Wikipedia

Canberra railway station

Not to be confused with Canberra MRT station in Singapore.

Canberra railway station is located on the NSW TrainLink Regional Southern Line[1] in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. It is located in the Canberra suburb of Kingston.

Canberra
Eastbound view in July 2007, with the station's former CountryLink signage visible
General information
LocationBurke Crescent, Kingston, Australian Capital Territory
Australia
Coordinates35°19′09″S 149°08′57″E / 35.319187°S 149.149232°E / -35.319187; 149.149232
Owned byTransport Asset Holding Entity
Operated byNSW TrainLink
Line(s)Canberra
Distance329.61 kilometres (204.81 mi) from Central
Platforms1
Tracks3
ConnectionsBus
Construction
Structure typeGround
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeCBR
History
Opened21 April 1924
Rebuilt26 October 1966
Passengers
216,988
Services
Preceding station NSW TrainLink Following station
Terminus NSW TrainLink Southern Line
Canberra Xplorer
 Queanbeyan
towards Sydney

History

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See also: Railways in Canberra § History
 
Station front in 2022

The Commonwealth branch line to Canberra from Queanbeyan opened to goods traffic on Monday 25 May 1914.[2]

Canberra Eastlake station[3] opened on 21 April 1924, a decade after the goods railway. Passenger services had run between the Kingston Powerhouse and Queanbeyan for around six months prior to the station building opening.[4]

In October 1926, the Great White Train visited Canberra station, attracting nearly 2,500 people. The train was established by the Australian-made Preference League as a traveling exhibition to promote Australian made goods and represented around thirty manufacturers from across New South Wales. The 230-yard (210 m)-long, 16 carriage train arrived just before 2pm on Saturday 23 October[5] and stayed until the following evening before heading to Queanbeyan for a three-day stay.[6]

 
Canberra station in 1929
 
The Great White Train at Kingston railway yards 1926

By the end of 1927, six trains were arriving at Canberra on weekdays. The station came under the control of the Commonwealth Railways at this time.[7][8]

By the late 1930s, the temporary station building had begun to receive criticism for its basic nature and lack of amenities.[9] The station's office building was robbed by a suspected crime gang at Easter in 1933 and again a few days before Christmas in 1934. The Christmas railway robbery saw the door forced with an iron coupling bar and the safe being blown open. The suspected gang got away with just 258 pennies (A£1/1/6d or A$4.15), as only a few hours previously railway officials had removed £500 holiday takings from the safe.[10]

In 1956 the ACT Advisory Council sent a comprehensive report to the Minister for the Interior Allen Fairhall, which noted the station was the "worst advertisement in Canberra".[11]

In March 1961, an accident at Canberra station saw a 12-year-old boy lose his leg. Robert Wilkes had been playing on the locomotive turntable at the goods yard when he fell between the table and the track. A doctor had to amputate his right leg above the knee to free him.[12]

The Minister for Shipping and Transport, Sir Gordon Freeth, announced in August 1965 that a new terminal building would be built in Canberra.[13] At that time the location of the new terminal was unclear and a new site on Majura Rd adjacent to Woolshed Creek near the airport was reserved for a new station.[14]

In January 1966, the construction contract for a new railway terminal at the existing site in Kingston was awarded to T.H. O'Connor of Fyshwick. The new building was built alongside the existing structure on the same platform, which would later be demolished. The new building would be a combined passenger, parcels and administrative centre.[15]

The terminal building was opened by the Minister for Transport & Shipping, Gordon Freeth on 26 October 1966.[16][17][18] Built at a cost of $160,000, it was intended to be another temporary solution until a new, permanent home for railway opened closer to the airport "somewhere in the Pialligo area".[19]

 
1210 on the plinth outside the station it occupied from January 1962 until September 1984

Canberra station, along with the line to Queanbeyan, was owned and staffed by the Commonwealth Railways and later Australian National although services were always operated by the New South Wales Government Railways and its successors. Despite numerous attempts to transfer the loss making line to the Government of New South Wales, it remained in Federal Government hands until May 1985 when it was transferred to the State Rail Authority.[20][21][22]

