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#KurandaRailwayAustralia The Kuranda Railway will take you through dense rainforests, steep ravines and waterfalls all within the World Heritage Barron Gorge National Park. The journey from Cairns to Kuranda takes arounds two hours with some short stops for viewing plus marveling at the engineering as you pass through fifteen hand carved tunnels plus over 37 bridges KeyTip; There are three classes of tickets ( Heritage, Gold & Royale) so as per usual it depends on what service and add-ons you would like, I opt for Heritage ($84.00 Australian...$76.00 US) for a return ticket as i am here to experience the train and see the outside, not what is sitting in front of me with food / beverage 😅 |
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The Beginnings Construction of the railway began in 1866 which was completed five years later and went as far as Kuranda (which was established as a town in anticipation of the completion) It was built so supplies could reach the northeastern part of Australia (rich mining areas) as the wet season made any roads impassable Fatalities With the removal of three million cubic meters of rock and earth (which had to be excavated during construction) for the rail, the tunnels and the making of the bridges, there were 32 men that were tragically killed by accidents John Robb Because of him and his brave workers it gave Cairns new life with the completion of a consistent supply chain So then the area prospered with its gold, tin / copper mining, logging, fishing and sugar cane industry |
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The Cairns to Kuranda Line It opened up for passenger travel in 1891, since then a few interesting facts A) During The Second World War, the railway carried thousands of American and Australian service men / women to Cairns as it was a RAAF base. It was also a location of a major repair depot for the US 7th Fleet. B) In 1973 the mountain line was the scene of Australias Great Train Robbery when two masked bandits blocked the rail and robbed the payroll that was headed to the workers C) At the Kuranda Station look for the memorial for John Robb and his men; A Pick and Shovel D) The first operation as a tourist train was in 1936 using four seating carriages E) In 2010 the train was derailed by a landslide with a few injuries, after a geotechnical study of train line was assessed then reopened |
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The Streets of Cairns Most would not realize that a lot of rock and rubble from the construction of the rail line was used to fill in the swampy marshlands into solid ground for the roads In another repurposing, it was also used for the building foundations here |
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Short Route The railway is only 37 kms (23 miles) as it passes through the suburbs of Strafford, Freshwater and Redlynch then finally onto Kuranda |
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Amenities Once at Kuranda Station you are a short walk to the town that has a zoo, markets, art galleries and ethnic Aboriginal crafts |
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The Carriages They were the original ones from the 1930s and then beautifully restored to its authentic Victorian design for this tourist train |
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Best Observation Tips On your journey to Kuranda make sure you get seats on the right hand side of the train to get the best views of the coast and valleys Plus request a forward facing seat instead of backwards |
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Skyrail Rainforest Cableway On my way in the six passenger gondola (7.5 kms -11 miles) over the ancient Wet Tropics of Queensland that is estimated to be 130 million years old, which is more mature that the Amazon How timeworn you ask; some of the plants here have existed when the dinosaurs roamed our planet Extreme Transportation To protect the area no roads were built during construction, but instead used Russian Kamov Helicopters to carry all the materials to the tower sites to minimize any disruption to the forest floor KeyTip The journey includes two mid-station stops (Red Peak / Barron Falls) with boardwalks Then a local expert guides you with tours to learn about the unique flora and fauna of the area |
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