Overview | |
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Service type | Passenger train |
Status | Operational |
First service | 21 February 1953 |
Current operator(s) | Queensland Rail |
Route | |
Termini | Townsville Mount Isa |
Distance travelled | 977 kilometres |
Average journey time | 21 hours |
Service frequency | 2 x per week |
The Inlander | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Inlander is a passenger train that operates between Townsville and Mount Isa on the Great Northern railway line in Queensland, Australia. It was introduced by Queensland Rail on 12 February 1953 using new steel air-conditioned carriages built by Commonwealth Engineering, Rocklea. [1] [2] [3]
Victorian Railways introduced air-conditioned trains in 1935, and Queensland Rail followed suit in the late 1940s. Steel carriages were designed to travel to all parts of the system, meaning a maximum axle load of 9 tons, which was a challenge for the dining cars. New features included showers in the sleeping cars, roomettes in first class and head end power cars, especially necessary where trains may be delayed by floods or other events, as was often the case.
The Inlander was the first air-conditioned train in Queensland, replacing the mail train with its wooden carriages and providing a more comfortable and cleaner service to this dry and dusty region. [4]
As of September 2020 [update] , it operates twice-weekly on the Great Northern line from the coastal city of Townsville to the mining city of Mount Isa. The train is relatively slow, taking 21 hours (overnight) to complete a journey of 977 kilometres. [5]
The westbound service (3M34) departs Townsville railway station at 12:40pm on Wednesdays and Saturdays and arrives at Mount Isa railway station at 9:35am on Thursdays and Sundays. [4]
The eastbound service (3231) departs Mount Isa Railway station at 1:35pm on Thursdays and Sundays and arrives at Townsville railway station at 10:10am on Fridays and Mondays.
Until the end of 2014, the train consisted of sitting cars, sleeping cars with roomettes, twinettes and triple sleeping cabins and a club car where food could be purchased.
The sleeping cars were withdrawn from 1 January 2015. Catering is provided by at seat snack packs and a dining car. [6] [7]
On 16 June 2021, a $1 million business case was announced by the Queensland State Government to investigate replacement of The Westlander, Spirit of the Outback and Inlander services' rolling stock. [8]
In 2016, the service was estimated to have carried 4,511 people in the previous financial year, with the effective subsidy paid by the Queensland State Government for each passenger amounting to an estimated $3,436 (total subsidy $15.5m). [9]
In 2021, the service carried 2,833 people in the previous financial year, with the effective subsidy paid by the Queensland State Government for each passenger at $5,086.06. [10]
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway passenger car that can accommodate all passengers in beds of one kind or another, for the purpose of sleeping. George Pullman was the American innovator of the sleeper car.
The Overland is an interstate passenger train service in Australia, travelling between the state capitals of Melbourne and Adelaide, a distance of 828 km (515 mi). It first ran in 1887 as the Adelaide Express, known by South Australians as the Melbourne Express. It was given its current name in 1936. Now operated by private company Journey Beyond, the train undertakes two return trips a week. Originally an overnight train that stopped at large intermediate stations, it now operates during the day, stopping less frequently.
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The Southern railway line serves the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The 197-kilometre (122 mi) long line branches from the Western line at Toowoomba, 161 kilometres (100 mi) west of Brisbane, and proceeds south through Warwick and Stanthorpe to the New South Wales/Queensland state border at Wallangarra.
This is a list of significant railway accidents in Queensland, Australia.
The Great Northern Railway is a 1067 mm gauge railway line in Queensland, Australia. The line stretches nearly 1,000 kilometres linking the port city of Townsville, Australia to the mining town of Mount Isa in north-west Queensland. Along with a passenger service called the Inlander, it is a major freight route connecting the Mount Isa Mines to the Port of Townsville. In 2010, the line moved 5.8 million tonnes of cargo, and this is expected to increase significantly in coming years.
Charters Towers railway station is at Queenton, Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia. It is on the Great Northern line at Charters Towers, 134 kilometres (83 mi) west of Townsville in North Queensland, Australia.
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This article is intended as a catalogue of sleeping carriages used by the Victorian Railways and successors.
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The first carriages built specifically for The Overland train service operated by the Victorian and South Australian Railways (V & SAR) were introduced in 1949. By the end of 1951, eight new sleeping cars and six new sitting cars had entered service. Additions to the fleet continued until 1972; in all, 44 carriages were built. About eight were still in service in March 2020 on The Overland operated by Journey Beyond. Other carriages have been transferred to different services or sold.