Adelaide-Port Augusta railway line

Adelaide – Port Augusta
Distances in km from Adelaide Parklands Terminal
Legend
Broad gauge Standard gauge
to Bordertown & Melbourne to Seaford & Belair 0.0 Adelaide Parklands Terminal Mile End loop1,658 m Adelaide Torrens Junction to Outer Harbor & Grange Adelaide Freight Terminals to Port Adelaide 13.0 Dry Creek South loop1,950 m Salisbury to Gawler 28.7 SCT Logistics intermodal 31.5 Bolivar loop1,801 m 44.8 Two Wells loop1,817 m 60.2 ABB Mallala Grain Terminal 61.7 Mallala loop1,900 m 77.3 Long Plains loop1,900 m Balco Australia 101.5 Bowmans loop1,800 m 120.5 Nantawarra loop1,810 m to Wallaroo (dual gauge) ABB Snowtown Grain Terminal 146.0 Snowtown loop1,812m 172.8 Redhill loop1,980 m 193.1 Rocky River loop1,800m Crystal Brook Triangle to Broken Hill & Sydney Crystal Brook loop988m station closed AWB Crystal Brook Grain Terminal Coonamia(Port Pirie) GWA Port Pirie Yard Port Germein loop1,800 m Mambray Creek loop1,875 m Winninowie loop1,800 m to Leigh Creek to Northern Power Station Port Augusta to Perth, Darwin & Whyalla

In 1937, the South Australian Railways extended its broad gauge line north from Redhill to Port Pirie. In the same year, the Commonwealth Railways extended its standard gauge Trans-Australian Railway line from Port Augusta south to Port Pirie.^[1]

In 1980, the Federal and State Governments entered an agreement to convert the line from Adelaide to standard gauge, albeit altered to meet the Trans-Australian Railway at Crystal Brook.^[2] This allowed Adelaide to become the last state capital to join the standard gauge network. The line opened in 1982.

It allowed Australian National to operate The Ghan, Indian Pacific and Trans-Australian through to Adelaide without passengers having to change trains. In July 1998, the line became part of the Australian Rail Track Corporation network.

Aurizon, Genesee & Wyoming Australia, Great Southern Rail, Pacific National and SCT Logistics operate services via the line.

SCT Logistics' Penfield intermodal terminal is connected to a siding at the Bolivar crossing loop.^[3]

Crossing loops

The maximum length of trains on this line is 1.8 kilometres, and almost all crossing loops are of this length. East of Mile End the maximum train length is 1.5 kilometres, though this is starting to be increased to 1.8 kilometres also.

References

1. Rail Standardisation National Railway Museum
2. Rail Agreement (Adelaide to Crystal Brook Railway) Act 1980 Government of Australia
3. "DRY CRK(ex) to (CRYSTAL BRK(ex) Yard Plans & Component Identification" (PDF). Australian Rail Track Corporation. July 2011. TA400010. Retrieved 30 January 2016.