Adelaide-Darwin Railway

History

Initial construction was by South Australian Railways as a narrow gauge (3'6") line.

• January 18, 1878: Construction of southern line from Port Augusta starts
• 1879: South: Quorn reached
• 1883: South: Marree reached
• 1883: Construction of northern line from Palmerston (Darwin) starts
• 1888: North: Pine Creek reached
• 1891: South: Oodnadatta reached
• 1910: First promise 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
• August 6, 1929: South: Alice Springs reached, The Ghan starts running under current name; the northern and southern part are not connected.

The tortuously curving narrow gauge line 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 east of the existing track, this time using standard gauge.

• 1957: South: Line from Stirling North (near Port Augusta) to Marree rebuilt and connected to Adelaide
  • Some sections of the narrow gauge track remain in operation as the Pichi Richi Railway
• 1976: Northern line closed
• October 1980: New track from Tarcoola to Alice Springs opens
• July 2001: Construction of Alice Springs-Darwin track starts
• September 17 2003: Darwin reached, the line from Adelaide to Darwin is complete
• January 17 2004: First cargo train reaches Darwin
• February 4 2004: First passenger train reaches Darwin

Operations

External Links

• The Ghan homepage
• History of the line
• History of the Adelaide-Darwin Railway

Referenced By