North Coast railway line, New South Wales

The North Coast railway line
North Coast railway line, Queensland
The North Coast railway line is a narrow gauge railway line in Queensland, Australia. It runs from Brisbane, along the Queensland coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The line is electrified between Brisbane and Rockhampton...

is also a railway in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

The North Coast Line is the primary rail route in the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, and forms a major part of the Sydney-Brisbane rail corridor

Sydney-Brisbane rail corridor

The Sydney-Brisbane railway corridor is a standard gauge railway corridor that runs between the state capitals of Brisbane and Sydney in Australia....

.

The line begins at Maitland

Maitland, New South Wales

Maitland is a city in the Lower Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle...

and ends at Roma Street railway station in Brisbane, although freight services terminate at the yard at Acacia Ridge

Acacia Ridge, Queensland

Acacia Ridge is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Acacia Ridge is south of the central business district. The population in the 2001 census was 6648....

on the outskirts of Brisbane. Along the way, the railway passes through the towns of Dungog, Gloucester

Gloucester, New South Wales

Gloucester is a town in the dairy and beef cattle country of the Manning district on the Mid North Coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia in the Gloucester Shire....

, Wingham

Wingham, New South Wales

Wingham is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia in the City of Greater Taree north of Sydney. At the 2006 census, Wingham had a population of 4,812.- History :...

, Taree

Taree, New South Wales

Taree is a city on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of around 20,000 people and is the centre of a significant agricultural district. It is 16 km from the sea coast,...

, Kendall

Kendall, New South Wales

Kendall is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Kendall was originally named Camden Heads, as it is located on the Camden Haven River. In was renamed Kendall, in 1891, after the Australian poet Henry Kendall, and not, as some tourists suspect, after the similarly-spelled...

, Wauchope

Wauchope, New South Wales

-People from Wauchope:* Iva Davies - Musician, Icehouse* Alison Langdon - Channel Nine News Reader - Today Show* Phil Jamieson - Musician, Grinspoon* Andrew Stoner - NSW National Party of Australia leader, Member for Oxley...

, Kempsey, Macksville

Macksville, New South Wales

Macksville is a small town on the Nambucca River in Nambucca Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It is halfway between Sydney and Brisbane.-Town information:...

, Nambucca Heads

Nambucca Heads, New South Wales

Nambucca Heads is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia in Nambucca Shire. It is a holiday and retirement centre located on a ridge north of the estuary of the Nambucca River near the Pacific Highway, which now bypasses it. Its 2006 population was 6,137, including 445 ...

, Urunga

Urunga, New South Wales

Urunga is a small town on in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, in Bellingen Shire. It is famous for its surf spots . At the 2006 census, Urunga had a population of 1,919. The town is south of Coffs Harbour and Sawtell and north of Nambucca Heads...

, Sawtell

Sawtell, New South Wales

Sawtell is a coastal suburb of Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, Australia.- History :The original inhabitants of the land were Aborigines of the Gumbaynggirr clan. The Aboriginal name for the land where the town now stands was Bongil Bongil....

, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Casino

Casino, New South Wales

Casino is a town in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales, Australia, with a population of 9,400 people . It lies on the banks of the Richmond River and is situated at the junction of the Bruxner Highway and the Summerland Way....

and Kyogle

Kyogle, New South Wales

Kyogle is a town in the Northern Rivers region of northern New South Wales, Australia, in Kyogle Council. At the 2006 census, Kyogle had a population of 2,731 people. It was founded in the 1830s as a lumber camp, and is located north of Sydney, north of Casino on the Summerland Way close to the...

. After the standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

line ends at Acacia Ridge, it forms a dual gauge

Dual gauge

A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...

line into Brisbane

Brisbane

Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

, running alongside parts of the Beenleigh railway line.

Since the abandonment of the northern part of the Main North Line

Main North railway line, New South Wales

The Main North Line is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and the New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisbane, however this required a change of gauge at Wallangarra...

in 1988, the North Coast Line has become the only route between Sydney and Brisbane. With the closure of former branches to Dorrigo (1972) and to Murwillumbah (2004) there are now no operating branches off the line.

