The Maranoa region covers an area of 58,830 sq km and is located in south west Queensland approximately 480 km west of the state’s capital, Brisbane. The region is easily accessible through an excellent road and rail network or a one (1) hour flight from Brisbane.

Road Infrastructure

The Maranoa region is located on the Warrego and Carnarvon Highways. The Warrego Highway (running east/west) is a national highway that links Brisbane with Darwin and the Carnarvon Highway (running north/south) links Roma to northern centres such as Rockhampton and Cairns and south to New South Wales and Victoria. The region is serviced by an extensive regional road network of 5,917 km, which plays a pivotal role in the region’s economy and transportation flows. The table overleaf outlines the relative distance from Roma to locations within the Maranoa region and beyond.

Map of the Maranoa Region

Distance and Direction of Centres from Roma

Rail Links

Rail supports commercial services from Roma to Brisbane, carrying coal and grain from the Maranoa region to Brisbane for sale and export. In the future, the region will be further serviced by a proposed rail link to Gladstone to allow for coal and grain export through the Port of Gladstone. This expansion of the rail system would greatly expand the export capacity of the region.

The ‘Westlander’ provides a regular twice-weekly passenger rail service to the region’s towns located on the Brisbane to Charleville rail link. A trip from Roma to Brisbane takes approximately 12 hours to complete with connections available to other rail link services.

Air Connections

The Maranoa region is serviced by the Roma Airport, which is located seven kilometres from the town centre of Roma. The airport has two runways, the longest of which is approximately 1,500 metres, and can accommodate 50 seat passenger aircraft and executive jets. The airport accommodates daily passenger services to and from Roma, connecting to Brisbane and Charleville, as well as St George. The airport mainly services business travellers to the region but also facilitates resident and tourist travel as well.

The $11 Million upgrade of the Roma Airport will commence early April and take 18 weeks to complete. A modern, attractive terminal building will be built on the southern side of the existing building and feature a kiosk, three bay check-in counter, departure lounge, Wifi access, outdoor seating, car rental check-in and baggage claim area.  At 1,000m², it will be four times the size of the current facility. Brisbane-based Woollam Constructions will carry out the work at a cost of $2.62 million. Maranoa Regional Council recently formally accepted a $2.5 million contribution to the project from energy company Santos and the State government has also pledged to contribute $4.7 million to the much needed upgrade. 

The new-look Roma Airport will include a 274 space car park with lighting, a stronger runway, stronger taxiway and new apron to accommodate larger aircraft, and a separate energy-efficient terminal building.  This much needed upgrade will serve our large fly-in fly-out workforce and business and leisure travellers.