![Australia OpenRailway gauge map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Australia_OpenRailway_gauge_map.agr.png)
Rail gauges in Australia display significant variations, which has presented an extremely difficult problem for
rail transport on the Australian continent for over 150 years. , there are of
narrow-gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard-gauge railway, standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum r ...
s, of
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
railways and of
broad gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways.
Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
railways.
In the 19th century, each of the
colonies of Australia
The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia.
People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and penetrated to all parts ...
adopted their own
gauges. However, with
Federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
in 1901 and the removal of trade barriers, the short sightedness of three gauges became apparent. It would be 94 years before all mainland state capitals were joined by one standard gauge.
Rail gauges and route kilometres
A report by the Australian Government’s Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, and the Australasian Railway Association, estimated that as of September 2020, there were of heavy rail lines open and operational throughout the nation.
The three main railway gauges in Australia are narrow: , standard: , and broad: ; a slow progression towards unification to standard gauge has taken place since the 1930s.
About of
light railways in Queensland support the
sugar-cane industry; they are not included in the following table.
History
Pre-construction uniformity
In 1845, a
Royal Commission on Railway Gauges in the United Kingdom was formed to report on the desirability for a uniform gauge. As a result, the
Regulating the Gauge of Railways Act 1846
The Railway Regulation (Gauge) Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vic. c.57) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that was designed to standardise railway tracks. It achieved royal assent on 18 August 1846, during the reign of Queen Victoria of ...
was passed which prescribed the use of in England, Scotland and Wales (with the exception of the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
) and in Ireland.
In 1846, Australian newspapers discussed the
break of gauge problem in the United Kingdom, especially for defence. In 1847, South Australia adopted the gauge as law.
In 1848, the
Governor of New South Wales
The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...
,
Charles Fitzroy, was advised by the
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies.
Histor ...
in London,
Earl Grey, that one uniform gauge should be adopted in Australia, this being the British standard gauge. The recommendation was adopted by the then three colonies. Grey notes in his letter that South Australia has already adopted this gauge.
At this stage, Victoria and Queensland were still part of New South Wales.
Since the
Australian Overland Telegraph Line
The Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a telegraphy system to send messages over long distances using cables and electric signals. It spanned between Darwin, in what is now the Northern Territory of Australia, and Adelaide, the capital o ...
and under-sea cable communications with England did not open until 1872, communications between Britain and Australia before then were hampered by having to be conducted via sailing ship. The journey varied from about seven months on slower ships to about two and a half months on fast clipper ships. This had particular consequences for the selection of railway gauge in Australia.
Origins of the gauge muddle
At that time, the private
Sydney Railway Company
The Main Suburban railway line is the technical name for the trunk railway line between Redfern railway station and Parramatta railway station in Sydney, Australia, but now generally refers to the section between Redfern and where the Old Main S ...
had begun planning its railway line to
Parramatta. The chief engineer of the company was Irish-born
Francis Webb Sheilds. After his appointment in 1849, Sheilds initially stated a preference for but in 1850 he persuaded the company, which in turn asked the NSW legislature, to change to the Irish standard gauge of . This decision was endorsed by the NSW Governor, and Colonial Secretary Earl Grey in London agreed in 1851.
[Laird, p 185]
However, Sheilds and his three subordinates resigned in December 1850 when the company cut their salaries for financial reasons. After the interim appointment of
Henry Mais in July 1852, the company selected a new Scottish engineer, James Wallace, who preferred the British standard gauge. The government was persuaded to make the change back to and in January 1853 they advised the company that the
Act requiring would be repealed.
In February 1853, the other colonies (Victoria having separated from New South Wales in 1851) were sent a memorandum advising them of the pending change and recommended they likewise adopt . In Victoria, the memorandum was distributed to three railway companies and their responses were sought, with two replying and only one showing a distinct preference for . However, the
Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company
The Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company was a railway company in Victoria, Australia. The company was incorporated on 20 January 1853 to build the line from Melbourne to the port of Sandridge, now Port Melbourne.