Steam locomotive 1210 that had hauled the first train into Canberra in May 1914, was displayed on a plinth outside the station from January 1962 until September 1984, when it was moved to the Canberra Railway Museum and returned to service in 1988.[16][23][24]

The ACT Government announced plans in March 2023 to build a new multi-modal station next to the current terminal building as part of the Eastlake urban redevelopment. The plans include co-location of the Canberra Railway Museum and integration of a future light rail line.[25]

Transport for NSW announced in 2024 that Canberra station would receive an accessibility upgrade, as part of the NSW Government’s $800.7 million Safe Accessible Transport program. Works could include upgraded external paths, ramps, kiss and ride areas and enhanced signage.[26]

Services

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Terminated ex-Sydney Xplorer at Canberra station
 
Waiting room

Canberra is the terminus for the New South Wales Xplorer service by NSW TrainLink from Sydney. It is also served by NSW TrainLink road coach services to Cootamundra, Bombala and Eden.[27] V/Line coach service to Bairnsdale also operates via the station.[28]

Platform Line Stopping pattern Notes
1 services to Sydney Central

New location proposals

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The current site of Canberra's railway terminal is broadly accepted to be accidental, owing to a lack of consensus and political will to agree on a suitable location. Even as Australia's most planned city, no agreement has been reached for a permanent home for the city's railway, with no fewer than eight separate locations considered over the past 100 years. Canberra's current station building is the city's second temporary rail terminal.[11][17]

In 1925 plans for the city of Canberra were gazetted, which included a railway extending from Kingston to Dickson via Russell and the city. Stations on this line were planned in 1918 to include Russell, Anzac Parade, Ainslie Ave and MacArthur Ave. The short-lived Kingston to Civic goods railway was constructed along this route in 1921.[29]

In 1938 the Federal Minister of the Interior John McEwen stated in Parliament that the Kingston station was temporary and that the "site of the permanent railway station for Canberra is in Civic Centre" and that the "present station is well off the route of the permanent railway".[9] Though in 1940, the rails that had been laid in anticipation of a permanent Civic Line were removed[29] and by the 1950s, locations south of the lake for the new station were under consideration, including Bowen Place (adjacent to Kings Ave bridge) and State Circle (adjacent to Parliament House).[30]

Garema Place

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Civic Centre Station opened in 1921 in what is now known as Garema Place,[31] on a temporary line that was to be later replaced with a permanent construction.[32] The station served the Brickworks Railway from Yarralumla and a goods railway from Kingston via Russell.[33] The main railway was cut off from Kingston in the floods of 1922,[34] but the rail corridor remained reserved for a future line until 1950 when the Canberra City Plan was altered and the railway corridor, which was not seen as 'modern', was abandoned in favour of urban development.[35]

Woolshed Creek

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In 1965 the Commissioner for Commonwealth Railways, Keith Smith, announced that a site of about four chains (88 yards) had been set aside for a new passenger terminal to the west of Woolshed Creek in Piallago, adjacent to Majura Rd. The land was chosen because it was flat, there were no drainage problems, and it was close to the city and airport. The site was also along the proposed Canberra to Yass railway line and high-speed line to Sydney, which were being planned at the time.[14][19] The new temporary station was instead built in Kingston, with the Woolshed Creek passenger terminal site and proposed railway corridor being later used for vehicular transport following the construction of Majura Parkway, which opened in 2016.

