The Southern railway line is a railway in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia.
The 197 km-long line branches from the Western line at the major regional city of Toowoomba, 161 km west of Brisbane, and proceeds south through the towns of Warwick and Stanthorpe to the New South Wales-Queensland state border at Wallangarra.
The first section of the Southern railway opened from Toowoomba to Millhill (now a northern suburb of Warwick) on 9 January 1871 and was extended to Stanthorpe on 3 May 1881. The Southern line was completed to Wallangarra on 14 February 1887. The first passenger trains between Brisbane and Sydney ran on 16 January 1888, when the New South Wales Main North railway line was opened.
Prior to the completion of the New South Wales North Coast Line in 1932, the Southern line formed part of the main interstate rail link between Brisbane and Sydney via the New South Wales Main North Line. The railway systems of the two states use different gauges - New South Wales uses 1435mm (4 ft. 8½in.) standard gauge, while Queensland uses 1067mm (3 ft. 6in.) narrow gauge. This necessitated a break of gauge at Wallangarra. Wallangarra station consisted of an island platform, with a narrow gauge track on the west side and standard gauge on the east. The state border traverses the station platform at its southern end.
Passenger trains no longer service the Southern line, though the route still sees freight activity. The entire length of the line has been retained in service by QR Limited, the state-owned rail operator.
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