The proposal met ...
asked for a determination from the government as it had prepared plans for both gauges and was due to send an order for locomotives and rolling stock to England by boat at the start of April. In reply at the end of March, the companies were told the colonial Victorian government preferred and the order was subsequently placed.
In July 1853, the
Government of Victoria
The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive ...
advised New South Wales that it would use the broader gauge and later appealed to the British Government to force a reversal of New South Wales' decision. Subsequently, the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company opened the first railway in Australia in 1854, as a broad gauge line, and the
South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...
used the same gauge on its first steam-hauled railway in 1856.
Despite a request by the
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies.
Histor ...
to reconsider this alteration, in 1855, the NSW Governor
William Denison gave the go-ahead for the
Sydney to Parramatta railway, which opened in September of that year.
[
Concerns over the gauge difference began to be raised almost immediately. At a Select Committee called in Victoria in September 1853, a representative of the railway company which had not replied to Charles La Trobe's earlier memorandum, reported a preference for , but when asked if Victoria should follow NSW he answered: "We must, I conclude of necessity, do so". In 1857, the NSW railway engineer ]John Whitton
John Whitton (1820, near Wakefield, Yorkshire, England – 20 February 1898), an Anglo–Australian railway engineer, was the Engineer-in-Charge for the New South Wales Government Railways, serving between 1856 and 1890, considered the Father of ...
suggested that the short length of railway then operating in New South Wales be altered from gauge to to conform with Victoria but, despite being supported by the NSW Railway Administration, he was ignored. At that time, there were only of track, four engines and assorted cars and wagons on the railway. However, by 1889, New South Wales, under engineer Whitton, had built almost 1,950 miles (3,500 km) of standard gauge line.[Laird, p 186]
Extension of the gauge muddle
The narrow gauge was introduced to Australia in 1865, when the Queensland Railways opened its first railway from Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
to Grandchester
Grandchester is a rural town and locality in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Grandchester had a population of 444 people.
Geography
Grandchester is located west of the Brisbane CBD.
The district historical ...
. The gauge was chosen on the supposition that it would be constructed more cheaply, faster and on tighter curves than the wider gauges. This was the first narrow gauge main line in the world.
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
first adopted this gauge in 1867 with its line from Port Wakefield Port Wakefield may refer to.
Australia
*Port Wakefield, South Australia, a town and locality
* Port Wakefield railway line, part of the now-closed Balaklava-Moonta railway line in South Australia
* Port Wakefield Circuit, a former motor racing cir ...
to Hoyleton. The main reasons for choosing this were reduced cost, and the expectation that the narrow gauge would never connect to broad gauge lines. Overbuilt English railways were criticised. The Wakefield line was also envisaged as a horse-drawn tramway.
Later narrow gauge lines went towards Broken Hill
Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
and to Oodnadatta and from Mount Gambier. The Port Lincoln system was always isolated by geography.
The Western Australian Government Railways
Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...
adopted it in 1879 for its first line from Geraldton to Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
.[
The ]Tasmanian Government Railways
The Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) was the former operator of the mainline railways in Tasmania, Australia. Formed in 1872, the railway company was managed by the Government of Tasmania, and existed until absorption into the Australian Na ...
opened its first railway from Launceston to Deloraine in 1871 using broad gauge, but converted
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
to narrow gauge in 1888.[
]
Towards a network
Until the 1880s, the gauge issue was not a major problem, as there were no connections between the separate systems. The focus of railway traffic was movement from the hinterland to the ports and cities on the coast, so governments were not concerned about the future need for either inter-city passenger or freight services. It was not until 1883 when the broad and standard gauge lines from Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
and Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
met at Albury
Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...
, and in 1888, narrow and standard gauge from Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
and Sydney met at Wallangarra
Wallangarra is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia on the border with New South Wales. In the , the locality of Wallangarra had a population of 468 people.
It is the third-most southerly town in Queens ...
that the break of gauge became an issue.[ The issue of rail gauge was mentioned in an 1889 military defence report authored by English army officer Major General ]James Bevan Edwards
Lieutenant General Sir James Bevan Edwards (5 November 1834 – 8 July 1922) was a senior British Army officer and politician.
