The Doomben railway line is a railway line in the
City of Brisbane
The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of Greater Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council.
The LGAs in the other mainland state capitals ...
,
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia. It is the part of the Pinkenba railway line that still operates a regular passenger service. ''Doomben'', or ''dumben'', is the Indigenous
Yuggera
The Jagera people, also written Yagarr, Yaggera, Yuggera, and other variants, are the Australian First Nations people who speak the Yuggera language. The Yuggera language which encompasses a number of dialects was spoken by the traditional own ...
name for a
tree fern
Tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk (botany), trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae ( ...
which was prolific in the area. The railway line branches from the
North Coast line at
Eagle Junction, extending to the industrial suburb of
Pinkenba, situated on the northern bank at the mouth of the
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...
. It is part of the
Queensland Rail Citytrain network.
History
The initial section of the line opened on 3 September 1882 to
Ascot
Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to:
Places Australia
* Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane
* Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality
* Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide
* Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...
(then named Racecourse) to serve the
Eagle Farm racecourse
Eagle Farm Racecourse is a heritage-listed horse racing venue in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is located at the northern end of Racecourse Road in the suburb of Ascot, from the Brisbane central business district.
The turf track is wi ...
, though nearby residents successfully lobbied for a regular passenger service. The line was extended to
Pinkenba railway station in 1897, mainly to serve an industrial area, including wharves on the north side of the
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...
. The passenger service was timed to coincide with the starting and finishing times of the workers.
During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, with deep berthing available to ships at
Pinkenba on the mouth of the
Brisbane River
The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...
, troops camped in the Pinkenba and
Meeandah localities. Passenger ships used the
Pinkenba Wharf, and special trains ran from Brisbane to Pinkenba.
Earthworks were undertaken to duplicate the line in the 1950s, hence the double sided, island platform at
Clayfield
Clayfield is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Clayfield had a population of 10,897 people.
Geography
Clayfield is by road from the Brisbane CBD. Clayfield is bordered to ...
. including regrading the line which eliminated the Sandgate Rd level crossing, but the program was abandoned before the second track was laid.
The line was electrified in 1988, but only to
Eagle Farm, the next station after current suburban terminus
Doomben; only diesel-hauled services could travel the full length of the line, and those were infrequent. All passenger services on the line were suspended in September 1993 as part of a statewide
rationalisation of the rail network with the closing or suspending of under-utilised or unprofitable rail lines. Only a few special services were run on the line on days of major race events at adjoining race tracks.
Electric passenger services resumed on 27 January 1998, but only as far as Doomben, with bus connections to the stations beyond Doomben.
The Doomben to Pinkenba section is used only for freight and occasional special trains, such as heritage services described below.
Heritage services
QR occasionally run special
steam trains on the entire Pinkenba line as part of their semi-regular "Steam Train Sunday" excursion service.
This is the only way to travel on the full length of the line.
Line guide and services
All services stop at all stations to
Roma Street railway station
Roma Street railway station is a commuter and long-distance passenger train station located in the Brisbane central business district, central business district of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is the junction station for the North Coast ...
. The typical travel time between Doomben and Brisbane City is approximately 18 minutes (to
Central).
Doomben line services typically terminate at
Roma Street or
Park Road, while some peak services continue to
Kuraby or
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 ...
. No rail services operate on Sundays or public holidays. This is set to change with services running hourly on Sundays and public holidays from June 1st 2025 the same as the Saturday timetable.
Passengers for/from the
Airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
,
Caboolture
Caboolture () is a town and suburb in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. It is located on the northern side of the Caboolture River. In the , the suburb of Caboolture had a population of 29,534 people.
Geography
Caboolture is ...
,
Nambour and Gympie North,
Redcliffe Peninsula
The Redcliffe Peninsula is a peninsula located in the City of Moreton Bay in the northeast of the Brisbane metropolitan area in Queensland, Australia. The area covers the suburbs of Clontarf, Kippa-Ring, Margate, Moreton Island, Newport, R ...
and
Shorncliffe lines change at Eagle Junction,
Ferny Grove at Bowen Hills, and all other lines at Roma Street.
References
External links
Queensland Rail*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doomben Railway Line
Brisbane railway lines
Public transport in Brisbane
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Australia