Brisbane's Airtrain is an express rail service operating in the extreme south
of Queensland, Australia, connecting Brisbane International Airport to the
city centre and the Gold Coast, south towards the New South Wales border.
Airtrain is a privatised part of the Queensland Rail network, operated by
Airtrain Citylink. This company is part-owned by British construction company
the John Laing Group, which also owns England's Chiltern Railways. Airtrain
uses the same rolling stock as the rest of QR, and links to QR's own services at
several points, as set out below.
When in Queensland in 2002, I flew to and from Brisbane airport, but did not
take the Airtrain. I did see it at Internation Terminal station, however. Like many
visitors to the airport, I initially mistook it for a monorail. This impression is
given by the fact that the spur from Eagle Junction to the airport is elevated
track, mounted on concrete piers.
Domestic Terminal
|
International Terminal
|
Eagle Junction
|
Bowen Hills
|
Brunswick Street
|
Central Station
|
Roma Street
|
South Brisbane
|
Southbank
|
Beenleigh
|
Ormeau
|
Coomera
|
Helensvale
|
Nerang
|
Robina
Queensland Rail connections to the Caboolture, Gympie, Shorncliffe and Doomben Lines at Eagle
Junction; to the Ferny Grove Line at Bowen Hills; and to the Ipswich and Cleveland Lines at Roma Street. River buses run along the
Brisbane River from Southbank (and very nice they are too!)