GAP line

The Collinsville – Newlands – North Goonyella (GAP) line is a railway line in Queensland, Australia. It was opened in a series of sections between 1922 and 2012. It commences at Merinda, near Bowen and extends south to North Goonyella coal mine, connecting to the Goonyella railway line. The nearby 13 km line from Kaili to Abbot Point is considered part of the GAP system.

The Bowen Basin is today recognised as the largest coal resource in Australia, but its relative remoteness resulted in a lack of priority for a line that would facilitate development of the coalfield. A line was proposed from Bowen to the 'Bowen Coalfield' in 1884, and funding allocated, but the funds were diverted to the Townsville-Ayr line when a surveyor described the coal as 'worthless'.

Mining commenced in 1912 at Collinsville, and then in a relatively modest fashion. Coal was being shipped to Townsville and railed to customers due to a lack of efficient transport from Collinsville. The Queensland government was keen to source a local supply of coal for the northern region of the state, and built the line from Merinda, 7 km west of Bowen on the North Coast Line (NCL), 77 km to Collinsville, which opened in 1922.

A 7.6 km private tramway (built to QR standard) junctioning from just south of the Collinsville station connected to the Scottsville mine opened in the same year, and also served the cattle yards. A 1.5 km spur to the Dacon mine also opened in 1922, and closed in 1983.

Coal began to be railed to Mt Isa in the 1930s, a distance of 1,230 km. The line was upgraded in conjunction with the Mt Isa line in the 1960s as coal volumes grew in line with the expansion of the Mt Isa mines and smelters, enabling 2,000 ton trains hauled by two main line diesels to be introduced.

In 1978, a mine was proposed at Newlands, and in 1984 a 73 km extension opened to serve the mine. At the same time a new export shipping terminal was built at Abbot Point, with a 13 km line to it junctioning at Kaili on the NCL, 8 km west of Merinda. This included a line bypassing Merinda, though the original line remains.

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