Adelaide-Darwin railway 434314 224802043 2008-07-10T14:03:06Z Bidgee 530292 [[Image:The Ghan route map.png|right|thumb|250px|Route map of the line]] The '''Adelaide - Darwin railway''' is north-south transcontinental railway in Australia, between the cities of [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]] and [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], [[Northern Territory]]. From 2000 The line was extended to Darwin from Alice Springs as a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer back (BOOT) project by the [[AustralAsia Rail Corporation]]. The line sees the [[Great Southern Railway (Australia)|Great Southern Railway]] operated passenger train '[[The Ghan]]' as well as freight trains operated by [[FreightLink]]. ==History== [[Image:Cowarspcottage.jpg|right|thumb|Former railway cottage at Coward Springs]] [[Image:Old Ghan train.jpg|thumb|[[NSU class]] diesel locomotive on display in Marree]] Original construction was by [[South Australian Railways]] as a {{RailGauge|42}} [[narrow gauge railway]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.NSF/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/5f1625bd3fed3230ca256f7200833048!OpenDocument |title=Completion of the Adelaide to Darwin railway line |author=Australian Bureau of Statistics |work=Year Book Australia, 2005 |publisher=www.abs.gov.au |accessdate=2008-07-09 }}</ref> * [[January 18]] [[1878]]: South: Construction from [[Port Augusta, South Australia|Port Augusta]] starts * [[1879]]: South: [[Quorn, South Australia|Quorn]] reached * [[1883]]: South: [[Marree, South Australia|Marree]] reached * [[1883]]: North: Construction of the [[North Australia Railway]] from Palmerston ([[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]]) starts * [[1888]]: North: [[Pine Creek, Northern Territory|Pine Creek]] reached * [[1891]]: South: [[Oodnadatta, South Australia|Oodnadatta]] reached, and known as the Central Australian Railway. * [[1910]]: First promise to complete the line in the Acceptance Act (but no date given) * [[1926]]: Line acquired by [[Commonwealth Railways]] * [[1926]]: North: [[Katherine, Northern Territory|Katherine]] reached * [[1929]]: North: [[Birdum, Northern Territory|Birdum]] reached, terminus at [[Larrimah, Northern Territory|Larrimah]], and known as the [[North Australia Railway]] * [[August 6]] [[1929]]: South: [[Alice Springs, Northern Territory|Alice Springs]] reached, ''[[The Ghan]]'' starts running under current name; the northern and southern parts are not connected. The tortuously curving 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 west 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 line remain in operation as the [[Pichi Richi Railway]] * [[1976]]: North: line closed * October [[1980]]: South: New line from [[Tarcoola, South Australia]] (a siding on the [[Trans-Australian Railway]]) to [[Alice Springs, Northern Territory|Alice Springs]] opens * July [[2001]]: North: Construction of Alice Springs - Darwin line starts * [[September 17]] [[2003]]: [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] reached, the line from Adelaide to Darwin is complete * [[January 17]] [[2004]]: First freight train reaches Darwin * [[February 4]] [[2004]]: First passenger train reaches Darwin * [[May 19]] [[2008]] Freightlink board, shareholders and lenders agreed to sell its ownership of the Adelaide to Darwin rail link after failing to make a profit since the railway line commenced operation.<ref> {{cite news | author = Vesna Poljak and Michael Smith | title = Banks force sale of $1.2bn Adelaide- Darwin rail link | work = The Australian Financial Review | date = 19th May 2008 | page = 1 and 19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last = Calacouras | first = Nick | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Railway up for sale | work = News Ltd | publisher = Northern Territory News | date = 2008-05-20 | url = http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2008/05/20/4156_ntnews.html | format = html | doi = | accessdate = 2008-05-20 }}</ref> ==Construction== [[Image:Darwin-Adelaide railway line.jpg|thumb|Adelaide-Darwin railway line in Darwin, Northern Territory]] In 2000, the [[AustralAsia Rail Corporation]] (a company owned by the [[Government of the Northern Territory|Northern Territory]] and [[Government of South Australia|South Australian]] Governments) awarded the contract to build and operate the Adelaide to Darwin railway line as a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer back (BOOT) project to the [[Asia Pacific Transport Consortium]]. The Asia Pacific Transport Consortium contracted [[FreightLink]] to implement the project and to operate the railway. The Australian Government contributed $165 million from the Centenary of Federation Fund, the Northern Territory Government contributed $165 million and the South Australian Government contributed $150 million to the AustralAsia Rail Corporation for the construction of assets by Asia Pacific Transport Consortium and FreightLink that were later leased for a [[peppercorn rent]] to FreightLink In addition, the three Governments contributed about $26 million each, a total of $79 million in further funding to support the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium directly, by way of [[mezzanine debt]] financing (subordinated debt), [[ownership equity|equity]], and [[contingent equity]]. ==Services== As well as the Great Southern Railway operated ''[[The Ghan]]'' passenger service, freight services operate on the line. [[FreightLink]] is the main operator, announcing in June 2008 that it would add an extra weekly rail service between Adelaide and Darwin due to growing demand, taking the total number of services to six.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/24/2284651.htm |title=Extra Adel-Darwin rail service starts |work=ABC News |date=June 24, 2008 |publisher=www.abc.net.au |accessdate=2008-07-09 }}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== *Rozycki, Jack (Jan&ndash;Mar 2003). "The Never Never Line. Australia's biggest project: the Adelaide-Darwin railway". ''[[Australian Geographic]]'' 69: 50&ndash;67. ==See also== *[[North Australia Railway]] ==External links== {{commonscat|Adelaide-Darwin Railway}} *[http://www.aarc.com.au/ AustralAsia Railway Corporation - owners of the line] * [http://www.aarc.com.au/aarc/info/history.html History of the line] *[http://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/adrail.htm History of the Adelaide-Darwin Railway] {{AustralianInterstateRail}} [[Category:Railway lines in South Australia]] [[Category:Rail transport in the Northern Territory]]