Tarcoola railway station is a railway station in the Australian state of
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 ...
located on 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 ...
in the state's west.
It serves the town of
Tarcoola and is the northern junction of the
Sydney-Perth and
Adelaide-Darwin railways, which share approximately of track between Tarcoola and
Crystal Brook.
History
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 ...
was built through Tarcoola in 1915, and in 1980 it became a
junction station ''Junction station'' usually refers to a railway station situated on or close to a junction where lines to several destinations diverge. The usual minimum is three incoming lines. At a station with platforms running from left to right, the minimum ...
when the
Adelaide–Darwin railway diverged from Tarcoola to
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 ...
. This was extended to
Darwin in 2004. It was initially built as a standard gauge replacement for the
Central Australia Railway.
There is a
triangular junction at Tarcoola which joins Crystal Brook, Darwin and Perth. Another triangular junction at Crystal Brook joins Tarcoola, Adelaide and Sydney.
The station has two
triangles, a smaller one for turning locomotives, and the larger one to the west of the town gives direct access from the
Darwin line to 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 ...
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 ...
.
The latter has been put out of service.
In 2018, the track between Tarcoola and Adelaide was upgraded from to rails. This was done while the track was open for service, with of rail being replaced at a time between train services. The upgrade increased the maximum permitted axle load by four tonnes.
Services
The Ghan
''The Ghan'' is an experiential tourism oriented passenger train service that operates between the northern and southern coasts of Australia, through the cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin on the Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor. O ...
and the
Indian Pacific passenger services pass through Tarcoola both running once per week in each direction all year round.
Ghan Timetable April 2019 to March 2020
Great Southern Rail The mail for Tarcoola arrives by train.
References
External links
**Photo
Station building ca.1926-1940
*Photo
Flickr gallery
Railway stations in South Australia
Trans-Australian Railway
Far North (South Australia)
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