This is a video of Queensland Rail's Spirit of Queensland tilt trains seen in various locations along Queensland's north coast railway between Brisbane and Cairns.
The Spirit of Queensland is a premium tilt train service linking Brisbane to Cairns 5 times a week. With a journey time of approximately 25 hours. The Spirit of Queensland was introduced to replace the former Sunlander locomotive hauled train. The former train took approximately 36 hours. Thus the tilt trains greatly reduced journey times for Northern Queensland residents. The Spirit of Queensland is the only Queensland Rail passenger train to operate the full length of Queensland's north coast railway a distance of 1681km.
The Spirit of Queensland is a diesel powered tilt train built by Walkers of Maryborough in 1999 and a further unit in 2014. Bringing the total number of diesel tilt trains to 3. The final tilt train built in 2014 allowed for the full replacement of the ageing Sunlander train at the end of 2014.
The tilt train is made up of two diesel power cars (locomotives), one crew and baggage carriage, two 2 + 1 layout railbed sleeper carriages, one lounge/buffet car and lastly three 2 + 2 layout premium economy seating carriages. The tilt train is operated in a push pull configuration.
Essentially there are two classes of travel on board the Spirit of Queensland tilt trains.
The Railbed class (First Class) this consists of a larger seat that converts into a fully lay flat bed similar to what is found in international business class on some airlines. In Railbed class all meals are included in the fare. On the complete journey this means you will get breakfast, lunch and dinner served to your seat. This is certainly the most comfortable way to travel on this train.
The other class on the Spirit of Queensland is the Premium Economy class essentially economy class with extra legroom. The seating is laid out in a 2 + 2 configuration and does offer some recline but these seats do not convert into a bed. In Premium Economy class meals are not included however they are available for purchase in the lounge/buffet car throughout the journey. This class is not recommended for the entire journey or overnight. However Premium Economy is fine if only travelling for a few hours on part of the trains journey. eg Townsville to Cairns.
Overall the Spirit of Queensland is well worth travelling on if travelling between Brisbane to Cairns. However the Railbed class is the best option for the full journey.
The footage in the video was produced at various dates between 2017 and 2023.
#queenslandrail #spiritofqueensland #australiantrains #passengertrain #queensland
13 фев 2024
