Trans-Australian Railway


The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, crosses the Nullarbor Plain of Australia from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the eastern states, the line is strategically important.
It includes the world's longest section of completely straight track.
The inaugural passenger train service was known as the Great Western Express; later it became the Trans-Australian., two passenger services use the line: the Indian Pacific for its entire length, and The Ghan between Port Augusta and Tarcoola before it proceeds north to Darwin.

History

In 1901, the six Australian colonies federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia. At that time, Perth, the capital of Western Australia, was isolated from the remaining Australian States by thousands of miles of desert terrain and the only practicable method of transport was by sea, a time-consuming, inconvenient and often uncomfortable voyage across the Great Australian Bight, a stretch of water known for rough seas. One of the inducements held out to Western Australians to join the new federation was the promise of a federally funded railway line linking Western Australia with the rest of the continent.
In 1907 legislation was passed, allowing for the route to be surveyed. The survey, completed in 1909, endorsed a route from Port Augusta via Tarcoola to the gold mining centre of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, a distance of. The line was to be to the standard gauge of, even though the state railway systems at both ends were narrow gauge at the time. Its cost was estimated at £4,045,000.
Legislation authorising the construction was passed in December 1911 by the Fisher Commonwealth Government and work commenced in September 1912 in Port Augusta.
Work proceeded eastwards from Kalgoorlie and westwards from Port Augusta through the years of the First World War. By 1915, the two ends of the line were just over apart with materials being delivered daily. Construction progressed steadily as the line was extended through dry and desolate regions until the two halves of the line met at Ooldea on 17 October 1917.
Commonwealth Railways was established in 1917 to administer the line.
In 1937 the eastern end was extended south to Port Pirie, reducing one break of gauge in the journey across Australia, but at the same time establishing a three-gauge junction at Port Pirie, with the South Australian Railways line to Adelaide being broad gauge.
The long-anticipated conversion of the entire line between Sydney and Perth to standard gauge occurred in 1970.
In 2004, the gap in standard gauge connections between the mainland state capitals was finally closed with a connection between Port Pirie and Adelaide, thence Melbourne, and by completion of the Adelaide–Darwin railway, which diverges from the Trans–Australian Railway at Tarcoola.
In 2008, the engineering heritage of the railway was recognised by the Engineering Heritage Recognition Program of Engineers Australia when markers were installed on the platform at the Port Augusta station in South Australia and the ticket office at Kalgoorlie station in Western Australia.
On 17 October 2017, centenary celebrations were held at Ooldea.

Named services

When the line was inaugurated, the passenger service was named as the Great Western Express. Later, the train became known as the Trans-Australian or, colloquially, "The Trans". After the Sydney–Perth route was converted to standard gauge in 1970, the railway was no longer flanked at both ends by narrow-gauge lines and an all-through service, called the Indian Pacific, was started. Although passengers no longer had to move to different carriages at change-of-gauge localities, Commonwealth Railways remained responsible for the service where it operated between Port Pirie and Kalgoorlie, with its crews and locomotives taking over at those stations. In 1975, Commonwealth Railways was absorbed into an enlarged federal government corporation, Australian National Railways Commission, branded as Australian National Railways and later as "AN", which continued to operate the Trans Australian. In 1993, Australian National took over operation of the entire coast-to-coast service following agreement with the governments of Western Australia and New South Wales.
In 1997 the Indian Pacific was sold to a company, Great Southern Rail, following the privatisation of Australian National., the Indian Pacific is an all-through weekly service.
From the start of construction until 1996, the Tea and Sugar supply train carried vital provisions to the work sites and localities, all of them isolated, along the route: a butcher and banking and postal services were among the services on board.

Terrain

The line's distance as constructed was, slightly less than the original survey.
The railway includes the longest stretch of straight track in the world. A marks the western end as 793 miles from Port Augusta, between Loongana and Nurina, and states: "The 'Long Straight' extends from this point for a distance of 297 miles and terminates at the 496 miles between Ooldea and Watson."
According to former astronaut Andy Thomas, the line is identifiable from space because of its unnatural straightness: "It's a very fine line, it's like someone has drawn a very fine pencil line across the desert".
At no point along the route does the line cross a permanent fresh watercourse. Bores and reservoirs were established at intervals, but the water was often brackish and unsuitable for steam locomotive use, let alone human consumption, so water supplies had to be carried on the train. In the days of steam locomotion, about half the total load was water for the engine. In later years, condenser plants were built at several major stations.

Names of stopping places

Reflecting the line's ownership by the Commonwealth Government, eight of the localities were named after Australian Prime Ministers. Other prominent people's names were also allocated, as shown on the adjacent map.

Operations

Because of the inevitable problems of finding suitable water for steam locomotives in a desert, the original engineer, Henry Deane envisaged diesel locomotives for the line and made inquiries with potential manufacturers, although the technology was not well developed at the time. Unfortunately, a scandal involving the supply of sleepers led to Deane's resignation before the proposal had advanced.
Initially trains were hauled by G class locomotives and from 1938 by C class locomotives, both steam. From 1951, diesel-electric locomotives hauled passenger services, using the new GM class locomotives.
The railway originally had -long crossing loops every or so. As traffic increased the number of crossing loops increased. To handle longer trains, crossing loops were lengthened so that in 2008 they were all at least long and spaced about to apart.
Most crossing loops are unattended and train crew operate the turnouts as required. Crossing loops have self-restoring points, so that points are reset to the straight route when a train departs from a crossing loop. The loops are fitted with radio controls so that train crew can set the points as they approach. Locomotive cabs are fitted with an activated points system to set the required route without having to stop the train.
Safeworking is by train orders, using verbal communication.