Q150 Digital Books Section Details

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1 Office of Economic and Statistical Research discover more about historical Queensland Q150 Digital Books Section Details Name: Queensland Past and Present: 100 Years of Statistics, Section name: Chapter 6, Transport, Section 2 Pages: Printing notes (Adobe Acrobat): For best results Page Scaling should be set to Fit to Printable Area. Auto Rotate and Center should also be checked. Licence for use: This document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Australia licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit You are free to copy, communicate and adapt the work, as long as you attribute the authors. Return to Q150 Collection: The State of Queensland 2009

2 TRANSPORT Table 6.4 Road transport: Average distance travelled by passenger vehicles by State and Territory, Australia, months to 30 September 1971 (a) NSW Vic Qld SA (a) For 1971 New South Wales includes Australian Capital Territory. Source: ABS, Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, , Cat. no WA '000km The 1995 Motor Vehicle Use survey found that 25% of all travel in Queensland, including commercial usage, was to get people to and from work in private passenger vehicles. This proportion is higher than any State or Territory except Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. Passenger vehicles used to travel to and from work in Queensland covered an average of 8,200 km a year for this purpose Tas NT ACT n.a Ausl RAILWAYS Early developments The railways provided efficient passenger and freight services that were unchallenged until after World War II for both directness and speed. The first railway in Queensland was built in 1865, six years after separation from New South Wales. Most railways were constructed, owned and managed by government. The individual interests of each Australian colony led to the development of separate railway systems. Queensland used a 1,067 mm gauge for most of its lines while New South Wales adopted a 1,435 mm gauge and Victoria 1,600 mm. Passengers and freight were transferred between systems at Wallangarra near the Queensland-New South Wales border and Albury on the Murray River. But the size of Queensland, and Australia, meant that linking all communities by rail was impossible due to the cost: Timeless types of transport flourished in Australia at the start of the twentieth century. While railways were like a web in the south east corner of the continent, elsewhere were vast gaps where no rails would ever be laid. Many places on the coast and innumerable points in the interior were hundreds of miles from the nearest railway. Many adult Australians had never seen a railway. In 1900 one could travel along half the coastline of the continent, from Geraldton (W.A.) to Cooktown (Qld.) and find only two short railway lines in the intervening country. 16 In 1896 Queensland had three main, and separate, rail systems: the Western Railway from Brisbane to Cunnamulla, the Central Railway west from Rockhampton and the Great Northern Railway from Townsville to Hughenden. A line also ran south from Brisbane to Wallangarra providing a rail link to Sydney. Brisbane had a rudimentary suburban rail system, and separate systems centred on Maryborough, Bundaberg, Mackay, Bowen, Cairns, Cooktown and 179

3 QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT Figure 6.1 Railway map of Queensland, August

4 TRANSPORT Wallangarra railway station, where the New South Wales and Queensland rail systems met, Normanton. Total length of rail track in the State was 3,862 km. 17 There was no railway linking the coastal centres. The three major trunk lines were extended. The western line went south from Charleville to Cunnamulla in 1898 and west from Charleville to Quilpie in The southern line went from Warwick to Goondiwindi and then to Dirranbandi in The central line extended south from Barcaldine to Blackall and then to Yaraka in 1917, and the northern line south from Hughenden to Winton and west from Hughenden to Dajarra. A link between Winton and Longreach joined the northern and central railways. All these lines transported produce to the coastal ports. The profitability of Mount Isa Mines in 1923 resulted in the Mount Isa Railway Act 1925 (Qld) which included an agreement that the company would meet any losses of a railway extension from Duchess. Single track was a feature of the whole rail system. By 1922 passengers on the mail train from Brisbane to Charleville could join a Qantas flight which took them to Longreach and Cloncurry. Further expansion of rail was limited and construction of general purpose railways ended in The Queensland environment presented many difficulties for railway construction and maintenance. Building a railway from Cairns to Kuranda meant the excavation of 15 tunnels to lay a permanent way over the coastal ranges. 18 The Normanton to Croydon line was laid on concrete sleepers due to termites. Regular flooding of coastal rivers such as the Burdekin washed away bridges and rail lines, requiring the construction of higher and more expensive bridges. The distances involved made railway construction costly. South-eastern Queensland lines Queensland was linked by rail to New South Wales when the line to Wallangarra was opened in 1887, although passengers had to change trains. The Sydney Mail became the premier express 181

