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 rolling stock and approximately 6,600 kilometres (4,101 mi) of track and related infrastructure.
Central Queensland is an imprecisely-defined geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Capricorn Coast west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional Council southern boundary, and south to Gladstone. The region is also known as Capricornia. It is one of Australia's main coal exporting regions.
The North Coast railway line (NCL) is a 1,681-kilometre (1,045 mi) 1067 mm gauge railway line in Queensland, Australia. It commences at Roma Street station, Brisbane, and largely parallels the Queensland coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The line is electrified between Brisbane and Rockhampton. Along the way, the 1680 km railway passes through the numerous towns and cities of eastern Queensland including Nambour, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville. The line though the centre of Rockhampton runs down the middle of Denison Street.
Aurizon Holdings Limited is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National Limited and branded QR National. In 2015, it was the world's largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland Government-owned company, it was privatised and floated on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in November 2010. The company was originally established in 2004–05 when the coal, bulk, and container transport divisions from Queensland Rail were brought under one banner as QR National.
The rail network in Queensland, Australia, was the first in the world to adopt 1,067 mm narrow gauge for a main line, and, in 2013, was claimed to the second largest narrow gauge network in the world, consists of:
The Bowen Basin contains the largest coal reserves in Australia. This major coal-producing region contains one of the world's largest deposits of bituminous coal. The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland including virtually all of the known mineable prime coking coal. It was named for the Bowen River, itself named after Queensland's first Governor, Sir George Bowen.
The Port of Gladstone is Queensland's largest multi-commodity port and the fifth largest multi-commodity port in Australia. It is the world's fourth largest coal exporting terminal. It is within the locality of Callemondah in Gladstone in Central Queensland and is located about 525 kilometres (326 mi) north of Brisbane at Latitude of 23°49.61'S, Longitude 151°34.6’E. It is owned and managed by Gladstone Ports Corporation, which is a statutory corporate body of the Government of Queensland.
The Goonyella railway system is located in Central Queensland, Australia. It services the coal mining area of the Bowen Basin, carrying coal to the Hay Point and Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminals 20 km southeast of Mackay, as well as products to other destinations by way of connections to the North Coast Line at Yukan and the Central Line at Burngrove via the Gregory coal mine branch. It is also connected to the coal loading terminal at Abbot Point by the GAP line. The line opened on 5 November 1971 and runs for 477 kilometres. The Goonyella system is narrow gauge 1,067 mm and electrified using 25 kV 50 Hz. The line has been duplicated from Hay Point to Wotonga (174 km) and features CTC signalling over the entire system.
Goonyella Riverside Mine is a large open cut coking coal mine in the Bowen Basin. It is one of many coal mines in Central Queensland, Australia and is located at Moranbah about 30 km north of the township. The mine produced 12.4 million tonnes of metallurgical coal from July 2012 to June 2013. It is owned by BHP Mitsubishi Alliance. The Goonyella Upper Seam, the Goonyella Middle Seam and the Goonyella Lower Seam are all mined at the site. The coal is well known for its great coking characteristics. Much of the coal was such a high grade, the wash plants were often programmed to add ash to meet the contracted export quality targets.
In 2010, the Queensland Government split the government owned rail operator Queensland Rail into two companies: the government owned passenger operator Queensland Rail and the freight operator QR National, the latter to be floated in late 2010.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, a significant rail electrification program was completed in the Australian state of Queensland. The electrified Queensland network is the largest in Australia with over 2,000 kilometres electrified, the next biggest is New South Wales with 640 kilometres, that is served mainly as passenger operations.
Queensland's railway construction commenced in 1864, with the turning of the first sod of the Main Line by Lady Diamantina Bowen, the wife of Queensland's first governor Sir George Bowen at Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. A narrow gauge of 3 ft 6 in was selected due to cost savings in providing a rail link to Toowoomba. Despite being built with bridges wide enough for standard gauge, and the fact that most other lines did not require heavy earthworks, the gauge remained the Queensland system norm.
Aurizon electric locomotives are used by Australian rail operator Aurizon in Queensland.
÷Some of the more notable coal companies in Australia are the following:
The Curragh Coal Mine is an open-cut, coal mine located 30 km north of Blackwater in Central Queensland, Australia. The mine has coal reserves amounting to 88 million tonnes of coking coal, one of the largest coal reserves in Asia and the world. The mine had an annual production capacity of 7 million tonnes of coal. The mine covers 12,600 ha of the Rangal Coal measures in the Bowen Basin.
The Central Western railway line is a railway line in Queensland, Australia. It was opened in a series of sections between 1867 and 1928. It commences at Rockhampton and extends west 863 kilometres (536 mi) to Winton.
The Collinsville – Newlands – North Goonyella line, also known as the Goonyella – Abbot Point (GAP) line and the Newlands railway system, is a railway line in Queensland, Australia. It was opened in a series of sections between 1922 and 2012. It commences at Merinda, near Bowen and extends south to North Goonyella coal mine, connecting to the Goonyella railway line. The nearby 13 km line from Kaili to Abbot Point is considered part of the GAP system.
The Moura railway line is a railway in central Queensland, connecting several coal mines to the port of Gladstone. It connects the remnants of several lines that previously connected to Rockhampton, originally by a rack railway.
The Queensland Railways 2170 class is an Australian diesel-electric locomotive.
The Bowen Basin Coalfields contains the largest coal reserves in Australia. This major coal-producing region contains one of the world's largest deposits of bituminous coal. The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland including virtually all of the known mineable prime coking coal. It was named for the Bowen River, itself named after Queensland's first Governor, Sir George Bowen.
