The Westlander

The Westlander is an Australian passenger train operated by

Queensland Rail on the Main and Western lines between Brisbane The Westlander
and the outback town of Charleville.

Overview
Contents
Service type Passenger
Background train
History Status Operational
Today First service August 1954
Subsidy levels Current operator(s) Queensland
References Rail
Route

Background Termini Brisbane

Charleville
In the 1888 timetable the train from Brisbane to Roma was Distance travelled 740 km
officially called the Western Mail, with some runs extended (460 mi)
through to Morven. With the opening of the line from Morven to Average journey 17 hours
Charleville on 1 March 1888 the train was again extended.[1]
time
Victorian Railways introduced air-conditioned trains in 1935, and Service frequency 2 × per week
Queensland Rail decided to follow suit in the late 1940s. Steel
carriages were designed to travel to all parts of the system, The Westlander
meaning a maximum axle load of 9 tons, which was a challenge
Brisbane
for the dining cars. New features included showers in the sleeping
Corinda
cars, roomettes in first class and head end power cars, especially
Ipswich
necessary where trains may be delayed by floods or other events,
Rosewood
as was often the case.
Laidley
Gatton
History Helidon
Toowoomba
The Westlander was introduced in August 1954, replacing the Oakey
Western Mail and its wooden carriages with the present Dalby
Commonwealth Engineering, Rocklea steel air-conditioned Chinchilla
carriages. The route from Brisbane to Cunnamulla was 973 Miles
kilometres (605  mi), with a connecting service to Quilpie from Yuleba
Charleville, 777 kilometres (483 mi) from Brisbane.[2] Initially the Wallumbilla
Quilpie connecting train was not air-conditioned, so in 1967 a Roma
generator was fitted to an insulated van to provide power for an
Mitchell
air-conditioned sitting car and mechanical refrigeration for the van
Morven
to provide this comfort on the Quilpie service.
Charleville
Later the Westlander was divided at Charleville, the service to
Quilpie being nicknamed the Flying Flea and consisted of two passenger carriages, a guards van and
power van. In August 1994 the service was cut back to Charleville.[3]

The return service departed Cunnamulla at 09:00 arriving in Brisbane at lunchtime the next day. Even with
the line speed from Cunnamulla being 30 km/h (19 mph), the train was still preferred by many due to the
lack of quality roads at the time.[2] By 1957 freight wagons were also attached to the train, including
louvred steel QRX and QLX-T wagons, and MPR refrigerated wagons. Up to 16 vehicles could make up
the train.[2] Passenger services beyond Charleville to Cunnamulla and Quilpie were withdrawn in 1994.[1]

Today
As at October 2020, the train runs twice weekly to Charleville with a journey time of 17 hours. Connecting
coach services operate to Cunnamulla and Quilpie.[4]

The westbound service (3S86) departs from Platform 10 at Roma Street Railway Station on Tuesdays and
Thursdays at 7:15pm and arrives at Charleville Railway Station at 11:45am on Wednesdays and Fridays.[5]

The eastbound service (3987) departs from Charleville Railway Station at 6:15pm on Wednesdays and
Fridays and arrives at Platform 10 at Roma Street Railway Station at 11:25am on Thursdays and
Saturdays.[5]

Crews for the Westlander are based at Toowoomba, Chinchilla and Roma.

The train currently consists of 3 L series cars.

The dining and sleeping (M series) cars were withdrawn from 1 January 2015, with catering now provided
by at seat snack packs delivered at meal times.[6][7]

On the 16 June 2021, a $1M Business case was announced by the Queensland State Government to
investigate replacement of The Westlander, Spirit of the Outback and Inlander Services.[8]

Subsidy levels
In 2016, the service was estimated to have carried 3,677 people in the previous financial year, with the
effective subsidy paid by the Queensland State Government for each passenger amounting to an estimated
$4,007 (total subsidy $14.7m)[9]

In 2021, the service carried 2,999 people in previous financial year, with the effective subsidy paid by the
Queensland Government for each passenger at $4,928.90.[10]

References
1. "About Traveltrain - History" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080907085037/http://traveltrain.
com.au/2/about_traveltrain/about_traveltrain/history.asp). www.traveltrain.com.au. Archived
from the original (http://www.traveltrain.com.au/2/about_traveltrain/about_traveltrain/history.a
sp) on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008.
2. Robin Bromby (2004). The Railway Age in Australia. Lothian Press. p. 97. ISBN 0-7344-
0715-7.
3. "QR's Westlander Service Truncated" Railway Digest September 1994 page 14
 4. "Westlander & Inlander timetable" (https://www.queenslandrailtravel.com.au/Documents/Tim
etables/Post-COVID%2019%20timetables/QRT5002.6.2_TIMETABLES_A4_IN%20WES
T%20Update_v1.pdf) (PDF). Queensland Rail Travel. 19 September 2020.
5. "Timetable" (https://www.queenslandrailtravel.com.au/Planyourtrip/timetable).
www.queenslandrailtravel.com.au. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20210911033801/
https://www.queenslandrailtravel.com.au/Planyourtrip/timetable) from the original on 11
September 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
6. "The Westlander Factsheet" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150220010109/http://www.quee
nslandrailtravel.com.au/RailServices/Documents/the-westlander/Westlander%20Fact%20S
heet_JAN14-15.pdf) (PDF). Queensland Rail. 3 January 2015. Archived from the original (htt
p://www.queenslandrailtravel.com.au/RailServices/Documents/the-westlander/Westlander%
20Fact%20Sheet_JAN14-15.pdf) (PDF) on 20 February 2015.
7. "Westlander and Inlander to lose sleeping and dining cars this month" Railway Digest
January 2015 page 16
8. "Three train manufacturers shortlisted for Queensland train building program" (https://statem
ents.qld.gov.au/statements/92416). Ministerial Media Statements. Archived (https://web.archi
ve.org/web/20210814125858/https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/92416) from the
original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
9. Rural rail subsidised by up to $4,000 a trip, prompting overhaul call (http://www.abc.net.au/n
ews/2016-07-28/rural-passenger-train-travel-westlander-inlander-subsidies/7667352)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20161201044202/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-0
7-28/rural-passenger-train-travel-westlander-inlander-subsidies/7667352) 1 December 2016
at the Wayback Machine ABC News 28 July 2016
10. "Annual patronage and government subsidy per passenger trip for direct operating costs:
Parliamentary Question on Notice" (https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/que
stionsAnswers/2021/1216-2021.pdf) (PDF). Queensland Parliament. 13 October 2021.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20211112185631/https://documents.parliament.qld.go
v.au/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2021/1216-2021.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 12
November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.

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