Roma Street railway station

Roma Street railway station is located in the Brisbane central business district, Queensland, Australia. It is the junction station for the North Coast, Main, Gold Coast and NSW North Coast lines.

This article is about the operational railway station. For the heritage-listed station building, see 1873 Roma Street railway station building.

Roma Street
Westbound view in December 2012
Location	Roma Street, Brisbane
Coordinates	27.4652°S 153.0191°E / -27.4652; 153.0191
Owned by	Queensland Rail
Operated by	Queensland Rail
Line(s)	North Coast Main Line Gold Coast NSW North Coast
Distance	0.75 kilometres from Central
Platforms	10 (4 side, 3 islands)
Tracks	10
Connections	Roma Street busway station Brisbane Transit Centre
Construction
Structure type	Ground (Terraced)
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Status	Staffed
Station code	600037 (platform 2) 600033 (platform 3) 600036 (platform 4) 600034 (platform 5) 600030 (platform 6) 600028 (platform 7) 600029 (platform 8) 600038 (platform 9) 600035 (platform 10)
Fare zone	Go card 1
Website	Queensland Rail
History
Opened	14 June 1875
Electrified	Yes
Previous names	Brisbane
Services
Preceding station   Queensland Rail   Following station Terminus Airport Line Central toward Domestic Terminal Central toward Bowen Hills Beenleigh Line South Brisbane toward Beenleigh Milton toward Roma Street Caboolture Line Central toward Caboolture Central toward Bowen Hills Cleveland Line South Brisbane toward Cleveland Terminus Doomben Line Central toward Doomben Exhibition One-way operation Exhibition Line Central One-way operation South Brisbane toward Roma Street Ferny Grove Line Central toward Ferny Grove Central toward Bowen Hills Gold Coast Line South Brisbane toward Varsity Lakes Central toward Bowen Hills Ipswich & Rosewood Line Milton toward Rosewood Milton toward Roma Street Redcliffe Peninsula Line Central toward Kippa-Ring South Brisbane toward Roma Street Shorncliffe Line Central toward Shorncliffe Central toward Bowen Hills Springfield Line Milton toward Springfield Central Milton toward Roma Street Sunshine Coast Line Central toward Nambour or Gympie North   Future services   Exhibition toward Bowen Hills Gold Coast Line Albert Street toward Varsity Lakes
Long-distance services Preceding station   Queensland Rail   Following station Terminus Spirit of Queensland Caboolture toward Cairns Electric Tilt Train Caboolture toward Rockhampton Spirit of the Outback Caboolture toward Longreach The Westlander Corinda toward Charleville NSW TrainLink Terminus NSW TrainLink North Coast Kyogle towards Sydney

Although not easily visible to the public, the original 1873 Roma Street railway station building still exists within the modern complex and is listed on the Queensland Heritage Register.[1]

History

1800s to 1940s

The construction of a railway station on Roma Street was part of a plan to extend the Main Line to Brisbane. An iron station building designed by Sir Charles Fox & Sons was to be imported from the United Kingdom for this purpose, but economic problems in Queensland led to the order being cancelled. In 1873, the Superintendent of Public Buildings Francis Stanley designed a smaller station for the site, with construction beginning in the same year under John Petrie. The station was officially opened on 14 June 1875 as Brisbane at the same time that the Main Line opened to Indooroopilly.[1]

A goods and carriage shed were added shortly after. In 1882, Roma Street became a junction station with the North Coast line opening to Sandgate.[2] With the opening of Central station as Brisbane's principal station on 18 August 1889, the station was renamed Roma Street. As traffic grew, so did the Roma Street precinct with a locomotive shed added.[1]

In 1911, the precinct was rearranged with the locomotive and carriage sheds relocated to Mayne near Bowen Hills.

On 30 November 1940, Roma Street again became the principal station for long-distance services with new platforms built to the south of the existing platforms.[1][3]

1970s to Early 2000s

Following the opening of the Merivale Bridge on 18 November 1978, Roma Street was also served by Beenleigh line services. On 21 June 1986, it became a dual gauge station with the extension of the standard gauge NSW North Coast line from South Brisbane.[1][4] In October 1986, the Brisbane Transit Centre opened to the south of the station.

As part of the quadruplication of the North Coast line to Bowen Hills, the station was rebuilt. On 1 November 1995, a new Platform 10 was opened on the station's north side as the platform for long-distance services; these services had previously used Platforms 2 and 3.[5] Platforms 7, 8 and 9 opened on 11 June 1996[6] while refurbished Platforms 4, 5 and 6 reopened in January 1997.[7]

In 2001, Roma Street Parkland opened to the north of the station on the site of the former Roma Street goods yards.[8] Visitors not travelling on Queensland Rail services can obtain a free pass to transit through the station concourse from Roma Street to the parklands.

Platform 1 became part of the Roma Street busway station on 19 May 2008, with the construction of the Inner Northern Busway.[9]

Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro Projects

Roma Street Station will be affected by both the Cross River Rail and Brisbane Metro projects.

The current Brisbane Transit Centre complex is planned to be demolished in 2020.[10] Businesses in the existing buildings were closed down between late 2018 and early 2019, with reports of controversy surrounding claims for compensation by small business tenants.[11]

According to the Cross River Rail Construction plan, new underground platforms will be constructed to service Cross River Rail services.[12] The next stations for the Cross River Rail services will be Albert Street (southbound) and Exhibition (northbound).

