Springfield railway line

Springfield line
Overview
Website queenslandrail.com.au
Technical
Line length 0 km (0 mi)
Track length 16.0 km (9.9 mi)
Number of tracks Quadruple to Darra, double track to Springfield Central
Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Operating speed 140 km/h (87 mph)
Route map
Line route

Springfield railway line is a 13.6 km (8.5 mi)[1] suburban railway line in Brisbane, Australia which branches from the Ipswich/Rosewood line after Darra railway station. Construction of the line started on 5 July 2010 and it opened on 2 December 2013.[2] The line was developed along with the widening of the nearby Centenary Highway.

The line speed is rated for speeds of up to 140 km/h (87 mph) in most sections. However, apart from the interurban multiple unit 100 and 120 series and New Generation Rollingstock trains, there are no trains capable of the full speed of the line. The current timetable is based on a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) between Richlands and Springfield stations, which is faster than the Centenary Highway that runs alongside.

Construction and opening

The railway viaduct is more than 800 metres in length
Richlands railway station, 2011

Construction of the first stage of the line, to Richlands, started on 5 July 2010, with the first sleeper being laid at Darra on the Ipswich line.[3] The line was developed along with the widening of the nearby Centenary Highway from two to four lanes from Darra through to the Logan Motorway.[4]

Construction of the first station on the line, Richlands, started on 1 July 2008 (2008-07-01)[5] and the line was due to commence service on 23 January 2011 (2011-01-23), with no service from Darra to the City due to scheduled maintenance works on the Ipswich line.[1]

Due to the Queensland floods the opening was brought forward to 17 January 2011 (2011-01-17) in order to assist travelers from further west who could not utilise the Ipswich line which was out of service due to flooding.[6]

On 23 October 2011 (2011-10-23) work started on the second stage of the line to Springfield. It was also announced that the station originally proposed as Springfield Lakes station was to be named Springfield, and the station proposed as Springfield station was to be named Springfield Central.[7]

The extension to Springfield Central commenced service on 2 December 2013.

It has been proposed that the line be extended from its present terminus at Springfield Central to Redbank Plains,[8] Ripley Valley, Yamanto, and Ipswich station.[9]

Route

Springfield railway line
showing distance from Central and ticket zone
Northern lines
Exhibition line
2.7 km Bowen Hills(1)
1.3 km Fortitude Valley(1)
0.0 km Central(1)
0.8 km Roma Street(1)
Exhibition line
Beenleigh, Cleveland, Gold Coast lines
Hale Street (Inner City Bypass)
2.3 km Milton(1)
3.5 km Auchenflower(1)
4.5 km Toowong(1)
6.0 km Taringa(1)
7.4 km Indooroopilly(1)
Albert Bridge over the Brisbane River
8.5 km Chelmer(1)
9.5 km Graceville(1/2)
10.7 km Sherwood(2)
Corinda via South Brisbane line
11.6 km Corinda(2)
13.3 km Oxley(2)
16.0 km Darra(2)
Ipswich, Rosewood lines
Ipswich Motorway
Richlands (2)
Ellen Grove (future station) (3)
Logan Motorway
Centenary Highway
Springfield (3)
Springfield Central (3)

Passengers for/from the Ipswich and Rosewood line would change at Darra, Beenleigh, Gold Coast and Cleveland lines at Roma Street, and all other lines at Central.

The route necessitated a crossed of the interchange between the Logan Motorway and Centenary Motorway. A two track viaduct which is more than 800 metre long was built. It has been designed so that its piers do not obstruct planned expansions of both roads.[10]

Proposed Extensions

In the Connecting SEQ 2031 Plan, the QLD Government has listed an UrbanLink high frequency (15min) service running from Darra to Springfield, and on to Redbank Plains via Augustine Heights, as an extension to the existing Springfield Line. It also talks about an ExpressLink (30min frequency) between Ipswich and Ripley, via UQ Ipswich, Churchill, Yamanto and Deebing Heights; with the vital corridor between Ripley and Redbank plains being reserved for a later time after 2031. The lines are shown in the map below.[11]
Continues to Darra and Brisbane City
Springfield Central (6)
Augusta Parkway
Augustine Heights (6)
Redbank Plains (6)
Swanbank (7)
South Ripley (7)
Ripley (7)
Deebing Heights (7)
Cunningham Highway
Yamanto (7)
Warwick Road
Churchill (7)
UQ Ipswich (7)
Brisbane Street
Continues to Rosewood Station
Ipswich (7)
Continues to Darra and Brisbane City

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hurst, Daniel (6 January 2011). "The train station with no trains". Brisbane Times.
  2. ↑ "SPRINGFIELD RAIL BONUS: EXTRA STATION AND $171 MILLION SAVED" (Press release). Queensland Government. 20 February 2011.
  3. ↑ O'leary, Christopher (7 July 2010). "Work on rail link begins". South West News.
  4. ↑ Moore, Tony (7 June 2010). "Budget plans to fast track rail line to Springfield". Brisbane Times.
  5. ↑ "$800 million project offers transport choices" (Press release). Queensland Government. 1 July 2008.
  6. ↑ "New train station to open early". Brisbane Times. 16 January 2011.
  7. ↑ "Work underway on Springfield rail link". TransLink. 24 October 2011.
  8. ↑ Jackson, Zane (10 August 2011). "Push for rail in Redbank Plains". The Queensland Times.
  9. ↑ Kieran Banks (2 December 2013). Fast track to growth: Springfield train line is opened. The Queensland Times. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  10. ↑ Pacheco, Pedro; Filipe Magalhaes (2015). Multi-Span Large Bridges: International Conference on Multi-Span Large Bridges, 1-3 July 2015, Porto, Portugal. CRC Press. p. 480. ISBN 9781315687193. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  11. ↑ Queensland Government Department of Transport and Main Roads. Connecting SEQ 2031. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
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