Queensland Rail
In 1985 Deutsche Bundesbahn, the German Federal Railways started trialling their Intercity-Express trains, which eventually became a huge success and a flagship product of the railways. Three years later, Queensland Railways deployed their InterCityExpress trains on the Spirit of Capricorn service between Brisbane and Rockhampton. Although the Australian ICEs could reach a less-than-impressive 120km/h (the German counterpart, ICE1, 280km/h) they still had some interesting features - e.g. electrically closed swing doors or rotating seats which used to be altered by the staff at the termini so that every passenger could face the direction of travel. After the introduction of the Rockhampton Tilt Train in 1997, the ICEs were cascaded to less prestious tasks. In November 2011 ICE158 is at the helm of an afternoon service from Gympie North to Brisbane Roma St., one of just two such services a day.
A member of the IMU160 class runs express through Petrie station. The IMU160s have been in service since 2008 and can reach up to 130 km/h.
An unidentified IMU160 en-route to Brisbane seen from Mount Beerburrum.
Kuranda Scenic Railway is one the most (if not the most) popular tourist attractions in the Tropical North of Queensland. Although heavily commercialised, it still offers great views as the train climbs up the Macalister Range at a walking pace.
Kuranda Scenic Railway service to Cairns crosses a wooden bridge over Jumrum Creek just out of Kuranda station. The 37-kilometre-long descend into Cairns will take approximately 2 hours.
Two trains a day run between Cairns and Kuranda, which in Queensland terms means extremely often. Much of the passenger network sees a train only twice a week.
Little good can be said about trains in Queensland. The suburban services offer rather spartan accommodation and vast portion of the stock is not even fitted with ‘conveniences’. Here a member of 88 unit strong ‘EMU’ class is seen before departing from Cleveland to Brisbane City.