Twenty-two people have been taken to hospital after a tourist bus collided with the Kuranda train near Cairns in far north Queensland, authorities say.

Two had fractures, three had minor injuries and the rest were taken in for assessment after the crash, which happened at a level crossing in Portsmith about 4:00pm.

The Kuranda Scenic Railway takes tourists to the small town from Cairns.

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Far north District Inspector Rhys Newton said all of the injured were on the bus.

“It would appear that the bus has failed to give way to the train,” he said.

“There’s no boom gate at that crossing, just flashing lights and signs.

“So the train has collided with … the rear wheel part of the bus as its passed over the railway lines.”

Terry Jensen from the Queensland Ambulance Service said those who had been taken to hospital were in a stable condition.

“We have two ‘yellow patients’ which means lower fractures and lacerations, and we’ve got 16 ‘green patients’ – just walking wounded,” he said.

A Queensland Rail statement said there were no passengers on board the train at the time of the incident.

“The train was returning to the stabling sheds after a day of service,” the statement read.