Mitchell railway station

Mitchell
Eastbound view in July 2013
Location	Warrego Highway, Mitchell
Coordinates	26°29′14″S 147°58′07″E / 26.4872°S 147.9687°E / -26.4872; 147.9687Coordinates: 26°29′14″S 147°58′07″E / 26.4872°S 147.9687°E / -26.4872; 147.9687
Owned by	Queensland Rail
Operated by	Traveltrain
Line(s)	Western
Platforms	1
Construction
Structure type	Ground
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	1885
Services
Preceding station   Queensland Rail   Following station Roma toward Brisbane The Westlander Morven toward Charleville

Mitchell railway station
Location of Mitchell railway station in Queensland
Location	Oxford Street (passenger station), Alice Street (goods shed) and Sheffield Street (station master's, Mitchell, Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia
Coordinates	26°29′14″S 147°58′07″E / 26.4872°S 147.9687°E / -26.4872; 147.9687
Design period	1870s - 1890s (late 19th century)
Built	1884 - 1933
Queensland Heritage Register
Official name: Mitchell Railway Station
Type	state heritage (built)
Designated	8 September 2005
Reference no.	601077
Significant period	1880s-1910s (historical)
Significant components	residential accommodation - station master's house/quarters, platform, views to, shed - goods, railway station, loading bay/dock

Mitchell railway station is located on the Western line in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. It serves the town of Mitchell. The station has one platform, opening in 1885. The station has a number of heritage-listed buildings, including the passenger station in Oxford Street, the goods shed in Alice Street, and the station master's house in Sheffield Street. The buildings were added to Queensland Heritage Register on 8 September 2005.

Mitchell is served by Traveltrain's twice weekly Westlander service travelling between Brisbane and Charleville.

Mitchell railway station was opened on 17 January 1885 as part of the Western railway line built to service western Queensland. Buildings of heritage significance on the site include the passenger station, goods shed and station master's house. The station complex reflects the historic role of Mitchell as a regional centre in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It provides good examples of typical railway architecture from this period in south western Queensland.

Similar to other Australian colonies, the Queensland Government fostered the development of railways as a means of developing the country and providing social benefits. It was argued that rail would reduce freight costs and save travel time for passengers. An added incentive for rail development in Queensland was the very poor state of the roads. In wet weather especially, this hampered the transport of freight. Railway development became the province of government because of the doubtful economics of building and operating private rail services for the widely distributed, sparse population of rural Queensland. In most cases the capital costs were high in relation to the potential revenue likely to be raised from passengers and freight. These economies imposed a natural limit on the expansion of railways into remote areas.

The government initially gave priority to developing a railway west of Brisbane. As well as providing graziers and farmers with a more efficient transport link to the coast, railways were seen as a key to encouraging closer settlement west of the Great Dividing Range. The first section of rail, opened on 31 July 1865, was between Ipswich and Bigge's Camp (now the heritage-listed Grandchester railway station), 34 kilometres west of Ipswich. By February 1868 the rail was extended to Dalby in the Darling Downs. With a railhead provided for the squatters in this region, extensions further west ceased while the railway was developed elsewhere. A line south to Warwick was opened in 1871 and in August 1872, approval was granted to extend the railway in Central Queensland and to start an Ipswich to Brisbane rail link. It was 1876 before construction of the railway westward from Dalby recommenced. The rail was opened to Roma in 1880 and to East Mitchell in 1883.