IMU 173 in Queensland Rail City Network livery
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Overview | |
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Owner | Queensland Rail |
Locale | South East Queensland |
Transit type | Commuter Rail |
Number of lines | 13 |
Number of stations | 152 |
Annual ridership | 52.44 million (2015/16) |
Headquarters | Brisbane |
Website | www |
Operation | |
Operator(s) | Queensland Rail |
Number of vehicles | 684 in 205 sets (450 in 75 sets under construction) |
Technical | |
System length | 689 km (428 mi) |
Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) |
Electrification | 25 kV AC |
Top speed | 130 km/h (81 mph) |
The Queensland Rail City network (formerly known as Citytrain prior to the split of Queensland Rail) provides urban, suburban and inter-urban electric passenger railway services in South East Queensland, Australia.
The first railway in Queensland did not actually run to Brisbane, but ran from Ipswich to Grandchester. Opened in July 1865, the line into Brisbane was not completed until the opening of the Albert Bridge in July 1875.
A start on electrification of the suburban network was approved in 1950 but a change of state government in 1957 saw the scheme abandoned in 1959. It was not until the 1970s that electrification was again brought up, with contracts let in 1975. The first part of the new electric system from Darra to Ferny Grove opened on 17 November 1979. The network was completed by 1988, with a number of extensions made since and additional rolling stock purchased. Services were initially operated under the Queensland Rail brand, with the Citytrain name established in 1995.
In June 2009 as part the split of Queensland Rail's commuter rail and the freight business, The Citytrain brand was dropped in favour of using the redesigned Queensland Rail brand. Since then almost all traces of the Citytrain brand have been removed from rolling stock and station signage.
The Queensland Rail City network is made up of ten suburban lines and three interurban lines. Centering in the Brisbane City, it extends as far as Gympie in the north, Varsity Lakes in the south, Rosewood in the west, and Cleveland in the east to Moreton Bay.