After years of WWII and postwar austerity, the Queensland Railways Department embarked on improvements in the early 1950s. New airconditioned trains were added on key routes: the Brisbane - Cairns one was named The Sunlander. Cairns railway station was rebuilt in 1955: two storey cream brick of modern design. As the first modern station, and serving a major destination, it featured prominently in publicity material. Unlike other main stations on the line, it didn't gain a full dining room or bar, just a snackbar kiosk.