Jerrabomberra Creek

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The ACT Government published plans for Canberra's East Lake area in 2010 that would see the removal of most of its railway infrastructure, making way for urban development. A new passenger railway station was proposed to sit between Jerrabomberra Creek and the Monaro Highway.[36]

Canberra City Cooyong Street

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In 2013 a report by the Federal Labor government proposed a three-platform station under Ainslie Avenue – north of Cooyong Street and the Canberra Centre.[37] The location would require four kilometres of tunnel passing through Mount Ainslie.[38] The proposed location is a close approximation to the city station included in Walter Burley Griffin's plan for Canberra.[30]

Canberra Airport

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In 2016 the ACT Government and Canberra Airport backed moving Canberra Station 1 km (0.62 mi) further from the city to a new location at the airport. The Government intended passengers to transfer there with the future light rail service to the city.[38] In 2021 there were no fewer than 16 daily coach services between Canberra's CBD and Sydney Central, yet none between Canberra Airport and Sydney, bringing in to question the demand for a high-speed rail terminal at the airport.[39][40][41] Should the airport be chosen as the new location, Canberra station would be 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from the CBD, the furthest distance of any Australian capital other than Darwin.

In 2017, the ACT Government announced it had protected from development a fork-shaped railway corridor stretching from Eaglehawk on the ACT-NSW border heading southeast to Canberra Airport with an alternative branch southwest to Ainslie Ave. The route runs roughly parallel to Majura Parkway. The ACT Government also indicated it was no longer content for Canberra to be on a spur-line between Sydney and Melbourne and was in discussions with the Federal Government on including Canberra on the main line of any high-speed rail route proposal.[42]

There are currently no published plans for a direct heavy railway connecting Queanbeyan, Canberra Airport and a station in Canberra City along preserved Majura rail corridors. The 11 km route could provide an alternative gateway for Canberra, aligning with the NSW Government's commitment to faster rail between Canberra and Sydney.[43] In 2018 the NSW Government announced its intent to "look at" a light rail connection between Queanbeyan and Canberra, without indicating a route preference.[44]

Ipswich Street

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A further location for Canberra's railway terminal was proposed in 2019 by the Fyshwick Business Association, which submitted a response to the ACT Government's 2020-21 Budget Consultation to move the passenger railway station 1.5 km (0.93 mi) south east to 16 Ipswich Street. The group supporting proposals that the current station site in Kingston be "freed-up" for redevelopment.[45]

Newcastle Street

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In November 2022, the Fyshwick Business Association released another proposal dubbed the Eastwick Greenline, which centred on relocating the railway terminal further east to Newcastle Street to form a multi-model transport hub, linked to a future transport corridor by converting the existing heavy railway between Fyshwick and Kingston to light rail.[46] The proposal includes extending the existing railway approximately 3km north to Canberra Airport, which would create an 'eastern loop' line when the line from the city to the airport along Constitution Ave is constructed.[47]

