Railway Tunnels
The tunnels featured are a selection of Australian railway tunnels that are in current use. For abandoned tunnels, click here.
Sydney's Railway Tunnels, NSW
Because of Sydney's terrain, the use of tunnels has been mandatory in the construction of railways throughout the inner and outer Sydney metropolitan area. The most welknown is what is known as the City Circle, a complete railway network within the Sydney central business district that is below ground. The majority of it was built by the cut and cover method (a tunnel dug, then covered over) along the line of George Street to the west and Macquarie Street/Hyde Park corridor to the east.
Murray Bridge, Tunnel, SA
The single track railway tunnel which brings the railway line from the railway bridge to the town's railway station is one of the few transport tunnels built in South Australia. Emerging towards the river near the Bridgeport Hotel, the tunnel was completed in 1925 and built by the cut and cover (open cut) method in which a trench is dug, the walls and roof are built after which the area above the tunnel is covered over. The old cutting nearby is where trains previously ran between 1886 and 1925 to cross the old bridge.
Gib Tunnel, Mittagong, NSW
Mt Gibraltar near Mittagong presented a formidable barrier when the Great Southen Railway was being built through the NSW Southern Highlands. Their solution was to build a single track tunnel. Work was completed in 1866, one year before the railway arrived in Mittagong in 1867. The well preserved ‘1866’ date-stone over the keystone at the northern end of the tunnel is still clearly visible today. Increased traffic inevitably turned the tunnel into a bottleneck, and a second 516 metre tunnel, with two tracks, was cut alongside the original tunnel in 1918. The original tunnel is currently home to an exotic mushroom farm.
Dalveen Tunnel, Qld
Dalveen tunnel is on the Warwick to Wallangarra line in Queensland's Granite Belt. On its way to Stanthorpe from Wariwick, the line climbs the Great Divining Range up a 1 in 50 grade past the former locations of Kerrick and Temangum before reaching Dalveen. The length of this tunnel is only 141 metres, and it is situated only 1 kilometre from Dalveen. Upon leaving the tunnel, the line continues our climb all the way to Dalveen, having risen a further 160 metres in the space of about 7km from Kerrick to Dalveen.
Byong Tunnel, NSW
The 1,875 metre long Byong tunnel is on the Sandy Hollow to Gulgong railway west of Muswellbrook. At the time of its construction, it was the longest rail tunnel in Australia. Construction originally commenced in the 1940's with the tunnel being partially bored and lined from each end. However, with the abandonment of the line's construction in the early 1950's, the tunnel remained incomplete until the early 1980's when the line was bored, completed and opened as a heavy haul railway for the coal traffic in the area. When the middle section of the tunnel was bored, it was never lined.
Bunbury Street Tunnel, Footscray, Vic
In 1926. Victorian Railways began the construction of an independent goods line to link West Footscray to South Kensington to ease the congestion at Footscray, by by-passing the Footscray junction and the Footscray passenger station. There was a desperate need to separate steam-hauled country and freight trains from electric suburban trains.
Glenbrook Tunnel, NSW
The double-track Glenbrook tunnel on the Main Western Line was opened in 1913 as a replacement for the original Glenbrook tunnel of 1892. At 283 metres, the 1913 tunnel was shorter than the 634-metre-long 1892 Glenbrook Tunnel. However, the 1913 deviation was approximately three kilometres (two miles) longer than the 1892 deviation. The 1913 deviation did not improve the time taken to climb or descend the pass between Emu Plains and Blaxland stations, however a reduction in gradient from 1:30 to 1:60 made the pass more manageable and reduced challenges with steam locomotives in tunnels on significant gradients, including reducing the possibility of suffocation.
