The North Coast Line is the primary rail route on the North Coast of New South Wales, and forms a major part of the Sydney-Brisbane rail corridor. The line begins at Maitland and ends at Roma St station in Brisbane, although freight services terminate at the yard at Acacia Ridge on the outskirts of Brisbane. Along the way, the railway passes through the towns of Dungog, Gloucester, Wingham, Taree, Kendall, Wauchope, Kempsey, Macksville, Nambucca Heads, Urunga, Sawtell, Coffs Harbour, Grafton, Casino and Kyogle. After the standard gauge line ends at Acacia Ridge, it forms a dual gauge line into Brisbane, running alongside parts of the Beenleigh railway line. Since the abandonment of the northern part of the Main North Line in 1988, the North Coast Line has become the only route between Sydney and Brisbane. With the closure of former branches to Dorrigo (1972) and Murwillumbah (2004) there are now no operating branches off the line.
History
Line at Bundook, near Gloucester
Kendall Station
The line was built between 1905 and 1932, and when completed, bypassed the Main North Line and provided a quicker route up the eastern seaboard. The development of the line was hampered by the many large rivers that flow through the North Coast. The line also features the Cougal Spiral, which is one of only two spirals in New South Wales. The first North Coast railway was opened between Murwillumbah, Byron Bay and Lismore in 1894 and it was extended to Casino in 1903 and Grafton in 1905. A branch line was built to Kyogle in 1910 and extended to Brisbane in 1930. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||