A solution was needed to help increase capacity for the coal trains, with multiple options being identified for a standard gauge railway.

These included upgrading the existing line to Leigh Creek or making a new railway that ran to the west of the Flinders Ranges, bypassing the Pichi Richi Pass.

It was eventually chosen to build the new railway, and it opened to Leigh Creek in 1956 and Marree in 1957, with Copley being one of the places where the 2 lines crossed over.

The coal train's only customer, the coal-fired power stations near Port Augusta closed in 2016.

[6] Today, the standard gauge station building, goods platform, and water column survive.