Red Hill Tunnels, NSW
The Red Hill Tunnels are a set of five tunnels between Coffs Harbour and Glenreagh that were opened in 1923. The tunnels would have opened earlier if not for the young, fit workers going to World War I. The grade never exceeds 1 in 40 as the line climbs from Coffs Harbour to the Orara Valley. No longer part of the Main Line, the track is used by the Rainforest Rattler, a heritage railway that opertates a heritage railway that opertates out of Coffs Harbour Railway Station. Their Beaches and Tunnels tour is designed for families. From Coffs it heads to Bonville travelling through coastal heath, crossing Boambee Creek and Bonville Creek before heading north to Landrigans Siding.
Victoria Tunnel, Grandchester, Qld
Victoria Tunnel, near Grandchester in the Lockyer Valley, is the oldest and longest railway tunnel in the state of Queensland, built when the state was a separate colony. The tunnel is one of two built through the Little Liverpool Range on a section of narrow gauge railway from Grandchester to Gatton. The railway opened in June 1866. The tunnel has restricted clearances, which limits the size of rolling stock on the Queensland Railways network. It was the longest single bore tunnel in Australia (537 m) until Sandy Hollow - Ulan in NSW opened in 1917.
Cherry Gully Tunnel, Qld
Situated on the Warwick to Wallangarra line in Queensland's Granite Belt, costruction on the tunnel began in 1878, and took longer than expected as exceptionally hard rock was encountered. Several driling machines failed and hand driling had to be resorted to. Four lives were lost in the tunnel's construction. The tunnel was one of the first in Queensland to have a concrete lining instead of the more common brick lining.
Long Island Tunnels, NSW
Just offshore from Brooklyn on the Hawkesbury River is Long Island, a nature reserve. It remains untouched but for the Central Coast railway line which bisects its western edge and passes through a tunnel there immediately before entering onto the Hawkesbury River railway Bridge. The original tunnel was constructed in 1878 at the same time as the Hawkesbury Bridge. A replacement tunnel parallel to it came into service in 1946.
Kuranda Scenic Railway, Qld
Mining provided the original impetus for building a railway line up to the Atherton Tablelands from Cairns. The ascent of the range to Kuranda began with the awarding of the 15 miles (24 km) second section of the contract (Redlynch to Myola) in January 1887. Work on the second section began in April 1887. The railway's 14 ascent tunnels represent the largest group of tunnels in Queensland.
Cougal Spiral and Tunnels, Kyogle, NSW
The Cougal Spiral is a heritage-listed single track railway tunnel and spiral feature of the New South Wales North Coast railway line that connects New South Wales with Queensland through Richmond Gap. It was built during 1930. It is also known as the Border Loop railway formation and landscape, Cougal To Border Loop and Railway Spiral and Landscape. The railway line needs to climb at a steady ruling gradient from Kyogle to the summit at a tunnel at the border between the two states. The border is also at the watershed.
Belair National Park Tunnels, SA
There are two double track railway tunnels in Belair National Park that carry the main standard gauge Adelaide to Melbourne (Main South) railway line as it crosses the Adelaide Hills. Most of the traffic is freight but twice a week the well-known passenger service The Overland takes passengers to and from Adelaide and Melbourne. Long Gully Tunnel (304 metres) is not far from Long Gully residence and Volunteers Centre. National Park Tunnel (193 metres) is on the Thelymitra Walking Trail not far from Waverley Lodge. The tunnels were opened in 1932 when the line was duplicated and followed a new alignment that bypassed Sleeps Hill.
Tunnel, Tunnel, Tas
When you see a place called Tunnel on the map, it's not hard to imagine what you'll find there. Tunnel is not far from Lebrina, just a few kilometres past Lilydale. The tunnel itself is little known and well hidden. It was part of the north eastern Launceston to Herrick railway line. Work on building the structure’s approaches began in late 1885. It would be a further two years, Mr Dix said, until the two headings met. It was another 12 months until the 700 metre tunnel ras completed. The first passenger train to run through the tunnel did so on February 2, 1889, with the state's Governor on board, but initially the line only went as far as Scottsdale.