Canberra railway station

Canberra railway station is located in Kingston, ACT, Australia. The station is the terminus for CountryLink rail services from Sydney. It is the only operating railway station in the ACT.

In 1913 when Canberra was founded and named, work began immediately on a new rail link to the capital from Queanbeyan (on the Goulburn-Bombala branch line) to the Eastlake station site, now the station at Kingston. The line was constructed by the New South Wales Public Works Department on behalf of the Commonwealth.

The station building opened on 21 April 1924. From 1927 when Federal Parliament moved to Canberra, the rail passenger service was upgraded with the introduction of a Canberra portion of the Cooma-Sydney overnight Mail connecting with Melbourne night trains at Goulburn Junction.

A new passenger terminal building was constructed in 1966.

Kingston to Civic Railway

Griffin's original intention was for a railway to come to Canberra City, with stations on the north, east and south.

Work started in December 1920 by the NSW Railways Commission. The rail opened on 15 June 1921. It carried goods traffic and some passengers in the guards van. The railway cost AUP 5370. It branched off from the Queanbeyan Canberra line at the Power House siding near Cunningham Street. It headed north on a raised embankment through the Causeway, and across the Molonglo River. The bridges over Jerrabombera Creek and Molonglo River were of low temporary standard. A siding was provided to the north of the river at Russell for the workers camp that was there. The line curved to the north west in Reid, behind St Johns Church and the TAFE. A platform for the railway was built in what is now Garema Place. Finally a line continued to the north to Eloura Street in Braddon where there was a marshalling yard.

In July 1922 flood on the Molonglo River washed away the legs on the trestle bridge, and left the bridge deck suspended by the rails, and sagging into the water. The bridge was never reconstructed. However plans were made to extend the railway line to Yass in 1924 and 1934.

Brickworks tramway

A 1067mm rail was built in 1923 from the Yarralumla brickworks to Old Parliament house. This passed along Adelaide Avenue, and round the north of State Circle. A branch went to the Hotel Canberra. The rail continued to the Power House in Kingston. The brickworks tramway was extended to Civic. It crossed the Molonglo on a bridge near Scotts Crossing. The older 4 feet 8 and a half inch wide track was reduce to the 3 and a half feet by shifting one rail. The tramway terminated at the Civic Centre Station. The tramway was dismantled on 9 May 1927 as a clean up for the opening of parliament house.

Railways planned but never built

Plans were drawn up for a railway to the Tuggeranong Arsenal. The Tuggeranong Arsenal was planned in World War I, but never eventuated. It included a hospital near the Kambah Wool Shed, A small arms factory near Pine Island, and a civic centre. The route ran from the Queanbeyan line via Macarthur, Fadden, Erindale, Waniassa and Oxley to a station in north east Greenway.

A plan was also drawn for a Canberra-Jervis Bay Railway in 1914. By 1921 plans were given up to build this.

There was also a proposal to build a railway between Canberra and Yass, and this was specified in the Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909. This was last considered by the government in 1971. The route was not considered to be economically justified.

References

*cite web | last = Kain | first = John | year = 1993 | url = http://www.arhsact.org.au/misc/can_rail_history.php | title = Short History of Railways in Canberra | work = Railways of the National Capital 1913-1993 | publisher = Australian Railway Historical Society (ACT Division) | accessdate = 2006-04-12
* Canberra's Engineering Heritage, 2nd edition, chapter 2 by Walter M Shellshear.

External links

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