Spirit of Queensland

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Spirit of Queensland
Spirit of Queensland.jpg
Spirit of Queensland
Overview
Service typePassenger
StatusOperating
Locale Queensland
First service28 October 2013
Current operator(s) Queensland Rail
Route
Termini Brisbane
Cairns
Distance travelled1,681 kilometres (1,045 mi)
Average journey time24 hours 55 minutes
Service frequency5 per week
On-board services
Seating arrangementsyes
Sleeping arrangementsyes
Technical
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)

The Spirit ofQueensland is a long-distance passenger rail service in Queensland, Australia, operated by Queensland Rail's Traveltrain division.

Contents

History

In October 2010, the Queensland Government awarded a contract to Downer Rail for the construction of a new tilting train. The two existing diesel tilting trains used on the Cairns service were also refurbished and extended in size, with the inclusion of first-class sleeping carriages. [1] Known as the 'Sunlander 14' project, a total of 25 carriages would have been acquired:

By expanding the train length from nine to 14 carriages, three 'luxury' sleeping carriages, one 'first-class' lounge and one restaurant car could be included in the consist, replicating the services provided on The Sunlander . [2] The construction of four new power cars allowed for the inclusion of the most up-to-date safety features in the driving car of each train, as well as minimising the risk of disruptions in case an incident occurred while a second power car was undergoing heavy maintenance. [2]

The resulting project was costed at $195 million and allowed for the operation of five services a week, with a total capacity of 1320 seats. However, costs had risen by 2012, and the Queensland Auditor-General reported that the eventual cost would be from $358 to $404 million, because Queensland Rail had failed to take into account the requirement for upgraded maintenance facilities, as well as en route provisioning. [2] The Auditor-General also believed Queensland Rail had overestimated how popular the new service would be, and had a mistaken belief that the 'luxury' component of the train would attract more high-paying customers. [3]

In 2013, the project was scaled back. The train length was reduced to nine cars by removing the luxury sleepers and restaurant cars. This change resulted in a revised project cost of $204 million. [3] [4] In October of the same year, the first refurbished train was introduced on the Brisbane to Cairns service. [5] With a maximum operating speed of 160 km/h (99 mph), the journey time was reduced to 24 hours 55 minutes. [6]

Rolling stock

Each Spirit of Queensland train consists of: [2]

See also

Notes and references

    1. ↑ World class trains for Queensland supporting 800 Maryborough jobs Archived 15 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine Minister for Transport 27 October 2010
    2. 1 2 3 4 Queensland Audit Office. "Traveltrain renewal: Sunlander 14. Report 8: 2014-15" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
    3. 1 2 Chris O'Brien and Kym Agius (9 December 2014). "Auditor-General delivers scathing report on project to replace the Sunlander train". ABC News. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
    4. ↑ "Media statement: Seats added in Sunlander changes". Queensland Government. 24 February 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
    5. ↑ "Spirit of Queensland tilt train service commences" Railway Digest December 2013 page 16
    6. ↑ Spirit of Queensland factsheet Archived 2013-12-04 at the Wayback Machine Queensland Rail
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