The Sunlander
Encyclopedia
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The Sunlander is a three times a week long distance passenger rail service running between Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
and Cairns, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
a total distance of 1,691 kilometres. The service is a locomotive hauled train at present with plans to introduce a new Tilt Train on The Sunlander service in the future. The Sunlander service carried approximately 85,000 people in 2009.
History
In 1935, a new train called the Sunshine Express was introduced. This train of wooden carriages featured varnished timber internal panelling made from natural Queensland timbers. Comforts for that period included electric fans, electric lighting, and leather upholstered seating. Accommodation included sleeping berths for first and second class passengers and seating only carriages.
The Sunlander passenger train commenced in June 1953. This new air conditioned train was hauled by a diesel locomotive
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
and by eliminating the steam engine
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
maintenance stops, the transit time to Cairns was reduced from 45 to 41¼ hours. Since then the time has been cut to 31 hours.
Tilt Train
The Queensland Government announced that a contract had been let for the construction of a new Tilt Train to replace the present locomotive hauled consist. The tilt train will cost AUD$189M (which includes refurbishing of two older Tilt Trains) and is likely to be in service mid 2014. With the introduction of the Tilt Train the journey time will be reduced to approximately 26 hours. The maximum speed of the Tilt Train will be 160 km/hr.Route
The route follows the North Coast railway lineNorth Coast railway line, Queensland
The North Coast railway line is a narrow gauge railway line in Queensland, Australia. It runs from Brisbane, along the Queensland coast to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The line is electrified between Brisbane and Rockhampton...
from Brisbane in the sub tropical region of south east Queensland through to the tropical north region. The train travels the coastal strip between the beaches and the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
passing diverse country including the Glasshouse Mountains, the sugar cane country of North Queensland
North Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the state of Queensland in Australia. Queensland is a massive state, larger than most countries, and the tropical northern part of it has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and...
and the tropics beyond Townsville.
The Sunlander is one of the world's longest train journeys
Longest train journeys
This article list longest passenger rail services currently operating and running directly between two cities. It is a collation list of train services and routes that are stopping and non-stop from a distance and time perspective.- Records :...
as compiled in Wikipedia.
Passenger facilities
Facilities on board include two food service cars. A Buffet car provides a full meal service and a refreshment car provides takeaway food service.Two classes of travel are available
- Queenslander Class - premium service with all meals provided and twin berth accommodation
- Standard Service - seats and berth accommodation
A Motorail service is available on The Sunlander enabling passengers to load their car onto a special car carrying wagon on the train. This feature is likely to be discontinued once the Tilt Train commences operation.