In 1878, construction commenced at Port Augusta on the Great Northern Railway, a lightly constructed line expected to be about 200 kilometres (120 miles) long, with the prospect of becoming a south–to–north transcontinental railway partly due to mineral discoveries in the Flinders Ranges and good rainfall in the Far North convincing farmers to settle there.

[2][3] The Governor of South Australia, Sir William Jervois, declared the line to Government Gums open on 22 May 1882.

[4] Goods trains continued passing through the town until 1987 when the railway closed between Marree and Telford Cut.

The Farina Restoration Group eventually plans to rebuild the narrow gauge station building, which was a standard SAR design made out of wood.

Planning is also underway to move locomotive NSU63, currently at the Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre in Peterborough, to Farina in the near future.