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Overview | |
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Locale | South Australia, Australia |
Dates of operation | 1854–present |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge, 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge, 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge |
Rail transport in the Australian state of South Australia is provided by a number of railway operators who operate over the government-owned railway lines. 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 lines bypass the city to the west and do not enter the CBD. 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.
South Australia no longer has regional freight and passenger services as with other states. The last broad-gauge freight service was the limestone train from Penrice, which operated from 1950 until it abruptly ceased in June 2014.[1]