Central railway station, Brisbane

"Brisbane Central" redirects here. For the Queensland electoral division, see Electoral district of Brisbane Central.
Central

Ann Street entrance in July 2012
Location Corner Ann & Edward Streets, Brisbane
Coordinates 27°27′57″S 153°01′34″E / 27.4659°S 153.0261°ECoordinates: 27°27′57″S 153°01′34″E / 27.4659°S 153.0261°E
Owned by Queensland Rail
Operated by Citytrain
Line(s) North Coast
Platforms 6 (3 islands)
Construction
Structure type Ground
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Status Staffed
Station code 600018 (platform 1)
600017 (platform 2)
600016 (platform 3)
600020 (platform 4)
600019 (platform 5)
600024 (platform 6)
Fare zone 1
Website Queensland Rail
History
Opened 18 August 1889
Electrified Yes
Services
Preceding station   Queensland Rail   Following station
Terminus
Airport Line
toward Bowen Hills
Beenleigh Line
toward Beenleigh
Terminus
Caboolture Line
toward Caboolture
toward Bowen Hills
Cleveland Line
toward Cleveland
Terminus
Doomben Line
toward Doomben
One-way operation
Exhibition Line
One-way operation
Terminus
Ferny Grove Line
toward Ferny Grove
toward Bowen Hills
Gold Coast Line
toward Bowen Hills
Ipswich and Rosewood Line
toward Rosewood
Terminus
Shorncliffe Line
toward Shorncliffe
toward Bowen Hills
Springfield Line
Terminus
Sunshine Coast Line

Central railway station is located on the North Coast line in Queensland, Australia. It is the principal station on the Citytrain network and is located in the Brisbane central business district.

History

Looking east to the main station entrance across Ann & Edward Streets from the verandah of the People's Palace in 1911
View to the west toward the platforms circa 1911
Central Station Cafe in Brisbane, 1927

The first building for Central railway station was a structure of wood and corrugated galvanised iron, and opened on 18 August 1889 as the terminus of the line when it was extended from Roma Street railway station.[1] In 1891, the tunnel to Brunswick Street station (now Fortitude Valley) was opened so trains could run directly from Central to northern destinations.[2]

An elegant new station was constructed and opened in 1899 with arches of corrugated galvanised iron over the platforms and a portico on Ann Street.[2] A new entrance with its distinctive row of clocks was constructed in 1901 in sandstone from nearby quarries. In 1904, Central had the only electro-pneumatic system in Australia for changing points and signals.[3]

The station had two through and two bay platforms. In 1909, the bay platforms were converted to through platforms.[1]

Ann Street was widened in 1954 for the construction of government offices which required the portico to be demolished. The vaulted roof was removed in 1966 and replaced by awnings over each platform.[3]

Between 1968 and 1970, the station was redeveloped with office towers built over the platforms at the Edward Street end, involving the demolition of the 1901 entrance buildings and the construction of a modern pedestrian retail concourse behind the old station buildings.

Further redevelopment in the 1980s saw the Sheraton Hotel towers (now Sofitel Brisbane) built over the remaining platforms.

As part of the quadruplication of the line from Roma Street station to Bowen Hills, Platforms 5 and 6 opened on 11 June 1996.[4][5][6][7]

Station configuration

Central railway station is located at the northern end of the Brisbane central business district on Ann Street, directly opposite Anzac Square. Pedestrian access is available from the main entrance at the corner of Ann and Edward Streets, the pedestrian subway connecting Anzac Square with Upper Edward Street and from the corner of Ann Street and Creek Street. Lesser used access points are located off Wickham Terrace and from Edward Street via the courtyard of the Railway Centre.

There is elevator access to Central Station from Ann Street opposite the Shrine of Remembrance, and from Wickham Terrace on the northern corner of the complex. There are also escalators to Central Station from Anzac Square Arcade, next to Anzac Square.

Services

Central station is served by all suburban and interurban Citytrain lines.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

Services by Platform

Platform Line Stopping Pattern Notes and Comments
1 & 2 Beenleigh Line All stations services to Coopers Plains, Kuraby and Beenleigh
Gold Coast Line Intercity limited stop express services to Varsity Lakes All stations to Park Road, then express stopping only at Altandi, Loganlea, Beenleigh, then all stations to Varsity Lakes
Cleveland Line All stations and peak-hour limited stop services to Cannon Hill, Manly and Cleveland
3 & 4 Ferny Grove Line All stations services to Ferny Grove
Airport Line Airtrain service to Brisbane Airport
Nambour and Gympie North Line Intercity express services to Gympie North Stops all city stations, then express from Bowen Hills to Caboolture, then stopping all stations from Caboolture to Gympie North.
Doomben Line All stations services to Doomben
Shorncliffe Line All stations services to Shorncliffe
Exhibition Line Special event services to the Exhibition (Anti-clockwise direction)
5 Ipswich and Rosewood Line All stations and peak-hour limited stops services to Ipswich and Rosewood* * Rosewood services require a change of trains at Ipswich. A limited number of peak period services continue through Ipswich.
Springfield Line All stations services to Springfield Central
Exhibition Line Special event services to the Exhibition (Clockwise direction)
6 Caboolture Line All stations and peak-hour limited stop services to Petrie and Caboolture
Nambour and Gympie North Line Intercity limited stop express services to Nambour* All stations to Northgate, then express stopping only at Petrie, Caboolture, then all stations to Nambour
* Counter-peak and selected weekend services to Nambour require a change of train at Caboolture
Exhibition Line Special event services to the Exhibition (Anti-clockwise)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Central Railway Station (entry 14848)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Hallam, Greg (2005). Brisbane's Biography (Steamtrain Sunday). QR Limited.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Station clocks were central to city's life The Courier Mail 3 December 2009
  4. "Roma Street - Bowen Hills Quadruplication Update" Railway Digest March 1995 page 14
  5. "Inner City Rail Expansion" Railway Digest July 1995 page 17
  6. "Additional City Tunnels & Track Commissioned" Railway Digest July 1996 page 17
  7. "Future rail connection in study's sights" (Press release). Government of Queensland. 26 August 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  8. Gold Coast-Airport line timetable TransLink 20 January 2014
  9. Beenleigh line timetable TransLink 20 January 2014
  10. Cleveland line timetable TransLink 20 January 2014
  11. Ipswich and Rosewood line timetable TransLink 20 January 2014
  12. Springfield line timetable TransLink 20 January 2014
  13. Caboolture line timetable TransLink 20 January 2014
  14. Doomben line timetable TransLink 20 January 2014
  15. Ferny Grove line timetable TransLink 20 January 2014
  16. Shorncliffe line timetable TransLink 20 January 2014
  17. Springfield line timetable TransLink 20 January 2014
  18. Sunshine Coast line timetable TransLink 20 January 2014

External links