The Causeway

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ACT Government plans to move Canberra station were re-ignited in 2022 as part of a consultation on the re-development of the surrounding East Lake area.[48] Under revised plans released in March 2023, a railway terminal building and platforms are to be constructed approximately 100m to the east of the current station building along the existing rail alignment. The new terminal will form part of a multimodal transport hub and include the co-location of the Canberra Railway Museum. The current station building would be demolished under the plan in order that The Causeway be extended south to meet Burke Crescent. Indicative plans show the Rapid Network extending along the existing railway towards Fyshwick, suggesting the line could be converted to Tram-Train status allowing heavy and light rail to share tracks.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Southwest NSW
  2. ^ "Queanbeyan to Canberra Railway Opened". Queanbeyan Age. 16 May 1914. p. 2. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Eastlake". The Queanbeyan Age and Queanbeyan Observer. 23 November 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  4. ^ Bus, A. C. T. (7 April 2012). "A short history of railways in Canberra". Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  5. ^ "The Great White Train Visit to the Federal Capital". The Canberra Times. 21 October 1926. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  6. ^ "Great White Train Visit To Canberra". The Canberra Times. 28 October 1926. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Federal Parliament: Developing Federal Capital". The Argus. 19 September 1927. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Railways in the Australian Capital Territory" Australian Railway Historical Society November 1967 pages 244-252
  9. ^ a b "Canberra station meets requirements, says minister". The Canberra Times. 4 January 1938. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Missed £500 Haul. Safeblowers at Canberra Railway Station". Tweed Daily. 24 December 1934. p. 3. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Condition of railway station criticised". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  12. ^ "The helping hand". The Canberra Times. 23 January 1963. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  13. ^ "New £52,000 railway station for Canberra". The Canberra Times. 26 August 1965. p. 1. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Canberra-Yass rail survey this year". The Canberra times. 31 August 1965. p. 9. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Railway station contract let". The Canberra Times. 14 January 1966. p. 3. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  16. ^ a b Stokes, HJW (1984). Railways of the Canberra and Monaro Districts. Canberra: Australian Railway Historical Society, ACT Division.
  17. ^ a b "New Railway Station at Canberra" Network September 1966 page 1
  18. ^ "20 Years Ago" Railway Digest October 1986 page 323
  19. ^ a b "Canberra's new station open". The Canberra Times. 27 October 1966. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Australian Capital Territory Railway" Railway Gazette 26 November 1954 page 603
  21. ^ "Queanbeyan-Canberra Link" Railway Gazette 20 September 1957 page 328
  22. ^ "Canberra Line Handover" Railway Digest May 1985 page 136
  23. ^ "Australian ceremony" Railway Gazette 20 April 1962 page 446
  24. ^ "ARHS Canberra" Railway Digest November 1984 page 381
  25. ^ a b "Draft East Lake Plan Part 2" (PDF). Your Say Conversations. April 2023.
  26. ^ Bushnell, Ian. "Accessibility upgrade on way for Canberra Railway Station". Riotact. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  27. ^ "Southern timetable". NSW TrainLink. 7 September 2019.
  28. ^ Melbourne to Canberra timetable V/Line 27 August 2017
  29. ^ a b "City Railway Remnants Background Information" (PDF). Environment ACT. June 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  30. ^ a b "Why does the Sydney-Canberra train stop in Kingston and not the CBD?". ABC News. 23 July 2017. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  31. ^ "Railway Extension on Canberra-Queanbeyan Line". Daily Advertiser. 31 August 1921. p. 4. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  32. ^ "Griffin Plan of Canberra Under Review to Meet Modern Conditions". The Canberra Times. 17 June 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  33. ^ "Light rail in Deakin". Deakin Residents Association. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  34. ^ "The Flood. Much damage done". The Queanbeyan Age and Queanbeyan Observer. 28 July 1922. p. 2. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
  35. ^ "Canberra City Railway Scheme Abandoned". The Canberra Times. 14 February 1950. p. 2. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  36. ^ "Options for Eastlake, Preferred" (PDF). Planning ACT. ACT Planning. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  37. ^ "Ainslie Avenue slated as Canberra Station". The Canberra Times. 11 April 2013. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  38. ^ a b "ACT wants high speed rail to run to Canberra airport, not to the city". 3 April 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  39. ^ "Bus between Sydney & Canberra | Murrays Coaches". murrays.com.au. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  40. ^ "Sydney to Canberra Bus". Greyhound Australia. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  41. ^ "Public transport and shuttle bus". Canberra Airport. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  42. ^ "ACT government to stop developers using land on high speed rail corridor". The Canberra Times. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  43. ^ "A fast rail future for NSW". NSW Government. 21 January 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  44. ^ Burgess, Katie (20 March 2018). "Could Canberra's light rail network extend through to Queanbeyan?". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
  45. ^ Morgan, Cassandra (4 November 2019). "Fyshwick Business Association lobbies government to move Canberra passenger train station". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  46. ^ "MEDIA RELEASE – Eastwick Greenline Light Rail and Active Travel Corridor Concept Revealed | Fyshwick Business Association". fyshwickbusiness.com.au. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  47. ^ Fuller, Nick (18 November 2022). "New light rail proposal for eastern Canberra". Canberra Daily. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  48. ^ Webber, Mirian (28 July 2022). "ACT government opens consultation on future of East Lake precinct". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 7 September 2022.

Further reading

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Map of the Canberra branch line
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