The Western railway line is a narrow gauge () railway, connecting the south-east and south-west regions of Queensland, Australia. It commences at Toowoomba, at the end of the Main Line railway from Brisbane, and extends west 810 km to Cunnamulla, passing through the major towns of Dalby, Roma and Charleville, although services on the 184 km section from Westgate to Cunnamulla have been suspended since 2011. The Queensland Government was the first railway operator in the world to adopt narrow gauge for a main line, and this remains the system-wide gauge.
History
The initial section of the Western line was built from Toowoomba to Dalby, opening 16 April 1868 (the first section of the Southern line, from Gowrie Junction, about 12 km west of Toowoomba, to Warwick, was opened in 1871, and bypassed in 1915). The line traverses relatively flat, easy country, gradually descending from 590m asl to 343m asl at Dalby.
From Dalby, the line was extended to Roma from 1877, opening on 16 September 1880, then to Charleville from 1883, opening 1 March 1888. The line was then extended in a southerly direction, following the Warrego River to Cunnamulla, opening on 10 October 1898. The country is undulating but mostly level, with Roma being 302m asl, Charleville 300m asl, and Cunnamulla 192m asl.
No significant earthworks were required for the construction of the line west of Dalby, and the rate of construction for all further sections was largely dictated by the annual funding allocations made by the Queensland government of the day.
The line was built to provide reliable transportation to facilitate the development and settlement of the southern Queensland interior by European settlers. It fulfilled that role until the adjacent road network was gradually upgraded to all-weather status from the 1960s-1990s, during which time the line gradually lost most traffic. Despite that, there remains a twice weekly passenger service as far as Charleville, and seasonal cattle trains from Quilpie. Following the 2010–11 Queensland floods, freight services were suspended between Westgate and Cunnamulla, and have not resumed. In September 2014, a truck carrying ammonium nitrate exploded near Wyandra, damaging the nearby railway bridge, which has not been repaired, effectively closing the line between Westgate and Cunnamulla.
In recent years, new coal mines near Chinchilla and Dalby have transported increasing tonnages (1-2M tonnes/month) for export from the Port of Brisbane at Fisherman Islands, which is now the main source of freight on the line. Grain is the other major, though seasonal freight.
Standard of construction
The current speed and load limits on various sections reflects the level of traffic on them. From Toowoomba to Roma the rail is , 25-50% of the sleepers are steel, and the speed limit is , west of Miles and for coal trains east of there, with an axle load of .
West of Roma to Westgate the line speed remains though the rail is . From there to Cunnamulla and Quilpie the line remains largely as originally constructed, with light rail (), all timber sleepers, axle load, minimal earthworks and a line speed of .
Branch lines
A series of branch lines were built to connect to the Western line, and these are listed from east to west below.
Pengarry Junction – Crows Nest, 55 km, opened December 1886, closed 1961.
Although not part of the Western line complex, it is worth noting that the opening of an 18 km direct line from Toowoomba to Wyreema on the Southern line in 1915 bypassed the Gowrie Junction – Wyreema section, though that section remained open to serve local traffic until 1961.
Kingsthorpe – Haden, 33 km, opened December 1910, closed 1964.
Oakey - Cooyar, 63 km, opened April 1913, closed 1964.
Oakey - Cecil Plains, 63 km, opened April 1919, out of service since 1994.
Dalby – Jandowae, 48 km, opened August 1914, this line services a significant grain growing district and was upgraded to 15 tonne axle load in the 1990s, but subsequently closed on 25 June 2013.
Dalby – Bell, 38 km, opened April 1906, out of service since 1994.
Dalby - Glenmorgan, 165 km, opened in sections between 1911 and 1931, Section from Meandarra to Glenmorgan remains booked out of use and rail traffic remains suspended beyond Meandarra as of 26 June 2013