Passengers evacuated from the Spirit of Queensland overnight after Bundaberg bushfires burn overhead train lines
Spirit of Queensland passengers encountered a bump in the tracks overnight when their Townsville train trip came screeching to a halt.
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SPIRIT of Queensland passengers were left frustrated when their Townsville train trip came to an unexpected halt.
Passengers were told they would have to evacuate the train to be ferried by buses to Townsville as raging bush fires just outside of Bundaberg had burnt overhead live train wires.
Marcus Howe and his son Ashton were travelling on the Spirit of Queensland last night after boarding the train in Maryborough West to come to Townsville.
Mr Howe said passengers were told at Maryborough West railway station they would be transported to Townsville from Bundaberg in buses because of the fires.
However, the passengers were not told there would be a four hour delay until the buses arrived to meet the train.
“(Queensland Rail) knew at Maryborough West that the train lines were down so why didn’t they have the buses ready?” he said.
“We were in Bundaberg until 1.30am waiting for buses for four hours.”
Mr Howe said the angry passengers were left to “watch movies and walk around” in their carriages until the buses arrived in the early hours of the morning.
He said he would appreciate a refund for the inconvenience.
“We were given a complimentary breakfast in Rockhampton this morning and we are going to get a complimentary lunch today but I don’t think it is good enough we should be reimbursed,” Mr Howe said.
The Spirit of Queensland passengers are currently enjoying a complimentary lunch at the Austral Pub in Mackay before they will board the bus once again at 1pm.
According to Mr Howe, the train was due to arrive at Townsville railway station at 9.30am this morning but the bus loads of people will not arrive until 6pm tonight.
Queensland Rail CEO Nick Easy said because of the fires the rail corridor north of Bundaberg on the North Coast line was closed.
“At this point in time, customers scheduled to travel on the following Queensland Rail travel services up to and until Sunday, 22 December are being advised that they may be impacted, and we will continue to keep customers informed of service updatesas this situation progresses,” he said.
“Road coaches will continue to be utilised to convey customers, providing the highway remains open and it is safe to do so.”
Mr Easy said limited replacement bus services were available to Queensland Rail in the early hours of yesterday morning.
“Customers on-board the terminated Spirit of Queensland Service were able to stay on board the airconditioned carriages andhad access to all amenities while the available buses were sourced from Rockhampton,” he said.
Services that may be impacted are:
• All Bundaberg and Rockhampton Tilt Train services
• Northbound and southbound Spirit of Queensland Services
• Westbound and eastbound Spirit if the Outback services
Originally published as Passengers evacuated from the Spirit of Queensland overnight after Bundaberg bushfires burn overhead train lines