5 QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT in Queensland with special carriages built at Ipswich railway workshops. A rail link between Brisbane and Tweed Heads was built in 1903, partly in the expectation that the New South Wales Government would extend its own north coast railway from Murwillumbah to Tweed Heads. This would have provided a direct service to Sydney. The extension did not occur and the potential value of the South Coast railway as an interstate link was diminished. A 1,435 mm gauge line from Kyogle to Brisbane was recommended by the Queensland Royal Commission into Public Works in 1914, but was rejected by the New South Wales Government. In 1921 a Commonwealth Royal Commission into Standard Gauge supported the Kyogle link. The Queensland Parliament passed the South Brisbane-Kyogle-Grafton Railway Act 1924 and the Brisbane-Kyogle 1,435 mm gauge line was opened in 1930, reducing travelling time to Sydney from 27 hours to 22 hours. Traffic on the Wallangarra line declined and the service was discontinued in The Brisbane-Tweed Heads or South Coast line and the Sandgate line in south-eastern Queensland, the Pialba and Urangan lines from the Maryborough railway, and the Yeppoon and Emu Park line from Rockhampton were initially built to transport farm produce to the ports. But the lines also gave people access to the beaches. Passenger traffic increased and picnic and special excursion trains offered cheap fares. From 1898 special trains ran from Ipswich to the South Coast via Corinda and took holiday-makers to Tweed Heads, signalling the start of tourism in Queensland. Sandgate became a popular seaside resort. Northern coastal line The extension of the coastal line north of Brisbane was piecemeal. A 1,067 mm gauge line was built from Brisbane to Gympie in 1891, providing a connection with the Maryborough railway. Colonial Secretary Thomas Mcllwraith had unsuccessfully argued for a 1,435 mm gauge. A change of trains in Maryborough was necessary for passengers and freight going to Bundaberg on the 1,435 mm gauge line. The line north from Brisbane provided rail's first challenge to coastal shipping, when the Colonial Sugar Refining Company negotiated a contract for hauling sugar between its Childers mill and Brisbane in The line was extended from Bundaberg to Gladstone in In 1898 the Government instituted a rail and steamer service to northern Queensland ports, with passengers travelling from Brisbane to Gladstone by train, and then boarding an Australasian United Steam Navigation Company vessel for Townsville. Passengers could then travel west from Townsville on the mail train. In 1904 Gladstone and Rockhampton were linked providing through trains between Rockhampton and Brisbane on a 1,067 mm gauge line. The train and boat trip from Brisbane to Townsville was promoted by the Railway Department's Advertising Branch in The Tourist Bureau was administered by the Commissioner for Railways from Branch offices of the bureau were established in Rockhampton, Townsville, Cairns and Sydney, and later in Melbourne. In 1910 the Queensland Parliament passed the North Coast Railway Act which provided for construction of 731 km of line to complete the railway from Brisbane to Cairns. A line north from Rockhampton to Marlborough and St Lawrence was built. 20 A line south from Mackay reached Koumala in 1915 and Carmila in 1920, with a private motor service conveying passengers between St Lawrence and Carmila. Travel between Gladstone and Townsville was still quicker by sea. The Bowen railway was connected to the northern line to Townsville. 182

6 TRANSPORT Mackay and Bowen were linked in 1923 making rail travel possible from Cloncurry to Perth, with changes at state boundaries due to different gauges. The Cairns railway was linked with Innisfail in 1912 and Townsville with Ingham in The remaining link was completed in 1924 when construction teams from the north and south met at Cardwell. With the exception of the Cooktown and Normanton railways, completion of the north coast railway meant a unified Queensland rail network of 9,771 km of 1,067 mm gauge. In the Railway Department employed 18,000 persons. It had 713 locomotives, 930 carriages and 16,000 wagons and carried 5 million tonnes of freight and nearly 30 million passengers. Queensland has more kilometres of track than any other State, although New South Wales railways had more than three times the freight and Victoria nearly twice the freight. Return on capital for Queensland's railways was 3.2%, less than the other mainland States. 21 Competition and technology Just as railways challenged the dominance of horse and bullock transport, so motor and air transport challenged the position of railways. Although enjoying a privileged position, rail began to decline as the main transport before the 1930s depression. With passenger journeys and freight volumes falling, line expansion virtually ceased. Cost cutting included the closure of little used branch lines such as that to Ravenswood. One of several inquiries into the railways during the depression was headed by James Brigden, Director of the Bureau of Economics and Statistics, in This inquiry, which was related to competition between railways and shipping, found there was little conflict between the two. Steam locomotive, Cooktown railway, 1920s. The B12 engine no. 40 was built in Scotland in 1878 for use in southern Queensland. It was later transferred to Cooktown where it was written off in It was the last steam locomotive on the Cooktown railway. 183

