Spirit of the Outback

The Spirit of the Outback is a long-distance passenger rail service in Queensland, Australia, operated by Queensland Rail's Traveltrain division.

Spirit of the Outback
Overview
Service typePassenger train
PredecessorCapricornian
The Midlander
First serviceNovember 1993
Current operator(s)Queensland Rail
Ridership18,216 (2010/11)
Route
StartBrisbane
EndLongreach
Distance travelled1,325 kilometres (823 mi)
Average journey time26 hours
Service frequency2 x per week
Line(s) usedNorth Coast
Central Western
Technical
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Spirit of the Outback[1]
Brisbane
Caboolture
Nambour
Gympie
Maryborough West
Bundaberg
Miriam Vale
Gladstone
Mount Larcom
Rockhampton
Duaringa
Bluff
Blackwater
Emerald
Alpha
Jericho
Barcaldine
Ilfracombe
Longreach

Route

Debuting in November 1993 by combining the former Capricornian and Midlander trains, this 1,325 km rail journey operates between Brisbane and Longreach. The Spirit of the Outback travels along the east coast of Queensland, from Brisbane to Rockhampton, where it heads west through Blackwater, Emerald and Barcaldine, to Longreach.

The Spirit of the Outback passes through coastal landscapes and then travels into the Outback, through mountain ranges, sunburnt plains and historic towns and to attractions such as the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame and Qantas Founders Outback Museum. The train operates twice weekly. In January 2015, the service was upgraded with refurbished L series carriages.[2][3] At this time the M series carriages and Motorail services were also withdrawn.[4] While the Tuckerbox was retained, the Stockman's Bar and Captain Starlight Lounge (which were the original lounge cars) were withdrawn and since replaced with the Shearer's Rest Lounge.[5] [6]

Classes of travel

The Spirit of the Outback has three classes of travel:

  • Economy seats
  • Economy single sleepers (Currently not available due to rolling stock maintenance)
  • First class sleeping berths:
  • 'First Class Single Sleeper' , with a seat and fold-down bed
  • 'First Class Twin Sleeper' , with two seats that convert into two lower single beds.

Incident with coal train

On 18 November 2000, the Longreach-bound Spirit of the Outback came within 50 metres of colliding head-on with an Gladstone-bound coal train.[7] The close call occurred 15 kilometres west of Dingo when the coal train proceeded through a red signal and entered the same section of track the Spirit of the Outback was travelling on.[7] At the time of the incident, there were fifty passengers onboard the Spirit of the Outback.[7] When the crew of the coal train realised the danger, they applied their emergency brakes and contacted the crew of the Spirit of the Outback who also applied their emergency brakes.[8] Both trains were able to stop in time before a head on collision occurred. The "Spirit" came to a stop first and the drivers vacated the lead locomotive as the coal train approached. There was much criticism that the drivers had abandoned the passengers with no warning to brace for an impending impact. The Spirit of the Outback was hauled back to Dingo where passengers were permitted to disembark and were given complimentary tea and coffee.[7] The Spirit of the Outback was delayed for two and a half hours due to the incident.[7]

A Blackwater woman who was onboard the Spirit of the Outback told a local newspaper that passengers were not told given any details about what had happened or told why the train had returned to Dingo.[7] She said she only realised the severity of what had occurred when she saw the incident reported on the television news that night.[7]

An investigation chaired by Queensland Transport concluded on 8 December 2000, which confirmed the crew of the coal train has passed a signal at danger and as a result were facing disciplinary action.[8] A Queensland Rail spokesperson said the two drivers, who had excellent driving records prior to the incident, would undergo extensive re-training before being allowed to return to driving duties.[8] The spokesperson also said the staff onboard the Spirit of the Outback had acted properly by not discussing the severity of the incident with passengers at the time.[8]

References

  1. "Timetable". www.queenslandrailtravel.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  2. L-Series interior carriage conversion Queensland Government Procurement
  3. "Tenders called for Queensland Rail L series car conversions" Railway Digest September 2014 page 16
  4. Spirit of the Outback Queensland Rail
  5. "1 Day Spirit of the Outback Rail Journey | Australian Coach Rail and Air Holidays for Seniors | Rail Travel - The Ghan, Indian Pacific, Spirit of the Outback, Spirit of Queensland | Escorted Tours | Holiday Packages | Outback Tours | Great Barrier Reef | Whitsundays". www.reefnoutback.com.au. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  6. Spirit of the Outback Queensland Rail
  7. Roberts, Tamara (21 November 2000), Passengers unaware of coal train hazard, The Blackwater Herald, APN News & Media. Accessed 16 September 2020.
  8. (12 December 2000), Coal train missed signal, The Blackwater Herald, APN News & Media. Accessed 16 September 2020.
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