The Tilt Train is the name for two similar high-speed

tilting train A tilting train is a train that has a mechanism enabling increased speed on regular rail tracks. As a train (or other vehicle) rounds a curve at speed, objects inside the train experience centrifugal force. This can cause packages to slide ab ...

services, one

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

and the other diesel, operated by

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 ...

. They run on 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 ...

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The B ...

and

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of t ...

(electric) and

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 ...

(diesel).

History

Rockhampton

Commencing in 1998, the

Electric Tilt Train The Electric Tilt Train is the name for two identical high-speed tilting trains operated by Queensland Rail on the North Coast line from Brisbane to Bundaberg and Rockhampton which entered service in November 1998. History In March 1993, Qu ...

operates from

. With a top service speed of and the ability to tilt five degrees in each direction, the Tilt Train is one of the fastest trains in Australia, having a similar maximum allowed speed in revenue service to the

V/Line VLocity The V/Line VLocity, sometimes called the VLocity 160, is a diesel multiple unit train built by Bombardier Transportation (later Alstom) in Dandenong for V/Line, the regional rail operator in Victoria. Continuously in production since 2003, the ...

and the Transwa Prospector railcar, that both run up to 160 km/h, and

New South Wales XPT The New South Wales ''XPT'' (short for eXpress Passenger Train) is a class of diesel-powered passenger trains built by Comeng and ABB Transportation. Based on the British Rail designed Intercity 125 High Speed Train, each XPT set is made up ...

although the XPT is rarely able to achieve its maximum operating speed due to track condition and curvature. The train operates on the North Coast line and serves the intermediate towns of

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River, which floods Gympie occasionally. The ...

, Maryborough,

and

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-cons ...

. The electric Tilt Trains run in a

multiple unit A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train cont ...

configuration. City of Cairns Diesel Tilt Train seating Platform 10 Roma Street Station Brisbane IMGP7764

The Electric Tilt Train features 2×2 economy seating, and 1×2 business class seating, mainscreen visual entertainment along with in-seat audio entertainment. Economy class passengers have a regular trolley service and a buffet style galley food service, while business class has a frequent trolley service and passenger attendants to tend to the needs of the passengers.

Cairns

The

Diesel Tilt Train The Diesel Tilt Train is the name for three high-speed tilting train services, operated by Queensland Rail on the North Coast line from Brisbane to Cairns as part of its Spirit of Queensland service. History In August 1999, a contract was awar ...

, operating from

, features a 2×2 premium economy class seating arrangement, 1×2 business class seating arrangement (Railbed), in-seat audio and visual entertainment and a TV screen attached to the headrest of the seat in front. A trolley service is available in the Railbed carriages, and a club car is available 24 hours. In October 2013 when the first refurbished set returned to traffic, the service was named the ''

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 ...

''. In 2014 an additional train was delivered to replace ''

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 ...

'' between Brisbane and Cairns, meaning the only service on this 1681km route since that time has been the ''Spirit of Queensland''.

Awards

In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. Q ...

celebrations, the Tilt Train was announced as one of the

Q150 Icons The Queensland's Q150 Icons list of cultural icons was compiled as part of Q150 celebrations in 2009 by the Government of Queensland, Australia. It represented the people, places and events that were significant to Queensland's first 150 years ...

of Queensland for its role as an iconic "innovation and invention".

Notes and references

External links

Tilt TrainFlickr gallery
{{Higher-speed rail High-speed rail in Australia Named passenger trains of Queensland Tilting trains