Darwin railway station, also known as Berrimah Passenger Terminal, is the terminus station of the Adelaide-Darwin rail corridor in the Darwin suburb of

East Arm, Northern Territory __NOTOC__ East Arm is a suburb in the Northern Territory of Australia located in Darwin about east of Darwin City overlooking a part of Darwin Harbour known as the East Arm. It is the traditional land and waterways of the Larrakia people. ...

. The station is from

Adelaide Parklands Terminal Adelaide Parklands Terminal, formerly known as Keswick Terminal, is the interstate passenger railway station in Adelaide, South Australia. The terminal is north of the suburb of Keswick, by road south-west of the city centre, and adjoins t ...

station, from the end of the line and by road from Darwin's city centre. In front of the station building is a paved area long, but sealed

hardstand A hardstand (also hard standing and hardstanding in British English) is a paved or hard-surfaced area on which vehicles, such as cars or aircraft, may be parked. The term may also be used informally to refer to an area of compacted hard surface su ...

ing extends for a kilometre (1100 yards) to accommodate all carriages of the train on the single track. Since this area is not raised, small platforms with stairs are positioned for passengers.

History

From 1889 to 1973, the

North Australia Railway The North Australia Railway was a narrow gauge railway in the Northern Territory of Australia which ran from the territory capital of Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Birdum, just south of Larrimah. Initially its name was the ''Palmerst ...

ran through Darwin and terminated at its own Darwin station. This station was at a different site to the modern one, near what is now Fishermans Wharf (and like the city, it was known as "Palmerston" until 1911). The current Darwin station opened on 4 February 2004 when ''

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 ...

'' operated the first passenger service on the newly constructed line from

Alice Springs Alice Springs () is a town in the Northern Territory, Australia; it is the third-largest settlement after Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin and Palmerston, Northern Territory, Palmerston. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William ...

. In July of that year, a small

0-4-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were ...

steam locomotive, built in 1886 by

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Eddystone in the early 20th century. The com ...

, was put on display in the station. As the first locomotive in the Northern Territory, it was used during construction of the Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway and for 63 years more on the line. It became known as ''Sandfly''. In 2008 the NT Motor Vehicle Enthusiasts Club substantially refurbished ''Sandfly'' for display, and since 2010 it has been in the former Qantas hangar in Parap alongside the club's historic trucks, traction and stationary engines and fire engines.

Services

The sole passenger services to Darwin are provided by ''

'', which operated weekly in each direction.Ghan Timetable April 2021 to December 2021
Journey Beyond

References

External links

{{Journey Beyond railway stations, The Ghan=y, state=collapsed Railway stations in the Northern Territory Railway stations in Australia opened in 2004 Transport in Darwin, Northern Territory