Adelaide–Darwin railway

Route map of the line

The Adelaide–Darwin railway is a north–south transcontinental railway in Australia, between the cities of Adelaide, South Australia and Darwin, Northern Territory. From 2000 the line was extended from Alice Springs to Darwin as a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer back (BOOT) project by the AustralAsia Rail Corporation.

The line sees the Great Southern Railway operated passenger train 'The Ghan' as well as freight trains operated by FreightLink.

History

Former railway cottage at Coward Springs

NSU class diesel locomotive on display in Marree

Elizabeth River Bridge, 17 km South of Darwin

Original construction was by South Australian Railways as a 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) (Cape gauge) narrow gauge railway.

• 18 January 1878: South: Construction from Port Augusta starts
• 1879: South: Quorn reached
• 1883: South: Marree reached
• 1883: North: Construction of the North Australia Railway from Palmerston (Darwin) starts
• 1888: North: Pine Creek reached
• 1891: South: Oodnadatta reached, and known as the Great Northern Railway
• 1910: First promise by federal government to complete the line in the Acceptance Act (but no date given)
• 1926: Line acquired by Commonwealth Railways
• 1926: North: Katherine reached
• 1929: North: Birdum reached, terminus at Larrimah, and known as the North Australia Railway
• 6 August 1929: South: Alice Springs reached, and officially re-named the Central Australian Railway, but popularly known as The Ghan. The northern and southern parts are not connected.
• 1957: South: Line from Stirling North (near Port Augusta) to Marree rebuilt and connected to Adelaide
  • Some sections of the narrow-gauge line remain in operation as the Pichi Richi Railway
• 1976: North: line closed

The tortuously curving narrow-gauge line between Maree and Alice Springs was notoriously prone to delays, often caused by flash floods washing away bridges and tracks. A decision was thus made to rebuild the entire line with a straighter alignment some 150 km west of the existing track, this time using standard gauge. Shortly before the closure of the narrow gauge line in 1980, the BBC filmed an episode of the television series "Great Railway Journeys of the World" featuring the original route of the Ghan (and the infamously slow speed of the train). One downside of the building of the new line (and resulting closure of the old) was that Oodnadatta and other communities along the route of the original line lost their railway service.

• October 1980: South: New line from Tarcoola, South Australia (a siding on the Trans-Australian Railway) to Alice Springs opens
• 31 December 1980: South: Marree to Alice Springs (narrow gauge) line closed

• July 2001: North: Construction of Alice Springs – Darwin line starts
• 17 September 2003: Darwin reached, the line from Adelaide to Darwin is complete
• 17 January 2004: First freight train reaches Darwin
• 4 February 2004: First passenger train reaches Darwin

The Freightlink board, shareholders and lenders on 19 May 2008 agreed to sell its ownership of the Adelaide to Darwin rail link after failing to make a profit since the railway line commenced operation. Then on 6 November 2008 Freightlink went into voluntary administration after failing to reach agreement with creditors on the terms of a sale of the business. Genesee and Wyoming Inc agreed to purchase the assets of FreightLink in June 2010 and when the sale is complete the 50 year lease on the Adelaide- Darwin railway will be transferred to Genesee and Wyoming Australia.

Construction

Adelaide–Darwin railway line in Darwin, Northern Territory

In 2000, the AustralAsia Rail Corporation (a company owned by the Northern Territory and South Australian Governments) awarded the contract to build and operate the Adelaide to Darwin railway line as a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer back (BOOT) project to the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium. The Asia Pacific Transport Consortium contracted FreightLink to implement the project and to operate the railway.

The Australian Government contributed $165 million from the Centenary of Federation Fund, the Northern Territory Government contributed $165 million and the South Australian Government contributed $150 million to the AustralAsia Rail Corporation for the construction of assets by Asia Pacific Transport Consortium and FreightLink that were later leased for a peppercorn rent to FreightLink In addition, the three Governments contributed about $26 million each, a total of $79 million in further funding to support the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium directly, by way of mezzanine debt financing (subordinated debt), equity, and contingent equity.

The railway has been sold to Genesee and Wyoming Inc, under the title of Genesee and Wyoming North.

Alice Springs to Darwin

• 1420 km
• 6 major bridges crossing the Katherine, Elizabeth, Adelaide, Cullen, Fergusson and Edith rivers
• 87 minor bridges
• 1,500 culverts
• 145,000 tonnes of rail
• 2.8 million tonnes of ballast
• 2 million sleepers
• 8 million sleeper fastenings

Services

As well as the Great Southern Railway operated The Ghan passenger service, freight services operate on the line. FreightLink is the main operator, announcing in June 2008 that it would add an extra weekly rail service between Adelaide and Darwin due to growing demand, taking the total number of services to six.

Stations

The original narrow gauge railway served, indeed often created, the towns at the stations along the way.

• Tennant Creek
• Tanami Desert
• Warrego
• Buchanan Highway
• Mataranka
• Katherine
• Pine Creek
• Adelaide River
• Palmerston

The new standard–gauge railway has stations at Tennant Creek and Katherine, plus passing loops at Illoquara and Newcastle Waters.

See also

• North Australia Railway

Further reading

• Rozycki, Jack (Jan–Mar 2003). "The Never Never Line. Australia's biggest project: the Adelaide-Darwin railway". Australian Geographic 69: 50–67.

External links

• AustralAsia Railway Corporation – owners of the line
• History of the line
• History of the Adelaide-Darwin Railway
• TARCOOLA TO ALICE SPRINGS RAILWAY ACT 1974