Military career
Edwards was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1852. He served with the Royal Engineers in th ...
, who said that the full benefit of the railways would not be attained until a uniform gauge was established. It needs to be remembered, however, that until federation (1901) the benefits of a uniform gauge were not immediately apparent, as passengers would have to pass through customs and immigration at the intercolonial border, meaning that all goods would have to be removed for customs inspection. It was only with Federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
in 1901, and the introduction of free trade between the states, that the impediment of different gauges became apparent.
At the time of Federation, standard gauge was used in only NSW, but was favoured for further work. Work on gauge conversion was assisted by section 51 (xxxiii) of the Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a written constitution, constitutional document that is Constitution, supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a Federation of Australia, federation under a constitutio ...
, which made specific provisions for the Commonwealth Parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the governor-g ...
to make laws with respect to railway acquisition and construction. An agreement was made with the South Australian
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...
and Western Australian state governments for the Trans-Australian Railway
The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the easter ...
from Port Augusta
Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a port, seaport, it is now a road traffic and Junction (rail), railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about ...
to Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...
, with work started in 1911 and completed in 1917.[ However, with the different gauges, to ship goods from Queensland to Perth required four transhipments.
In 1921, a royal commission into rail gauge was delivered, recommending gauge conversion of large areas of the country. It stated "''that the gauge of 4-ft. 8.5-in. be adopted as the standard for Australia; that no mechanical, third rail, or other device would meet the situation, and that uniformity could be secured by one means only, viz., by conversion of the gauges other than 4-ft. 8.5-in.''" Following the royal commission, agreements were made for the standard gauge NSW North Coast line to be extended from ]Kyogle
Kyogle () is a town in the Northern Rivers region of northern New South Wales, Australia. It falls within the local government area of Kyogle Council. At the 2016 census, Kyogle had a population of 2,751 people. Kyogle is known as a "gateway" ...
to South Brisbane
South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people.
Geography
The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west, ...
(completed in 1930) and for the Trans-Australian Railway to be extended from Port Augusta to Port Pirie (completed 1937).[
By the outbreak of World War II in 1939, there were 13 break-of-gauge locations, with upwards of 1,600 service personnel and many more civilians employed to transfer 1.8 million tons of freight during the period. The breaks of gauge were at:][
*]Hamley Bridge
Hamley Bridge is a community in South Australia located at the junction of the Gilbert River (South Australia), Gilbert and Light River (South Australia), Light rivers, as well as the site of a former railway junction.
Named by the government of ...
ceased to be a break of gauge point in 1927 when the broad gauge was extended to Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
*South Brisbane
South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people.
Geography
The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west, ...
ceased to be a break of gauge point when the NSW North Coast line was extended over the Merivale Bridge to Roma Street in 1986
* Acacia Ridge
Acacia Ridge is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Acacia Ridge had a population of 7,429 people. Geography
Acacia Ridge is south of the central business district. It is within the local government are ...
was developed as a break-of-gauge yard in Brisbane in the 1970s to relieve overcrowding at Clapham goods station, which is opposite the Moorooka passenger station.
*The NSW North Coast line from Acacia Ridge to Bromelton was dual gauged in 2009 as part of the Nucleus Transmodal Hub to relieve overcrowding at Acacia Ridge[The $55.8 million dual gauge rail line from Acacia Ridge to Bromelton remains unfinished]
''Quest Newspapers
Quest Community Newspapers is a newspaper company in Bowen Hills, Queensland, Australia. It is a subsidiary of News Corp Australia.
It publishes weekly tabloids and one bi-weekly, providing news coverage primarily for the greater Brisbane ...
'' 10 November 2014
Break-of-gauge devices
In 1922, 273 inventions to solve the break-of-gauge had been proposed, and none adopted. In 1933, as many as 140 devices were proposed by inventors to solve the break-of-gauge problem, none of which were adopted.
Even dual gauge
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...
with a third rail for combining Irish gauge
Railways with a track gauge of fall within the category of broad gauge railways. , they were extant in Australia, Brazil and Ireland.