The Bonalbo branch from Casino was stillborn, with partial construction left incomplete.

History

The line was built between 1905 and 1932, and when completed, bypassed the Main North Line

Main North railway line, New South Wales

and provided a quicker route up the eastern seaboard. The development of the line was hampered by the many large rivers that flow through the North Coast. The line also features the Cougal Spiral

Cougal Spiral (railway)

The Cougal Spiral is a feature of the North Coast Railway in Australia that connects New South Wales with Queensland through Richmond Gap. The railway lines needs to climb at a steady ruling gradient from Kyogle to the summit at a tunnel at the border between the two states. The border is also at...

, which is one of only two spirals

Spiral (railway)

A spiral is a technique employed by railways to ascend steep hills.A railway spiral rises on a steady curve until it has completed a loop, passing over itself as it gains height, allowing the railway to gain vertical elevation in a relatively short horizontal distance...

in New South Wales.

The first North Coast railway was opened between Murwillumbah

Murwillumbah, New South Wales

Murwillumbah is a town of approximately 7,500 people in far north-eastern New South Wales, Australia in the Tweed Shire. It lies on the Tweed River, 848 km north-east of Sydney, 13 km south of the Queensland border and 132 km south of Brisbane. At the 2006 census, Murwillumbah had a...

, Byron Bay

Byron Bay, New South Wales

Byron Bay is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjacent to the town, is the easternmost point of mainland Australia. At the 2006 Census, the town had a...

and Lismore

Lismore, New South Wales

Lismore is a subtropical town in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Lismore is the main population centre in the City of Lismore local government area. Lismore is a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State.-History:...

in 1894 and it was extended to Casino

Casino, New South Wales

in 1903 and Grafton

Grafton, New South Wales

The city of Grafton is the commercial hub of the Clarence River Valley. Established in 1851, Grafton features many historic buildings and tree-lined streets. Located approximately 630 kilometres north of Sydney and 340 km south of Brisbane, Grafton and the Clarence Valley can be reached...

in 1905. A branch line was built to Kyogle

Kyogle, New South Wales

in 1910 and extended to Brisbane

Brisbane

in 1930.

A railway was built from Maitland junction to Paterson and Dungog in 1911. It was extended to Gloucester

Gloucester, New South Wales

Gloucester is a town in the dairy and beef cattle country of the Manning district on the Mid North Coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia in the Gloucester Shire....

and Taree

Taree, New South Wales

in 1913 and Wauchope

Wauchope, New South Wales

, Kempsey

Kempsey, New South Wales

Kempsey is a town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia and is the council seat for Kempsey Shire. It is located 15 kilometres inland from the coast of the Pacific Ocean where the Pacific Highway and the North Coast railway line cross the Macleay River...

, Coffs Harbour

Coffs Harbour, New South Wales

-History:By the early 1900s, the Coffs Harbour area had become an important timber production centre. Before the opening of the North Coast Railway Line, the only way to transport large items of heavy but low value, such as timber, was by coastal shipping. This meant sawmillers on the North Coast...

, Glenreagh

Glenreagh, New South Wales

Glenreagh is a small town in the Clarence Valley in the Northern Rivers region of north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, Glenreagh had a population of 422 people.It is on the North Coast railway line, completed to Glenreagh in 1915...

and South Grafton (now called Grafton City station) in 1915.

The Clarence River was the most difficult river to cross, and was the last bridge built in 1932. In the meantime services were connected by rail ferry

Train ferry

A train ferry is a ship designed to carry railway vehicles. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to the wharves. In the United States, train ferries are sometimes referred to as "car ferries", as...

that carried the carriages across the river. The opening of the bridge completed the Sydney - Brisbane line as the first standard gauge inter-capital link.

