General News
30 April, 2025
All aboard – but not all stops
THE popular Savannahlander tourist rail trip has fired up for the first tour of the season but with its starting point now in Mareeba, instead of Cairns.
The change follows the closure of the rail between Kuranda and Mareeba after a bridge was damaged by heavy rains last year.
Queensland Rail Executive General Manager Regional Assets Wayne Prosser confirmed track inspections in December 2024 found “accelerated deterioration to timber rail bridges between Kuranda and Mareeba”.
“As such, this section was required to be closed until further remediation works can be undertaken to ensure safe operations for rail traffic,” he said.
It’s not the only track closure along the line, with the endpoint of the journey, Forsayth, missing out on train arrivals last year because of a deteriorating bridge, which is yet to be repaired. The train had stopped at Almaden and passengers had made a short bus trip to Forsayth.
Now the Almaden stop was also closed because of heavy rainfall and the tour could only go as far as Mount Surprise.
“It’s been a challenging time, but you’ve got to do what you can,” Savannahlander Operations Manager Mike Lee said. “We’re running right now. They’re at Mt Surprise today. We’ve got a great group on.”
The company has created a special morning tea visit to Saltwater Creek at Mt Surprise for passengers, as it was too far to coach the passengers to Forsayth.
“It’s gone very well. There’s a lot of water around out there so it’s quite beautiful,” Mr Lee said.
However, he said it was “important we get back” to the closed stations as soon as possible as the businesses were “really suffering” without the regular visitors.
The QR’s Mr Prosser said works were being carried out at Almaden and it was hoped it would be open “within a few weeks”.
He said work on the Kuranda-Mareeba line was expected to take about to take about six months, but a start date “has not been confirmed”.
It is understood a funding request was with the State Government.
Issues with the line date back to before Covid, when a major bridge upgrade was being undertaken. However, the costs for the work escalated after Covid and the money ran out.
Mr Lee said he hoped the funding for the work was provided soon, as he suspected there was more maintenance going to be required, after two heavy wet seasons.
He said the impact on the Savannahlander trip was being felt, with single or independent bookings slowing up, but May, a busy month, was attracting strong bookings with group tours. “We are impressed with how supportive people are,” he said.
“We want this line to stay open, its worth keeping open as a tourism venture, as an historical attraction, and for those towns that rely on the train.
“We are very prepared to support this rail, and we have the support of the Gulf Development Corporation and local politicians.”
He said moving the trains from Cairns to Mareeba had been a “complex process”, but had succeeded with the assistance of the “fantastic” Mareeba QR maintenance team.
The trains are housed in an undisclosed location for security reasons.
The Savannahlander uses the Tablelands rail line (including the former Etheridge rail line), which was created in the late 1800s, firstly from Cairns to Mareeba, then further with branch lines from Mareeba to Chillagoe and from Almaden to Einasleigh, then on to Charleston and Forsayth, to cater for the mining boom of the times.
By the 1990s the “Forsayth Mixed” rail usage was dwindling. But support from tourists wanting to continue to take the historic journey ensured its future, and the carriages were sold privately.
It has been run by Cairns Kuranda Steam since 2004.
QR still owns the line and maintains it.
Passengers travelling on the Savannahlander during the period of the track closure will be transferred from Cairns to Mareeba for Wednesday departures, and from Mareeba to Cairns on Saturdays, for those returning on the Savannahlander.
Once the Cairns-Kuranda rail section is repaired, trips will resume normal departures from Cairns.
For more information visit https://savannahlander.com.au/
