Transportation and the recent development of the Queensland coal industry

The role of transportation in the development of the Queensland coal industry since 1955 is reviewed in this paper. It is found that transportation has played a concomitant rather than a prerequisite role in the industry's development. The commitment of the Japanese to Queensland coal has been the most important stimulus to the development. The paper ends with a view to future developments, concluding that it would be unwise for Queensland to develop a transportation infrastructure as a stimulus to expanding the coal industry.