History
600 BC
:The Diolkos (Δίολκος) across the Isthmus of Corinth in Greece – a grooved pave ...
and standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
was rejected as too reckless, as the gap between these gauges of was considered to be too small. Dual gauge combining Irish gauge and narrow gauge where the gap was was also rejected.
Opposition to a third rail
While Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Billy Hughes
William Morris Hughes (25 September 1862 – 28 October 1952) was an Australian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Australia, in office from 1915 to 1923. He is best known for leading the country during World War I, but ...
had expressed support for the idea of a third rail solving the break of gauge difficulty, the predominant opinion of senior officers of the railways was to oppose it.
Clapp Report
After the wartime experience, a report into the Standardisation of Australia's rail gauges was completed by former Victorian Railways
The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...
Chief Commissioner Harold Clapp for the Commonwealth Land Transport Board in March 1945. It included three main proposals:[Laird, p 187]
* Gauge standardisation from Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
and Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
to Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...
, all of South Australian and Victorian broad gauge lines, all of the South Australian south east and Peterborough division narrow gauge lines, and acquisition and conversion of the Silverton Tramway
The Silverton Tramway was a 58-kilometre-long railway line running from Cockburn on the South Australian state border to Broken Hill in New South Wales. Operating between 1888 and 1970, it served the mines in Broken Hill, and formed the lin ...
. Costed at £44.3 million.
*New standard gauge "strategic and developmental railway" from Bourke, New South Wales to Townsville, Queensland and Dajarra
Dajarra is a town and a locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. In the , Dajarra had a population of 191 people; 60.3% of the population are Indigenous.
Geography
Dajarra is in North West Queensland near the border with the ...
(near Mount Isa) with new branch lines from Bourke via Barringun, Cunnamulla
Cunnamulla () is a town and a locality in the Shire of Paroo, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Charleville, and approximately west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the , Cunnamulla had a population of 1,140 people.
Geography
Cunnamulla ...
, Charleville, Blackall to Longreach. Existing narrow gauge lines in Queensland would also be gauge converted, including Longreach – Linton – Hughenden – Townsville Dajarra and associated branches. Costed at £21.6 million.
*New standard gauge line to Darwin, including new line from Dajarra, Queensland to Birdum, Northern Territory, and gauge conversion
Gauge conversion is the changing of one railway track gauge (the distance between the running rails) to another.
Sleepers
If tracks are converted to a narrower gauge, the existing sleepers (ties) may be used. However, replacement is required if ...
of the Birdum to Darwin narrow gauge line. Costed at £10.9 million.
The report wrote that if only main trunk lines were converted, it would introduce a multitude of break of gauge terminals and result in greatly increased costs. It also recommended abandoning part of the existing Perth to Kalgoorlie narrow gauge line, and build a flatter and straighter route using third rail dual gauge
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...
, as modernisation was just as important as standardisation.[Laird, p 188]
South Australia was unhappy with the report, as the link to the Northern Territory would not run through its state. Western Australia and Queensland both saw no advantage in the report, as they already had a common gauge in their states, and only one main break of gauge. NSW entered into the agreement to advance gauge standardisation in Victoria and South Australia, but did not ratify it.[
Gauge conversion did continue, with the ]South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the statutory corporation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Austr ...
' Mount Gambier line from Wolseley to Mount Gambier and associated branches converted to broad gauge in the 1950s, on the understanding it would change again to standard gauge at a later date, which would have made it the first and only railway in Australia to have successfully been converted to all three gauges, however it closed in 1995. Standard gauge lines were also built, with the line
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Arts ...
between Stirling North
Stirling North is a town located east of Port Augusta in the Australian state of South Australia. The now abandoned Marree railway line forms the official border line separating the two towns. Primarily, Stirling North is a satellite town to Po ...
and Marree opened in July 1957.[
]
Wentworth Committee
In 1956, a Government Members Rail Standardisation Committee was established, chaired by William Wentworth MP.[Laird, p 189] It found that while there was still considerable doubt as to the justification for large scale gauge conversion, there was no doubt that work on some main trunk lines was long overdue. Both the committee and the government strongly supported three standardisation projects at a cost of £41.5 million:
*Albury
Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...
to Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
(priority 1)
*Broken Hill
Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
to Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
via Port Pirie (priority 2, built third)
*Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...
to Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
and Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
(priority 3, built second)
The Commonwealth, NSW and Victorian governments were first to start work, with the first freight train operating on the converted North East line
The North East MRT line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, it is the shortest MRT line at . The line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the no ...
to Melbourne operating in January 1962 and the first through passenger train in April 1962. Over the next 12 months, net freight tonnage was up 32.5% and to 1973, there was an average increase of 8.6%.[
The work in Western Australia was predicated by an agreement entered into in November 1960 between the state government and ]BHP
BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
for a standard gauge line to be built to allow iron ore from Koolyanobbing to be shipped to a new steel mill at Kwinana. A new dual gauge line
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Arts ...
was built through the Avon Valley from Midland
Midland may refer to:
Places Australia
* Midland, Western Australia
Canada
* Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick
* Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick
* Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Midland, Ontario
India
* Midland Ward, Kohima, Nagal ...
to Northam on 1 in 200 grades instead of 1 in 40;[ and a new ]line
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Arts ...
was built from Southern Cross
Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...
to Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...
though Koolyanobbing.[ The first wheat train ran from Merredin to Fremantle in November 1966 and the first iron ore train from Koolyanobbing to Kwinana in April 1967, with the line opened in full in August 1969. Kalgoolie to Perth freight train times were reduced from 31 hours to 13 hours, and passenger train times from 14 hours to 8 hours. A new line was built from ]Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to:
Places
Australia
*Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland''
*Woodbridge, Tasmania
Canada
*Woodbridge, Ontario
England
*Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of
** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...
to Kwinana and one of the tracks on the Fremantle line converted to dual track from Cockburn Junction to Fremantle Harbour. The Eastern Railway in Perth was converted to dual gauge and a new terminus station built.
In November 1971, following the discovery of rich nickel deposits, work commenced on converting the 640 kilometre line from Leonora to Esperance including 90 kilometres of track on a new alignment. The work was completed in September 1974.[
In South Australia, work on Port Pirie to ]Broken Hill
Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...
did not start until 1963. The narrow gauge lines from Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
and Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
were not converted, with triple gauge yards provided. Standard gauge access to Adelaide was not provided.[ From Cockburn to Broken Hill a new railway was built on an improved alignment, avoiding the private ]Silverton Tramway
The Silverton Tramway was a 58-kilometre-long railway line running from Cockburn on the South Australian state border to Broken Hill in New South Wales. Operating between 1888 and 1970, it served the mines in Broken Hill, and formed the lin ...
route.[ The completion of this link enabled the first '' Indian Pacific'' to run across the nation in March 1970 from Sydney to Perth.
]
Whitlam Government
A new line between Tarcoola and Alice Springs
Alice Springs ( aer, Mparntwe) is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Known as Stuart until 31 August 1933, the name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd (''née'' Al ...
was given the go ahead by the Whitlam Government in 1974. Built to replace the narrow gauge Central Australia Railway, the 831 kilometre long line
Line most often refers to:
* Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity
* Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system
Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to:
Arts ...
was completed in 1980.
Fraser Government
Work on standard gauge access to Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
started in 1982, with conversion of the broad gauge south of Red Hill, a new line north of there to Crystal Brook where it met the standard gauge line from Port Pirie to Broken Hill. Freight trains began using the line in 1983 with passenger trains following the next year when Keswick Terminal opened. With benefits exceeding the cost by 2.8 times over 25 years, Australian National was able to obtain a loan for the funding of the work.[Laird, p 190]
One Nation project
As part of the Keating Government's One Nation project, the Melbourne-Adelaide railway line was converted to standard gauge in 1995.[Laird, p 191] The Hopetoun, Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
and Yaapeet lines in Victoria, and the Pinnaroo, Loxton and Apamurra lines in South Australia were also gauge converted. The remaining isolated broad gauge and narrow gauge lines were closed with the Mount Gambier and Mount Barker lines being the most controversial. The Fishermans Island line was converted to dual gauge in 1997 to serve the Port of Brisbane
Port of Brisbane is the shipping port and coastal suburb of the City of Brisbane, on the east coast of Queensland, Australia. In the , Port of Brisbane had no residents living in the suburb. The port is the largest in the state of Queensland.
