Springfield railway line is a 13.6 km suburban railway line in Brisbane, Australia that branches from the Ipswich/Rosewood line after Darra railway station. Construction of the line started on 5 July 2010, and it opened on 2 December 2013. The line was developed along with the widening of the nearby Centenary Motorway. The line speed is rated for speeds of up to 140 km/h in most sections. However, only the interurban multiple unit 100 and 120 series and New Generation Rollingstock trains can run at the full speed of the line. The current timetable is based on a top speed of 120 km/h between Richlands and Springfield stations, which is faster than the Centenary Motorway that runs alongside. Services on this line are the busiest on the Brisbane network.

Construction and opening

Construction of the first stage of the line, to Richlands, started on 5 July 2010, with the first sleeper being laid at Darra on the Ipswich line. The line was developed along with the widening of the nearby Centenary Motorway from two to four lanes from Darra through to the Logan Motorway. The original completion date was for 2015. However this was bought forward to 2013. Construction of the first station on the line, Richlands, started on July 1, 2008, and the line was due to begin service on January 23, 2011 without service from Darra to the City due to scheduled maintenance works on the Ipswich line. The opening was brought forward to January 17, 2011 to assist travellers from further west who could not use the Ipswich line, which was out of service due to Queensland floods. On October 23, 2011, work started on the second stage of the line to Springfield. The station originally proposed as Springfield Lakes station was renamed Springfield, and the one proposed as Springfield station renamed Springfield Central. The extension to Springfield Central began service on 2 December 2013. A proposal exists to extend the line from its present terminus at Springfield Central to Redbank Plains, Ripley Valley, Yamanto, and Ipswich station.

Route

Passengers would change for or from the Ipswich and Rosewood lines at Darra; Beenleigh, Gold Coast and Cleveland lines at Roma Street; and all other lines at Central. The route crosses the interchange between the Logan Motorway and Centenary Motorway on a two-track viaduct more than 800 m long. The viaduct has been designed so that its piers do not obstruct planned expansions of both roads.

Proposed extensions

In the Connecting SEQ 2031 Plan, the QLD Government has listed an UrbanLink high frequency (15min) service running from Darra to Springfield, and on to Redbank Plains via Augustine Heights, as an extension to the existing Springfield Line. It also talks about an ExpressLink (30min frequency) between Ipswich and Ripley, via UQ Ipswich (now USQ Ipswich), Churchill, Yamanto and Deebing Heights; with the vital corridor between Ripley and Redbank plains being reserved for a later time after 2031. In 2019, the City of Ipswich completed an overview of the Ipswich Central to Springfield Central public transport corridor with a focus on the proposed extension. The lines are shown in the map below.