7 QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT The railways provided an essential service during World War II. The single track from Brisbane to Cairns transferred personnel and materials toward the battle-front. Railway workshops assisted in the manufacture of tools for munitions as well as aeroplane parts and gun barrels. Employees worked 56 hours a week. 22 Supplies went by rail to Mount Isa and then by road to Darwin. Improvements to railway infrastructure and rolling-stock in the postwar period included new locomotives, new air-conditioned carriages, a wagon construction program, track relaying and regrading, and bridge strengthening and rebuilding. Later, large new workshops were built and the suburban system was electrified. New diesel locomotives replaced those driven by steam, and the last mainline steam locomotive built in Australia was by Walkers Limited of Maryborough in Diesel electric locomotives began operation in Queensland in The Queensland subsidiary of Commonwealth Engineering Company constructed new air-conditioned trains: the Sunlander, successor to the Sunshine Express, between Brisbane and Cairns in 1953; the Inlander between Townsville and Mount Isa in 1953; the Midlander between Rockhampton and Longreach in 1953; the Westlander from Brisbane to Cunnamulla in 1954; and the Capricornia between Brisbane and Rockhampton. A rail-motor provided quicker and more comfortable travel on the South Coast line and between Toowoomba and Brisbane via Helidon. Luxury services were introduced later, including the Queenslander between Brisbane and Cairns in 1989 and the Spirit of the Outback to Longreach. Rail had to compete with road transport. State Governments tried to restrict road transport through taxes and other control mechanisms. Intrastate hauliers were licensed and had to pay fees under the State Transport Facilities Act 1946 (Qld). These fees were increased as the degree of competition with the railways grew. Transport of goods such as minerals, sugar and grain required a permit. In 1954 the High Court of Australia found that taxes and other restrictive actions were invalid under section 92 of the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act. The Road (Contribution to Maintenance) Act 1958 (Qld) imposed a modest tax on interstate hauliers. Railway fares and freight rates were increased in 1960 to reduce the losses incurred by the railways. Road transport continued to grow and by the 1960s carried more than three times the tonnage carried by the railways. Cost cutting in the 1960s meant the closure of many branch rail lines. The transport of goods such as dairy products, timber and livestock was the reason many of the branches had been constructed in the first place. But with competition from road transport, various branch lines became uneconomical. Lines to Cleveland, Fassifern, Mount Edwards, Tweed Heads and Mount Garnet closed, as did the Cooktown to Laura line. The line to Cleveland was later reopened. In February 1996 the Beenleigh line was extended to Helensvale as part of a project to re-establish a service to the Gold Coast. Passenger journeys on the new service averaged 30,000 a week. 23 Planned large-scale closures of branch lines in 1995 resulted in considerable protest and the plans were shelved. The railways maintained their monopoly in coal freight. In the 1960s coal trains weighing up to 742 tonnes were hauled through Mount Morgan and Rockhampton. Coal from the Callide and Dawson valleys was exported through Gladstone. A private electric railway linking Moura and Gladstone was built to enable three diesel locomotives to haul 4,000-tonne trains with more than 60 wagons. The line was primarily for coal, but passengers and other freight were 184

8 TRANSPORT Railways built to transport Queensland coal. carried too. In 1971 the Goonyella line to the south-west of Mackay was opened to haul 5 million tonnes of coal annually to a new port at Hay Point south of Mackay. The track and rolling-stock were the heaviest in Queensland. Trains were hauled by four diesel locomotives. On new lines to mines such as at Saraji, radio-controlled locomotives were placed in the centre of coal trains to enable loads of more than 10,000 tonnes to be carried. 24 Electrification of the rail network had been discussed since In 1947 a committee appointed by the Government recommended the electrification of the suburban system similar to Sydney and Melbourne. However, in the 1950s priority was given to converting various single-line tracks to two-line and four-line tracks. In the 1970s population growth projections for Brisbane and suburbs led to consultancy firm Wilbur Smith & Associates recommending electrification of the suburban network and construction of a bridge across the Brisbane River to link South Brisbane and Roma Street stations. The bridge was completed in The first electric trains ran in Brisbane in 1979 and the suburban network to Ipswich, Ferny Grove, Shorncliffe, Cleveland, Beenleigh and Caboolture was soon electrified. In 1983 electrification of certain regional lines began, including the Brisbane to Rockhampton line. Operations and earnings In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries administration of Queensland railways was divided into northern, central and southern divisions, paralleling the general administrative divisions of the colony. A separate ministerial responsibility for railways was established in Local government and private enterprise also constructed railways. Under the Tramways Act 1880 (Qld) Cairns, Pioneer, Beaudesert, Belmont (in Brisbane) and Barcaldine shires had lines that carried produce such as sugar cane. Private railways were constructed by mining 185