...
.[
]
21st century projects
Gauge conversion
Gauge conversion is the changing of one railway track gauge (the distance between the running rails) to another.
Sleepers
If tracks are converted to a narrower gauge, the existing sleepers (ties) may be used. However, replacement is required if ...
of 2,000 kilometres of track in Victoria was announced by the state government in May 2001 but did not proceed due to the difficulty of achieving any agreement with then track manager, Freight Australia.[ In 2010, 200 kilometres of the ]North East line
The North East MRT line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, it is the shortest MRT line at . The line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the no ...
in Victoria was gauge converted between Seymour and Albury
Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...
. In the same year, standard gauge access was provided to the Port of Geelong
The Port of Geelong is located on the shores of Corio Bay at Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The port is the sixth-largest in Australia by tonnage.
Major commodities handled by the port include crude oil and petroleum products, export grain an ...
, 13 years after the conversion to standard gauge of the Western standard gauge line between Melbourne and Adelaide, which runs through the northern suburbs of Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
.
The Oaklands branch line was converted in 2009 to standard gauge as part of the project to standardise the North East line, to prevent that branch becoming isolated as an orphan.
To allow the creation of the Nucleus Transmodal Hub at Bromelton, Queensland
Bromelton is a rural locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Bromelton had a population of 155 people.
Geography
The Beaudesert–Boonah Road (State Route 90) runs through from east to north.
History
Bromelton Post ...
, the Acacia Ridge
Acacia Ridge is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Acacia Ridge had a population of 7,429 people. Geography
Acacia Ridge is south of the central business district. It is within the local government are ...
to Bromelton section of the NSW North Coast line was converted to dual gauge in 2009, however it was not used until 2017.[
In November 2012, ]Brookfield Rail
Arc Infrastructure (previously known as Brookfield Rail and WestNet Rail) is a transport infrastructure owner and access provider in Western Australia with a long-term lease on the network from the Government of Western Australia. It operates a ...
completed an upgrade on the Morawa to Geraldton line with gauge convertible sleepers
''Sleepers'' is a 1996 American legal crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Barry Levinson, and based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's 1995 book of the same name. The film stars Kevin Bacon, Jason Patric, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin Ho ...
installed to allow for conversion in the future.Mixed fortunes for Western Australian projects
''International Railway Journal
The ''International Railway Journal'' (IRJ) is a monthly international trade magazine published by Simmons-Boardman Publishing in Falmouth, England.
History
Founded by Robert Lewis and ''Railway Age'' editor Luther Miller as the world's first ...
'' 16 November 2012 The Mildura railway line and the Murrayville railway lines in Victoria were converted to standard gauge in 2018.
Gallery
File:Gladstone Railyard March 1986 002.jpg, Triple gauge
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to ca ...
– , and tracks at Gladstone (SA) in 1986
File:Cross-section of Australian triple-gauge track.png, Cross-section dimensions of triple-gauge track at Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
and Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
, South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
(click to enlarge)
File:Sprinter near Somerton.jpg, Craigieburn line and North East line
The North East MRT line (NEL) is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, it is the shortest MRT line at . The line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the no ...
in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*John Ayres Mills (2006)
The Myth of the Standard Gauge: Rail Gauge Choice in Australia, 1850-1901
*John Ayres Mills (2010)
Australia's mixed gauge railway system: a reassessment of its origins.
*
*Brady, I.A. (1971) ''A Brief History of Standard Gauge in Australia'' Brady I. A. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, May;June, 1971 pp98–120;131-139
External links
Infrastructure.gov.au
Australasian Railway Association 2004 network map
]
{{Navbox track gauge
Interstate rail in Australia
Rail infrastructure in Australia
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
Railway management in Australia
Standards of Australia