and is the second multi-story shopping centre in northern Queensland. The sho ...

Shopping Centre, with the platforms being built underneath parking areas.

History

The original station was built in 1891, as part of the opening of the first stage of the Tablelands railway to Atherton Tableland, extended over many years to many branches, serving timber, mining, pastoral and tobacco resources. The station building was two-storey timber, with ornate verandahs: typical of tropical architecture of the era. The 1897 Mulgrave Shire Tramway headed south, was extended, then was absorbed into the North Coast Railway, connecting Brisbane to Cairns via many coastal towns which had hitherto been ports for railways to the hinterland. That route was completed in 1924, and Cairns became a major tourist destination; the line was known as the Sunshine Route; new stock was built in the 1930s for the main train, now named Sunshine Express. After years of

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and postwar austerity, the

Queensland Railways Department 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 relat ...

embarked on improvements in the early 1950s. New airconditioned trains were added on key routes: the Brisbane - Cairns one was named

The Sunlander ''The Sunlander'' was a long distance passenger rail service operated by Queensland Rail on the North Coast line between Brisbane and Cairns in Queensland between June 1953 and December 2014. It has been replaced by the ''Spirit of Queenslan ...

. Cairns railway station was rebuilt in 1955: two storey cream brick of modern design. As the first modern station, and serving a major destination, it featured prominently in publicity material. Unlike other main stations on the line, it didn't gain a full dining room or bar, just a snackbar kiosk. As well as the Brisbane trains, the station served regional and commuter trains south and inland: mainly railmotors of three vintages, plus some mixed trains. These were withdrawn progressively. The extensive yards and loco facilities opposite the station were closed and dismantled to release the site for redevelopment. Surviving freight and servicing facilities were relocated to be adjacent to the cargo port. The tracks to the south were relocated out of street running and via the port too. The current station was opened by the Minister for Transport

Vaughan Johnson Vaughan Monroe Johnson (March 24, 1962 – December 12, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles. He also was a member of t ...

on 7 May 1996, on the side of the site opposite the August 1955 station. It was built as part of the

Shopping Centre and is under the shopping centre's car park.

Services

Cairns is the terminus of Traveltrain's ''

Spirit of Queensland The Spirit of Queensland is a Queensland Rail long distance passenger rail service. It is operated by a diesel powered Tilt Train that runs five times a week on the North Coast line between Brisbane and Cairns, a distance of 1,681 kilometres ...

'' service to Brisbane Roma Street Station. from June 1953 to December 2014, Cairns was the terminus of

service which was operated by

Traveltrain 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 ...

(the long-distance passenger division of

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 ...

) It is the starting point for Kuranda Scenic Railway, as well as the ''

'' service to

Forsayth Forsayth is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. In the , Forsayth had a population of 129 people. Geography Forsayth is in Far North Queensland approximately by road from Cairns. The town is the termin ...

Platform layout and facilities

The station consists of two platforms, located under the car park for Cairns Central Shopping Centre. Platform 1 is used by the

service to

and the

, and has a direct link to the Cairns Central Shopping Centre. Platform 2 is used for Kuranda Scenic Railway services and has a direct link to Bunda Street. There is also a Queensland Rail travel centre in the platform 1 concourse and a ticket office for the Kurada Scenic Railway in the platform 2 concourse.

Transport links

Cairns station is the starting point for Premier Motor Services services to

.Timetables
Premier Motor Services The Platforms of Cairns Station in July 2021

References

External links

Cairns station
Queensland's Railways on the Internet {{Queensland Rail railway stations, Spirit of Queensland=y, Kuranda=y, state=collapsed North Queensland Regional railway stations in Queensland North Coast railway line, Queensland Transport in Cairns Buildings and structures in Cairns Cairns City, Queensland Tablelands railway line, Queensland