The Doomben railway line is a railway line in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is the section of the Pinkenba railway line on which a regular passenger service is provided. Doomben, or dumben, is the Indigenous Yuggera name for a tree fern which was prolific in the area.[1] The line branches from the North Coast line at Eagle Junction, extending 8 kilometres (5.0mi) to the industrial suburb of Pinkenba, situated on the northern bank at the mouth of the Brisbane River. It is part of the Queensland Rail Citytrain network.
On 3 September 1882, the first 2.4 kilometres (1.5mi) section of the line was opened to Ascot (then named Racecourse) to serve the Eagle Farm racecourse, though nearby residents successfully lobbied for a regular passenger service.[2] The line was extended 5.8 kilometres (3.6mi) to Pinkenba in 1897, mainly to serve an industrial area, including wharves on the north side of the Brisbane River. The passenger service was timed to coincide with the starting and finishing times of the workers.[citation needed]
During World War I and World War II, with deep berthing available to ships at Pinkenba at the mouth of the Brisbane River, troops camped in the Pinkenba and Meeandah area. Passenger ships used the Pinkenba Wharf, and were served by special trains running from Brisbane to Pinkenba.[3]
In the 1950s, earthworks were undertaken to allow the duplication of the line, hence the double-sided, island platform at Clayfield. The work included the regrading the line to eliminate the Sandgate Rd level crossing, but the duplication program was abandoned before the second track was laid.[citation needed]
The line was electrified in 1988, but only to Eagle Farm, the next station after current suburban terminus Doomben. For the next five years, services to Pinkenba were ran as a shuttle to and from Eagle Farm, using 2000 class railmotors. All passenger services on the line were suspended in September 1993 as part of a state-wide rationalisation of the rail network, which included under-utilised or unprofitable rail lines being closed or having services suspended. Only a few special trains were run on the line on days when major race meetings were held at adjoining race tracks.[citation needed]
Electric passenger services resumed on 27 January 1998, but only as far as Doomben,[4] with bus connections to the stations beyond Doomben.
The Doomben to Pinkenba section is used only for freight. Queensland Rail occasionally runs special steam trains on the entire Pinkenba line as part of their semi-regular "Steam Train Sunday" excursion service.[5] That is the only way people can travel over the full length of the line.[citation needed]
Line guide and services
All services stop at all stations to Roma Street. The typical travel time between Doomben and Brisbane Central station is approximately 18 minutes.[citation needed]
Doomben line services typically terminate at Roma Street or Boggo Road, while some peak services continue to Kuraby or Cleveland. Prior to 1 June 2025, passenger services didn't run on Sundays or public holidays, after which they operated hourly on weekends and public holidays.[6]
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