9 QUEENSLAND PAST AND PRESENT Table 6.5 Rail transport: Lines open to traffic, and passengers and goods carried, Queensland, to Year Lines open to traffic (a) km 3,862 4,508 5,049 6,225 7,994 9,257 10,042 10,507 10,569 10,569 10,569 10,557 10,390 10,177 9,310 9,329 9,844 9,932 10,225 10,015 9,300 Number of passenger journeys (b) '000 2,274 4,761 4,569 8,299 13,939 14,908 28,384 22,009 25,244 26,194 38,200 34,118 35,647 28,876 25,979 29,536 34,278 31,873 41,504 42,990 40,082 (a) At 30 June. (b) For and earlier years, excludes season ticket holders. (c) Calculated using population at 31 December. Passenger journeys per capita (c) number Source: ABS, Queensland Year Book 7996; Queensland Rail, Annual Report Goods and livestock carried '000 tonnes 1,167 1,739 1,951 3,348 4,076 3,930 5,188 3,920 4,739 5,690 5,850 7,297 8,311 8,109 10,211 15,665 33,118 41,504 73,599 82,965 96,200 companies, including the Bundamba and Tivoli lines near Ipswich and the Chillagoe branch of the Cairns railway completed to Mungana in The Department of Transport was created in Rail, road and maritime transport continued to develop, and in 1989 an expanded ministry brought together the various functions under the responsibility of one minister. In Queensland Rail operated 9,300 km of railway line, and carried more than 40 million passengers and 96 million tonnes of goods and livestock (table 6.5). Most of the passengers were on Citytrain services. Passenger traffic had risen to 38.2 million journeys in before falling to 26.0 million in and rising again to 43.0 million in Passenger journeys per head of population declined throughout most of the post-world War II period from 35.2 journeys in to 12.1 in Freight has increased significantly since the opening of the large central Queensland coal deposits, supplemented by the transport of minerals and cattle. Tonnage of freight increased nearly 12-fold from 8.1 million tonnes in to 96.2 million tonnes in The increase in freight resulted in an increase in earnings for the railways. Earnings rose from $73.1m in to $l,810.5m in (table 6.6). However, Queensland Rail has run mainly at a loss. The losses were considered part of the cost of opening up the country and providing services to the people of Queensland, particularly in remote areas. Most of the losses were due to the interest component on loans for capital infrastructure, and in most years the 186

10 Table 6.6 Rail transport: Earnings, expenses, surplus and indebtedness, Queensland, to Year ^ (c) Earnings 2,171 2,634 3,092 5,461 7,491 10,559 14,874 12,954 13,395 16,830 23,833 39,544 62,626 73,059 84, , , , ,963 1,205,641 1,810,516 Working expenses (a) - $'000-1,289 2,116 1,727 3,126 5,490 10,097 12,920 10,160 10,434 13,427 20,888 38,878 67,747 77,154 84, , , , , ,722 1,267,581 Operating surplus/ deficit ,365 2,335 2, ,954 2,794 2,961 3,403 2, ,121-4, ,671-35,859-69, , , ,935 TRANSPORT Loan indebtedness (b) 33,519 39,479 43,482 51,798 73,677 87, , ,872 76,106 80,806 83,092 98, , , , , , , ,580 1,349,993 2,316,884 (a) Excludes interest, redemption, sinking fund payments and losses on sale of assets. (b) From 1 July 1931 the capital account's loan indebtedness was reduced by $56m under The Railway Capital Indebtedness Reduction Act Includes loans for Brisbane rail electrification for which payments are met by the Department of Transport. Loan indebtedness for rail electrification was $146m at 30 June Excludes general railway capital indebtedness which was $704m at 30 June 1994 and for which payment is not required. (c) Earnings includes a community service obligation payment by the Queensland government of $595.3m. Source: ABS, Queensland Year Book 1996; Queensland Rail, Annual Report, various years. railways had an operating surplus. On 1 July 1995 Queensland Rail was corporatised to give it a structure to enhance efficiency and improve public accountability. Its corporatisation was in accordance with National Competition Policy endorsed by the Commonwealth and State Governments. In Queensland Rail had a $214.3m net profit after income tax equivalent, which was a 10% return on capital. The net profit figure included a community service obligation subsidy of $595.3m. Loan indebtedness was $2,316.9m at 30 June 1996, compared with $197.8m in 1961 and $125.9m in SHIPPING Coastal transport By 1896 both interstate and intrastate shipping services carried passengers and goods along the length of the Queensland coast. Weekly services ran from Melbourne to Cairns, with stops at Sydney, Brisbane, Mackay and Townsville. In 1896 there were twice-weekly services from 187