Bell Bay Line

Bell Bay Line
Overview
StatusIn use
OwnerGovernment of Tasmania
LocaleLaunceston, Tasmania
Termini
Service
TypeHeavy rail
Operator(s)TasRail
History
Opened1973
Technical
Line length57.3 km (35.6 mi)
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map

Legend
 Bell Bay ferry/water interchange
Old Bell Bay Road
George Town
 Old Bell Bay Road
East Tamar Highway
Bridport Road
East Tamar Highway
 Pulp Mill
Longreach
 East Tamar Highway
Fourteen Mile Creek
East Arm Road
Dalrymple Road
 Faheys Creek
Swan Bay Creek
Jollys Road
Magazine Road
Coulsons Creek
Lady Nelson Creek
North East Line Right arrow
 Coldwater Creek
Lilydale Road
Tip Road
 Newnham Creek
Remount Road
 Launceston
Vermont Road
 Henry Street
Inveresk Railyards
North Esk River
East Tamar Junction
Newstead
St Leonards
West Junction •
South Line Right arrow 
Western Line Down arrow
This diagram:

The Bell Bay Line is a freight rail corridor connecting the port of Bell Bay to the main rail network of Tasmania.[1][2] The Railway Line was built in 1973 to connect the Longreach sawmill to the rail network, and was extended to Bell Bay in 1974.[2]

Traffic on the line was initially limited to woodchip logs to Longreach, with the occasional train to George Town and Bell Bay. By the 1990s, log traffic to Longreach by rail was decreasing, and container traffic to the port of Bell Bay was increasing. Today the only traffic on the line is containers to and from Bell Bay.[2] At present, the railway line is included in the Federal Government's AusLink initiative[3]

  1. ^ "Tasmanian rail network" (PDF). Australian Government. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Bell Bay Line". Rail Tasmania. 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010.
  3. ^ "AusLink Network Corridors" (PDF). Australian Government. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 September 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010.