Freight trains tear through my suburb at night. I’ve made peace with it

August 24, 2026 — 5:00am

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My wife and I looked out beyond the back fence of our new Corinda home.

“This will be fine,” we reassured each other. “We’ll barely notice.”

The Springfield and Ipswich train lines, which slice through the middle of Corinda, run right past our house. We hear the whirr of the suburban trains throughout the day and clanking freight trains at night, starting their journey from the nearby Rocklea markets to who-knows-where in western Queensland.

It had the potential to be a dealbreaker, but it turned out we were right. After two weeks, we barely noticed the sounds, and after seven years, we couldn’t imagine being without it. The sounds are comforting, and the sight of the mighty coal trains building speed slowly past the station and out into the inky black of the night is something else.

We’ve set our weekend watches to the arrival of the Westlander coming in from Charleville, and had first-class seats for the testing of Brisbane’s Christmas steam train.

The train line, and parallel Oxley Road, defines Corinda in many ways. The suburb enjoys its semi-regular spot in the news when visiting trucks run afoul of the low rail bridge just past the shops on Oxley Road,........

© Brisbane Times