The proposed Brisbane Metro Line 1 services will terminate at Roma Street Station, with the previous station being King George Square. Brisbane Metro Line 2 services will continue through Roma Street following the existing Northern Busway route, with the next stations being Normanby (northbound) and King George Square (southbound).[13]

Due to the anticipated demolition of the Brisbane Transit Centre, a temporary long-distance bus terminal was constructed on the opposite side of Roma Street Station (near Platform 10) and opened in September 2019.[14]

Services

Roma Street station is served by all suburban and interurban City network lines.[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Also see Inner City timetable[25]

It is also the terminus station for long-distance Traveltrain services[26][27][28][29] and NSW TrainLink's service to Sydney.[30] A motorail loading dock is located on Platform 10.[31]

Services by platform

Platform	Lines	Destinations	Notes
2	NSW TrainLink North Coast	Sydney	1 daily NSW TrainLink XPT service[30]
	Doomben	Doomben	1 weekday service[32]
3	Doomben	Doomben	[33]
	Airport & Gold Coast	Brisbane Airport Domestic & Varsity Lakes (on occasion)
4	Beenleigh	Beenleigh, Kuraby & Coopers Plains	[34]
	Gold Coast	Varsity Lakes
5	Beenleigh	Beenleigh	[35]
	Cleveland	Cleveland
6	Beenleigh	Beenleigh & Ferny Grove	[36]
	Doomben	Doomben
	Airport & Gold Coast	Brisbane Airport Domestic & Varsity Lakes
	Shorncliffe	Shorncliffe
7	Ferny Grove	Ferny Grove	[37]
	Caboolture	Caboolture
	Doomben	Doomben
	Airport	Brisbane Airport Domestic
	Shorncliffe	Shorncliffe
	Sunshine Coast	Gympie North
8	Ipswich & Rosewood	Ipswich & Rosewood	[38]
	Springfield	Springfield Central
9	Caboolture	Caboolture	[39]
	Redcliffe Peninsula	Kippa-Ring
	Sunshine Coast	Nambour and Gympie North
10	Traveltrain	Spirit of Queensland to and from Cairns	[26]
		Spirit of the Outback to and from Longreach	[27]
		Tilt Train to and from Bundaberg & Rockhampton	[28]
		The Westlander to and from Charleville	[29]

Transport links

Adjacent to the station lies the Roma Street busway station that is served by Brisbane Transport services and the Brisbane Transit Centre that is served by Crisps Coaches, Greyhound Australia, Murrays, NSW TrainLink and Premier Motor Service long-distance coach services.

References

1. "Roma Street Railway Station (entry 601208)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
2. "OPENING OF THE SANDGATE RAILWAY". The Brisbane Courier. XXXVI (7, 591). Queensland, Australia. 11 May 1882. p. 3. Retrieved 12 December 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Roma Street stn" Railway Gazette 18 July 1941 page 54
4. "Opening of Brisbane Transit Centre" Railway Digest August 1986 page 240
5. "New Long-Distance Platform at Roma Street" Railway Digest December 1995 page 21
6. "Additional City Tunnels & Track Commissioned" Railway Digest July 1996 page 17
7. "QR Citytrain News" Railway Digest March 1997 page 18
8. About Roma Street Parkland and Spring Hill, Visit Brisbane, Retrieved 19 November 2019
9. "INB Queen St to Upper Roma St". Leighton Contractors. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
10. Brisbane Transit Centre Demolition by 2020 for Brisbane Live BrisbaneDevelopment.com, Retrieved 19 November 2019
11. Tony Moore (10 January 2019). "Brisbane Transit Centre businesses seek compo ahead of eviction". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
12. Roma Street Station Cross River Rail, Retrieved 19 November 2019
13. Brisbane Metro, Brisbane City Council, Retrieved 19 November 2019
14. Brisbane Coach Terminal, Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads, Retrieved 19 November 2019
15. "Airport/Gold Coast Line timetable". TransLink. 2 March 2020.
16. "Beenleigh Line timetable". TransLink. 2 March 2020.
17. "Cleveland Line timetable". TransLink. 2 March 2020.
18. "Ipswich Rosewood Line timetable". TransLink. 2 March 2020.
19. "Springfield Line timetable". TransLink. 2 March 2020.
20. "Caboolture Line timetable". TransLink. 2 March 2020.
21. "Doomben Line timetable". TransLink. 2 March 2020.
22. "Ferny Grove Line timetable". TransLink. 2 March 2020.
23. "Shorncliffe Line timetable". TransLink. 2 March 2020.
24. "Sunshine Coast Line timetable". TransLink. 2 March 2020.
25. "Inner City timetable" (PDF). TransLink. 2 March 2020.
26. "Spirit of Queensland timetable" (PDF). Queensland Rail Travel. 14 December 2018.
27. "Spirit of the Outback timetable" (PDF). Queensland Rail Travel. 14 December 2018.
28. "Tilt Train timetable" (PDF). Queensland Rail Travel. 14 December 2018.
29. "Westlander & Inlander timetable" (PDF). Queensland Rail Travel. 14 December 2018.
30. "North Coast timetable". NSW Trainlink. 7 September 2019.
31. Transporting motor vehicles Archived 21 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine Traveltrain
32. Roma Street Platform 2 TransLink
33. Roma Street Platform 3 TransLink
34. Roma Street Platform 4 TransLink
35. Roma Street Platform 5 TransLink
36. Roma Street Platform 6 TransLink
37. Roma Street Platform 7 TransLink
38. Roma Street Platform 8 TransLink
39. Roma Street Platform 9 TransLink

External links

• Roma Street station Queensland Rail
• Roma Street station Queensland's Railways on the Internet