Rail transport in South Australia
The network consists of 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge links to other states, the 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge suburban railways in Adelaide, a freight-only branch from Dry Creek to Port Adelaide and Pelican Point, a narrow-gauge gypsum haulage line on the Eyre Peninsula, and both copper–gold concentrate and coal on the standard-gauge line in the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor north of Tarcoola.
The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), an agency of the federal government, owns standard gauge interstate lines heading north and south, together with the dual gauge freight-only branch from Dry Creek to Port Adelaide and Pelican Point.
The ARTC network extends from Adelaide towards Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Darwin and is used by substantial interstate freight traffic.
Journey Beyond is a private company operating long-distance interstate passenger trains from the Adelaide Parklands Terminal, just west of the CBD, on the ARTC's standard gauge lines.
These were initially built to carry ore, particularly copper, then later freight from the River Murray, and grain from the broadacre lands.
The rail network reached a peak by the 1940s and 50s but steadily declined, as branch and cross country lines were closed until the 2010s.
Influenced by Queensland Railways' successful adoption of the narrow gauge for cost reasons (opened 1865), and influenced by the advocacy of people such as Abraham Fitzgibbon, South Australia changed the gauge[ambiguous] of the Port Wakefield line in the middle of construction.
When the broad and narrow systems finally met at Hamley Bridge, Terowie, Wolseley and Mount Gambier endless complaints started.
[6][7] The horse-drawn narrow gauge Port Broughton railway line on the Yorke Peninsula was never connected to the main system.
The main interstate links from Adelaide to Perth, Darwin, Melbourne, and Sydney are all of 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge.
The metropolitan railway lines are now owned and operated by Adelaide Metro, interstate passenger services operated by Journey Beyond, intrastate freight by Aurizon, and interstate freight by a number of companies including Bowmans Rail, Aurizon, Pacific National and SCT Logistics.
Vehicles are diesel-powered railcars and, following electrification of the Gawler, Seaford and Flinders lines, electric multiple-unit trains.
The South Line, through the Adelaide Hills, was opened to Aldgate, Nairne in 1883, Murray Bridge in 1884 and Bordertown and Serviceton, Victoria, connecting with Victorian Railways in 1887.
It was extended to Mount Barker Junction on the South Line in 1884 and strengthened to carry steam trains.
A branch from the South Line between the Mount Lofty Ranges and Murray River was built to Monarto and Cambrai in 1886.
It was shortened to Apamurra near Palmer before being converted then closed briefly due to the standardisation of the Adelaide – Melbourne line in 1995.
[9] The Barmera railway line opened from Tailem Bend through Karoonda to Wanbi on 6 January 1913, extended to Paruna on 1 May and Meribah on 7 May 1913 (both in the Brown's Well district).
These were:[11][12] The government expected these lines to not recover the cost in the short term, but to open up land for farming wheat to "strengthen the backbone of South Australia".
Viterra announced that no more grain would be carried by rail in the region after 31 July 2015, with the 2015 harvest to be entirely transported by road.
The main line left the Kapunda branch at Roseworthy and proceeded to Hamley Bridge, Riverton, Burra in 1870.
This line was converted to standard gauge in 1982, including a deviation at the northern end to move the rail junction from Port Pirie to Crystal Brook.
The first narrow gauge line ran from Port Wakefield to Hoyleton, opened in 1870 and branched from Balaklava to Hamley Bridge in 1878, creating Australia's first break-of-gauge on the government railways.
This was acquired by the South Australian Railways in 1877 and a new narrow gauge line was built along its route and connected to Port Wakefield in about 1878.
This particularly affected South Australian railways because of the short distances between the growing areas and its various wheat exporting ports.
It was during a change of train at the Terowie break-of-gauge station in 1942 that General Douglas MacArthur uttered his famous remark, "I came through and I shall return".
[20] The Great Northern Railway was completed from Port Augusta across the Pichi Richi Pass to Quorn in 1879, Hergott Springs (now known as Marree) in 1883 and Oodnadatta in 1891.
As roads improved, however, "roadside goods" traffic declined, usually to one train a week, and passenger services ceased in 1968.
[24] As of 2023[update], the only remaining operational part of the original Port Lincoln Division was the 65 kilometres (40 miles) long Lake Macdonnell–Thevenard railway, on which Aurizon ran three gypsum unit trains a day.
The John Cox Bray Government in South Australia introduced the Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway Bill in 1883.
Singhalese and Indian gangs did the grubbing and earthwork and 3000 Chinese labourers laid more than 1 kilometre (0.6 miles) of track per day.