The completion of the Sydney-Brisbane link converted the Casino - Murwillumbah line into a branch line. In 1930, a branch line had been built from it to Ballina

Ballina, New South Wales

Ballina is a town on the Northern Rivers of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire Local Government Area. It had a population of 16,477 in the 2006 Census.-Location:...

, but this closed in 1949. Trains stopped running on the Murwillumbah branch in 2004.

A picturesque branch was opened from Glenreagh to Dorrigo

Dorrigo, New South Wales

Dorrigo is a small town located on the Waterfall Way in northern New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately 580 kilometres north of the state capital, Sydney via the Pacific Highway, and 60 kilometres from the coastal city of Coffs Harbour. The town is situated on the Dorrigo Plateau near the...

in 1924, but was difficult to maintain due to the steep terrain and high rainfall and it was closed in 1972 after a washaway. The Glenreagh to Ulong section is proposed for reopening as a heritage tourist railway by the Glenreagh Mountain Railway

Glenreagh Mountain Railway

Glenreagh Mountain Railway, known as the GMR, was established in 1989 as a heritage tourist railway at Glenreagh, near Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia...

. The Dorrigo Steam Railway

Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum

The Dorrigo Steam Railway and Museum in Dorrigo, New South Wales, Australia is a large, privately owned collection of preserved railway vehicles and equipment from the railways of New South Wales, covering both Government and private railways...

is also being set up in Dorrigo as a museum and working exhibit.

Current services

RailCorp, the New South Wales government train operator, runs passenger trains over the North Coast line under its CountryLink

CountryLink

CountryLink is the operator of passenger rail services in country New South Wales, Australia and into Queensland and Victoria. It is an operating brand of the Rail Corporation New South Wales, a government-owned entity...

brand. Three daily XPT services operate between Sydney and Brisbane, Grafton

Grafton Railway Station, Australia

Grafton Railway Station is a station on the North Coast Line or, Sydney-Brisbane railway in northern New South Wales, Australia. It serves the towns of South Grafton and Grafton....

and Casino

Casino, New South Wales

(formerly to Murwillumbah until 2004).

Historical services

The premier trains on the North Coast line were the two daily services to Brisbane, the Brisbane Express and the Brisbane Limited. The Limited was the fastest service, stopping only at major stations, while the Express operated as a sweeper service stopping at most stations north of Grafton and provided connections to services on the Murwillumbah branch. Sleeping cars had operated on the Brisbane Limited since 1960. In 1973, the Brisbane Express was withdrawn and replaced by the Pacific Coast MotoRail, operating to Murwillumbah. The North Coast Daylight and North Coast Mail operated to Grafton until they were both replaced in 1985 by a single Holiday Coast XPT train. Following the 'Booz- Allen and Hamilton' review of 1989 which recommended severe rationalisation of country rail services, the Brisbane and Murwillumbah services were changed to an XPT in 1990, and a locomotive hauled Grafton Express to Grafton was introduced. In 1993, the passenger services were further changed to the current all-XPT service.

Improvement Works

The North Coast Line has significant curvature, equivalent to turning through 150 circles - 75.5 to the right and 74.5 to the left heading north, the difference of one circle due to the Cougal Spiral

Cougal Spiral (railway)

in the Border Ranges. Of course the curves are unevenly distributed meaning that maximum speeds change hundreds of times usually within the range of 60 km/hr and 115 km/hr for freighters.

The Australian Rail Track Corporation

Australian Rail Track Corporation

Australian Rail Track Corporation is a federal government owned corporation established in 1997 that owns, leases, maintains and controls the majority of main line standard gauge railway lines on the mainland of Australia, known as the Defined Interstate Rail Network .-History:The Interstate...

has recently resleepered the track with concrete sleepers, upgraded the signals and installed new loops to increase efficiency. In mid 2011 they will ease about 58 sections of curves on the line, increasing line speed for the XPT and freighters. The curve easing will be done without land purchases, so the track changes will be minor, staying within the existing corridor.

History

Current services

Historical services

Improvement Works

Further reading