Just to preface - like the title says, this is all foam. Nothing in this post (or I suspect the entire thread) is going to happen, it’s stuff that I would like to happen and think is theoretically possible. There are better and more pressing uses for money than this.
With that said, I’ve been thinking a lot about local rail services in areas other than SEQ recently. Especially in areas where the infrastructure is preexisting, I do think a local train service is an option worth considering as these cities grow. As an illustrative example to hopefully generate some discussion (and because I wanted to make something in Inkscape) I’ve sketched out this quick map.
I’m envisioning this would be operated by something like a 2-car Stadler RS-0 or similar DMU/BEMU train. The core of the network (Freshwater to Edmonton) may have to be double tracked in parts, but I’m expecting largely single-track operation to start, with passing loops at stations as required. Track upgrades would also obviously be involved in order to bring any slow sections up to speed.
Stations would mostly be 2-car long, single platform affairs to save on construction costs. I’m also assuming bus transfer bays & a bus network redesign to create more of a feeder model which would drive patronage. Assuming you can get a roughly 60km/hr average speed travel should be competitive with driving, and at 50c a trip I suspect that’s probably a tempting proposition for a lot of people.
The whole northern line up to Palm Cove is a LOT shakier of a proposal than the one out to Redlynch, as it’d be all new build track as opposed to upgrades of existing track. I’m envisioning branching just after Freshwater, crossing the Barron river, then joining up with state route 44 and following it (either to one side, in the median, or elevated) up to Palm Cove. Not only would this be much more expensive, there’s also lower density here, less possibility of population growth (due to the national park & ocean), and overall just worse prospects. Make of that what you will.
Other miscellaneous details:
Redlynch station would be moved down the line to where Larsen road ends, enabling a short walk to the shopping centre
Some very rough maths puts around 4k people within 800m of most of these stations, but I am assuming their catchments all get upzoned for higher density
Cairns station would probably need to be rebuilt to have 3 platforms (given you’d have 2 local train lines + terminating Spirit of Qld & Kuranda trains)
The frequency and hours for this system are entirely on a whim. I figured 15-minute service on the trunk is pretty good and anything more feels unrealistic, ignoring that this whole proposal is.
Anyway, thoughts? Other regional cities that you want more trains in? Scathing criticisms of my idle daydreaming? Go wild
I think there are a few infrastructure light solutions on top of Cairns (ignoring any new route km) that could work if the money is available. For Cairns I think a regional link as far as Innisfail as well, although only a few a day - most trips would be suburban only to Gordonvale.
Townsville - regular local trains between Mount Low and Wulguru via the NCL, limited regional trains to Ingham, Charters Towers and Home Hill
Rockhampton - regular local electric trains between Parkhurst and Gracemere (involving extension of the overhead north a bit). A lot of development is planned for Parkhurst and surrounds in coming years. I’d love to see a line to Yeppoon again but it would not stack up without a lot more going on there.
Toowoomba - frequent local services between Willowburn and Drayton, less frequent services extending further afield to Oakey / Dalby / Chinchilla / Roma / beyond, as replacement for the Westlander. (I don’t know about south of Drayton towards Pittsworth or Warwick, the alignment isn’t great.)
Maryborough only if a line is reopened to Hervey Bay - perhaps starting from old Maryborough station, then through the QR depot off Walker St, then rejoin the NCL near Aldershot, then rebuild the original alignment to about Nikenbah, then elevate a line to follow the main road. Easiest spot to terminate would be somewhere near the Eli Waters shops and feed all the local buses in there - otherwise, keep it going further along Boat Harbour Dr to the Stockland shops, or even further towards the jetty. The mainline station for Maryborough would become Aldershot, with rail connections to Maryborough or Hervey Bay, and there would be direct Brisbane to Hervey Bay services.
Mackay I don’t see any use for it, the corridor barely touches the city and built up areas - at most as a connection to Sarina but buses are probably enough for that as there wouldn’t be intermediate stations.
Gladstone despite being covered by active rail lines I also don’t see any point, the lines are all a bit remote from the few activity centres that exist except for Gladstone itself (which probably isn’t even the main hub of the region anymore).
Bundaberg the railway goes right through the guts of town too, but again it doesn’t touch too much.
Not enough people in Cairns to justify it. on another note though, I think Townsville could justify a Brisbane Metro style bus service though, connecting the Strand to JCU.
The alignment between Toowoomba and Warwick isn’t that bad. North of Clifton, there are some nasty curve sections between Wyreema and Cambooya, and Greenmount and Nobby (the latter to weave between numerous hills), and some lesser noteworthy curves south of Clifton around Elphinstone and Deuchar (the latter due to a steep climb off the Toolburra floodplain up to Hendon). The bigger issue is more it’s maintained to a poor standard and the approach over the last 30 years has been to lower the speed rather than do good maintenance. A few tactical curve mitigations and proper maintenance could probably achieve average speeds in the order of probably 70-80kph over large sections of the track.
Actually, the alignment is ok westwards towards Goondiwindi too; but that’s an extra 200km of track with only 2 settlements of any significance (Inglewood and Yelarbon) in between (maybe Karara too). But that’s an aside.
The alignment on the Main Southern Line south of Warwick towards Stanthorpe is essentially the 1880s alignment and unsuitable for modern railway service. In particular, the average speed from Silverwood through to Dalveen is about 30 kph.
Any Toowoomba local service should probably extend as far as Wyreema to the south - the island platform/passing loop is already in place (as opposed to Drayton that has no platform at present) and that community is growing rapidly. The Millmerran Branch is also probably serviceable as far as Pittsworth with some proper maintenance, albeit with some messy curves between Southbrook and Wyreema.
Note this is a commentary on my personal experience with the track itself, not a case for whether, considering population and demand, such a service would be viable
How about a street running light rail and heavy rail hybrid, with conversion of the main line to standard gauge? Doesn’t get foamier than this!
The Tram-Train (Flexity Swift - Wikipedia) starts on an old branch line in Gracemere before joining the main line into Rockhampton (and running in the very narrow median) with stops at The Range, Rockhampton (the CBD, north of the current stop and near the bend to the bridge over Toonoba/Fitzroy River) before stopping at Kawana and Parkhurst. It then branches to Yeppoon following as much of the old railway as possible. If my calculations are correct, it would make the ~35km trek to Yeppoon in about 25 minutes.
Rolling stock chosen as it has a max speed of 100km/h, handy for the Yeppoon section!
