Pinkenba railway station


Pinkenba railway station was originally the terminus station of the Pinkenba Line, just from the Brisbane central business district; from Central station by rail. It opened in 1897, rebuilt in 1969 with a second new station closer to the township of Pinkenba, the first station reverted as Shunters Quaters and closed in 1993 to all passenger traffic.

History

The Pinkenba line opened 1 April 1897 and during World War I and World War II, troop camps were located in Pinkenba and Meeandah localities because of deep berthing available to ships at Pinkenba on the mouth of the Brisbane River. Passenger ships of the Orient Steam Navigation Company, later P&O, used the adjacent Pinkenba Wharf, and special trains ran from Brisbane to Pinkenba.
On 29 August 1906, a contract was let for refreshment rooms to be constructed at Pinkenba station, at a cost of £318. These operated until the new Pinkenba station – still standing today – opened in 1969.
In 1988 part of the line was electrified, but only as far as Eagle Farm station; diesel-hauled carriages infrequently operated passenger services to Pinkenba. On 27 September 1993, all passenger services on the line were suspended by the Goss Labor Party government as part of a statewide rationalisation of the rail network with the closing or suspending of under-utilised or unprofitable rail lines.

Current status

In 2005, the 1969 Pinkenba railway station area became a rubbish recycling site, with large amounts of dirt dumped over the terminus siding that housed Pinkenba station. The 1969 station building did remain until 2016, although badly damaged and used as a dumping ground, and the track that connected the station to the Pinkenba Line has been removed. By 2017, the building was demolished. QR still owns the land.
The original 1897 station building was later removed to a Grain Corp site. Then circa 2001 the station building was cut in half and removed pending the redevelopment of the site. The right-hand section went to a private home in Shore Street East, in Cleveland and the left-hand section was transferred by ferry to North Stradbroke Island and serves as the ticket office for Stradbroke Ferries.

Replacement bus service

The bus stop for the replacement TransLink bus service is immediately outside Pinkenba station in Eagle Farm Road.