Heritage route
Savannahlander
Cairns → Forsayth · Australia
Sixty-year-old railmotors take two unhurried days to cover 424 km from coastal rainforest to the 1910 gold-rush railhead at Forsayth.
Two 1963 stainless-steel railmotors nicknamed the Silver Bullet leave Cairns each Wednesday and grind up the Kuranda range’s tunnels before wandering inland across the tablelands. The pace rarely beats 40 km/h, and that is the charm: four days out and back through mango farms, bush pubs and gulf savannah to the 1910 railhead at Forsayth. Passengers sleep in outback hotels along the way and side-trip by coach to Chillagoe’s limestone caves or Cobbold Gorge.
Along the way
- Barron Gorge tunnels above Cairns
- Kuranda rainforest village
- Mareeba’s coffee and mango farms
- Lappa Junction bush pub
- Einasleigh’s Copperfield Gorge
- Forsayth gold-rush railhead
How this line was checked
- Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 4 m from it
- Wikipedia has an article for this line
Questions and answers
How long is the Savannahlander?
The Savannahlander runs 424 km from Cairns to Forsayth.
How long does the Savannahlander take?
The fastest scheduled journey is 36 h for the 424 km. That is an average of 12 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 60 km/h.
Who runs the Savannahlander?
Cairns Kuranda Steam, with 1963 “Silver Bullet” 2000-class railmotors.
How old is the Savannahlander?
The line has been in service since 1910. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.
How often does the Savannahlander run?
1× weekly round trip (Wed–Sat, Mar–Dec).
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