Brisbane is serviced by 8 train lines that offer transport around the city, to suburbs, and to other cities and regions in Queensland.
The train lines include Airport, Beenleigh, Caboolture, Cleveland, Doomben, Ferny Grove, Gold Coast, Ipswich/Rosewood, Redcliffe Peninsula, Shorncliffe, Springfield, and the Sunshine Coast.
Inner City Station and train lines map
Using Brisbane Trains
The best way to plan your route using Brisbane’s trains is with the Journey Planner at Translink which makes it super easy to plan your route using trains, ferries, and buses. It will give you the route according to your preferences along with the journey time and the fare.
How to buy a ticket for Brisbane Train?
You can buy paper tickets at from a ticket office at train stations during opening hours or from a fare machine at a busway, train or tram station. Alternatively, you can use a Go Card.
Go Card
A Go Card is a plastic card that stores value which can be used to travel on bus, ferry, train and tram services in South East Queensland. fares are slightly cheaper and travel is much more convenient.
A go card can be purchased from a range of locations, including:
- go card online
- any 7-Eleven store and selected retailers
- Queensland Rail stations during ticket office opening hours
- onboard CityCat ferries.
For short-term visitors the “go seeQ” is a travelers version of the Go Card which offers unlimited travel on all TransLink bus, train, ferry or tram services across Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan and Moreton Bay including 2 journeys on Airtrain services to anywhere on the TransLink network. More info
How to use the train to get around Brisbane
First, decide whether you are going to use paper tickets, or buy a Go Card or Go SeeQ card. If you are staying for a few days and will be using public transport a lot, then a Go Card or Go SeeQ card is a more convenient choice.
Use the Journey Planner at Translink and enter your start point and destination to establish the nearest station and which line to take, and which station to get off at.
Head to the train station ‘touch on’ your card at the reader before you get on the train. At the station where you get off there will be another reader to ‘touch off’.
If you are using a ticket, simply keep it handy for the whole journey as you may be asked to present the ticket by an inspector.
Trains in Brisbane are clean, safe, quiet, and newer trains offer
- Free WiFi ( ‘Queensland Rail Free Wi-Fi’ )
- Toilets
Map of the South East Queensland and Brisbane Rail Network Map
Airtrain
Airtrain connects Brisbane International and Domestic Airport terminals to the Brisbane CBD or city center, and even all the way to the Gold Coast. You can easily connect from the Airtrain line to other train lines in Brisbane at Eagle Junction and stations following. More info on Airtrain including tickets and fares.
- Airtrain journey time from Brisbane Airport to city 20 mins.
- Airtrain journey time from the Gold Coast to city 1 h 33 mins + 35 mins tram journey.