All the way at last

The northern railway from Port Augusta was begun in 187. It was envisaged as a railway that would link the southern portion of South Australia with its territory in the north. By 1881 this narrow gauge railway had crawled as far north as Beltana, by 1884 to Marree and by 1891 Oodnadatta. Here the railhead remained until the Commonwealth Government took over the railway as part of the deal with South Australia for the transfer of the Northern Territory to Commonwealth control in 1901. The Commonwealth eventually extended to line to Alice Springs in 1929, at the same time extending the line south from Darwin as far as Birdum.

The route of the railway was tortuous: winding through the Flinders Ranges, and across the dry remote and flood prone country of the interior, supplying many small towns along the way. Washouts after sudden thunderstorms were common. The train could be delayed for days or weeks until the water receded and the line repaired if needed. Heat damage to the rails was another problem as was termite damage to the sleepers. Eventually in 1980 a new line via Tarcoola was built, more to the west and more flood- proof. The new line was standard gauge, built on termite proof concrete sleepers. But the line still only reached Alice Springs. Until the 21st century!

In 2000, the AustralAsia Rail Corporation 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. FreightLink implemented and operated the railway on behalf of the consortium. The Australian Government contributed $165 million from the Centenary of Federation Fund, with the Northern Territory matching that sum. The South Australian Government contributed $150 million. In addition, the three governments contributed about $26 million each, a total of $79 million in further funding to directly support the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium.

With the completion of the Alice Springs to Darwin rail-link the dream of linking the north and south coasts of the continent became a reality. The Ghan made its inaugural passenger journey to Darwin from 1 - 3 February 2004. The first freight train had reached Darwin on 17 January 2004.

This north-south transcontinental journey covers 2,979 kilometres.

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