Springfield railway line

Springfield railway line is a 13.6 km (8.5 mi)[1] suburban railway line in Brisbane, Australia that branches from the Ipswich/Rosewood line after Darra railway station. Construction of the line started on 5 July 2010, and it opened on 2 December 2013.[2] The line was developed along with the widening of the nearby Centenary Motorway.

Springfield line
Overview
Websitequeenslandrail.com.au
Technical
Line length0 km (0 mi)
Track length16.0 km (9.9 mi)
Number of tracksQuadruple to Darra, double track to Springfield Central
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Electrification2013
Operating speed140 km/h (87 mph)
Route map

The line speed is rated for speeds of up to 140 km/h (87 mph) in most sections. However, only the interurban multiple unit 100 and 120 series and New Generation Rollingstock trains can run at the full speed of the line. The current timetable is based on a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph) between Richlands and Springfield stations, which is faster than the Centenary Motorway that runs alongside.

Construction and opening
Richlands railway station, 2011

Construction of the first stage of the line, to Richlands, started on 5 July 2010, with the first sleeper being laid at Darra on the Ipswich line.[3] The line was developed along with the widening of the nearby Centenary Motorway from two to four lanes from Darra through to the Logan Motorway.[4]

Construction of the first station on the line, Richlands, started on 1 July 2008 (2008-07-01),[5] and the line was due to begin service on 23 January 2011 (2011-01-23) without service from Darra to the City due to scheduled maintenance works on the Ipswich line.[1]

The opening was brought forward to 17 January 2011 (2011-01-17) to assist travelers from further west who could not use the Ipswich line, which was out of service due to Queensland floods.[6]

On 23 October 2011 (2011-10-23), work started on the second stage of the line to Springfield. The station originally proposed as Springfield Lakes station was renamed Springfield, and the one proposed as Springfield station renamed Springfield Central.[7]

The extension to Springfield Central began service on 2 December 2013.

A proposal exists to extend the line from its present terminus at Springfield Central to Redbank Plains,[8] Ripley Valley, Yamanto, and Ipswich station.[9]

Route
Springfield railway line
showing distance from Central and ticket zone
Northern lines
2.7 km Bowen Hills
(1)
1.3 km Fortitude Valley
(1)
0.0 km Central
(1)
0.8 km Roma Street
(1)
Hale Street (Inner City Bypass)
2.3 km Milton
(1)
3.5 km Auchenflower
(1)
4.5 km Toowong
(1)
6.0 km Taringa
(1)
7.4 km Indooroopilly
(1)
8.5 km Chelmer
(1)
9.5 km Graceville
(1/2)
10.7 km Sherwood
(2)
11.6 km Corinda
(2)
13.3 km Oxley
(2)
16.0 km Darra
(2)
Richlands (2)
Ellen Grove (future station) (3)
Springfield (3)
29.6 km Springfield Central (3)

Passengers would change for or from the Ipswich and Rosewood lines at Darra; Beenleigh, Gold Coast and Cleveland lines at Roma Street; and all other lines at Central.

The route crosses the interchange between the Logan Motorway and Centenary Motorway on a two-track viaduct more than 800 metres long. The viaduct has been designed so that its piers do not obstruct planned expansions of both roads.[10]

Over 800 metres long, the railway viaduct has piers designed to allow for the planned expansions of nearby Logan and Centenary Motorways.

Proposed extensions

In the Connecting SEQ 2031 Plan, the QLD Government has listed an UrbanLink high frequency (15min) service running from Darra to Springfield, and on to Redbank Plains via Augustine Heights, as an extension to the existing Springfield Line. It also talks about an ExpressLink (30min frequency) between Ipswich and Ripley, via UQ Ipswich, Churchill, Yamanto and Deebing Heights; with the vital corridor between Ripley and Redbank plains being reserved for a later time after 2031. In 2019, the City of Ipswich completed an overview of the Ipswich Central to Springfield Central public transport corridor with a focus on the proposed extension.[11]

The lines are shown in the map below.[12]

Extensions proposed in the Connecting SEQ 2031 plan
Continues to Darra and Brisbane City
Springfield Central
 (6)
Augusta Parkway
Augustine Heights
 (6)
Redbank Plains
 (6)
Swanbank
 (7)
South Ripley
 (7)
Ripley
 (7)
Deebing Heights
 (7)
Cunningham Highway
Yamanto
 (7)
Warwick Road
Churchill
 (7)
USQ Ipswich
 (7)
Brisbane Street
Main Line to Rosewood Station
Ipswich
 (7)
Continues to Darra and Brisbane City

See also

References
  1. Hurst, Daniel (6 January 2011). "The train station with no trains". Brisbane Times.
  2. "Springfield Rail Bonus: Extra Station and $171 Million Saved" (Press release). Queensland Government. 20 February 2011.
  3. O'leary, Christopher (7 July 2010). "Work on rail link begins". South-West News.
  4. Moore, Tony (7 June 2010). "Budget plans to fast track rail line to Springfield". Brisbane Times.
  5. "$800 million project offers transport choices" (Press release). Queensland Government. 1 July 2008.
  6. "New train station to open early". Brisbane Times. 16 January 2011.
  7. "Work underway on Springfield rail link". TransLink. 24 October 2011.
  8. Jackson, Zane (10 August 2011). "Push for rail in Redbank Plains". The Queensland Times.
  9. Kieran Banks (2 December 2013). Fast track to growth: Springfield train line is opened. The Queensland Times. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
  10. Pacheco, Pedro; Filipe Magalhaes (2015). Multi-Span Large Bridges: International Conference on Multi-Span Large Bridges, 1-3 July 2015, Porto, Portugal. CRC Press. p. 480. ISBN 9781315687193. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  11. "Ipswich Central to Springfield Central Public Transport Corridor" (PDF). Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  12. "Connecting SEQ 2031" (PDF). Queensland Government Department of Transport and Main Roads. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
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