- Queensland Rail is celebrating its 160th birthday this year with a very special Christmas themed ‘Santa Steam Express’ on Sunday 30 November 2025.
- In the spirit of giving, all proceeds will be donated to Mater Little Miracles to improve outcomes for Queensland’s most premature and seriously ill babies.
- The heritage train carriage will welcome Mater Little Miracles families, plus the event is also open to the public, with tickets on sale today.
STEAM TRAIN FILE VISION
Santa won’t be giving coal to naughty children this year, because he’ll be using it to power a Queensland Rail heritage steam train instead, in a bid to spread Christmas cheer and joy to the community.
Queensland Rail is pleased to announce that tickets are now on sale for the ‘Santa Steam Express’, an epic charity ride and steam train adventure to take place on Sunday 30 November 2025 at Roma Street station.
While the 'Santa Express' is an annual event with Santa onboard the regular South East Queensland train fleet, the 'Santa Steam Express' is the first event of its kind involving a heritage engine.
It’s all for a good ‘claus’, with proceeds from this event to be donated to Mater Little Miracles, part of the Mater Foundation, to deliver joy and hope to the families of babies cared for at Mater Mothers’ Hospital Neonatal Critical Care Unit (NCCU) in South Brisbane.
The funds will specifically contribute to purchasing a specialised ventilator machine to support the breathing of the unit’s tiniest babies.
Up to 2,000 very ill and premature babies receive round-the-clock specialist care from the team in Mater Mothers' NCCU each year.
Queensland Rail is also giving back by donating tickets to those families who have been helped by the Mater so they can enjoy a festive filled day out.
The event is also open to the public, with three sessions available to book throughout the day.
Tickets are affordably priced at $7 for children and $15 for adults and are expected to sell out fast.
The festive return trips starting and ending at Roma Street station will run between forty minutes and an hour and pass through suburbs including Milton, Toowong, Sherwood and Fairfield via the Tennyson loop.
Queensland Rail Head of South East Queensland Neil Backer said the celebrations are all part of Queensland’s Rail significant milestone of connecting communities for 160 years.
“There is noel time like now to join us for combined birthday and Christmas celebrations and jump onboard the ‘Santa Steam Express’ for the trip of a lifetime”, Mr Backer said.
"We are so proud to partner with Mater Foundation and the Mater Little Miracles program to raise vital funds for neonatal care and celebrate the spirit of giving.
"We are expecting around 900 people in total to enjoy this family-friendly experience across three trips onboard one of our iconic BB18 ¼ engines, who we call ‘Bety’.
“If you miss out on tickets, everyone is welcome to join in the festivities and see the steam train in action at Roma Street station’s platform 3.
“This Christmas themed event will wrap up what has been a year of 160th celebrations for Queensland Rail, including steam train trips for our birthday back in July and at this year’s Ekka.
“Queensland Rail is extremely proud of its rich and enduring history and we look forward to creating these new memories for future generations.”
Mater Foundation Chief Executive Andrew Thomas thanked Queensland Rail for choosing Mater Little Miracles as its Santa Steam Express charity partner.
"This year’s Santa Steam Express will unite two iconic brands, Queensland Rail and Mater, to deliver festive joy for some very brave families,” Mr Thomas said.
"The event will directly help those who need it most – the most vulnerable babies cared for at Mater's Neonatal Critical Care Unit.
"Funds raised will support the purchase of a state-of-the art ventilation system which gently supports the breathing of the very smallest babies in Mater's NCCU.
“We couldn’t think of a better Christmas gift to support our NCCU babies and families, so please get on board this year’s ‘Santa Steam Express’!”
Separately, Santa will also be onboard regular South-East Queensland rail services in December as part of Queensland Rail’s annual ‘Santa Express’ festivities.
The ‘Santa Express’ timetable will be released in the coming weeks.
ENDS