Route map of The Ghan

The Ghan
Darwin Katherine Tennant Creek Alice Springs Kulgera Northern Territory / South Australia border Chandler Marla Coober Pedy (Manguri) Tarcoola Kingoonya Pimba Port Augusta Port Pirie Adelaide Keswick Rail Terminal

The Ghan is a passenger train operating between Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Darwin on the Adelaide-Darwin railway in Australia. Katherine is a town situated 320 km southeast of Darwin in the "Top End" of the Northern Territory, Australia. Tennant Creek is a town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Kulgera ( is a locality in the Northern Territory of Australia. Chandler is a remote rail siding in the far north of the Australian state of South Australia. Marla ( is a small town on the Stuart highway in north-western South Australia. Coober Pedy is a town in northern South Australia, 846 kilometres north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. Tarcoola ( is a station on the Trans-Australian Railway. It serves the former mining town of Tarcoola in South Australia. Kingoonya is a small settlement in the far north of the Australian state of South Australia. Pimba is a small settlement lying on the transcontinental railway line in the Australian state of South Australia. Port Augusta (post code 5700 ( is the fifth most populous City in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla and Port Pirie (post code 5540 ( is the sixth most populous City in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Murray Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia with a Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. The Adelaide - Darwin railway is north-south transcontinental railway in Australia between the cities of Adelaide, South Australia and Darwin, Northern For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Operated by Great Southern Railway and with locomotives provided by Pacific National, the journey takes 48 hours to travel the 2,979 kilometres (1850 miles). Great Southern Railway (GSR owned by Serco Asia Pacific is a tourism business and rail transport operator in Australia. A locomotive is a railway Vehicle that provides the motive power for a Train. Pacific National is one of Australia 's largest private rail freight businesses The service's name is an abbreviated version of its previous nickname The Afghan Express, which comes from the Afghan camel trains that trekked the same route before the advent of the railway. A nickname is a Name of an entity or thing that is not its Proper name. The Demographics of Afghanistan are ethnically and linguistically mixed A camel train is a series of Camels carrying goods or passengers in a group as part of a regular or semi-regular service between two points

History

The route of the Old Ghan

Original Ghan

Construction of what is now known as the Ghan began in 1878 when premier of South Australia Sir William Jervois broke ground at Port Augusta. Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois, GCMG, CB ( 10 September 1821 &ndash 17 August 1897) was a military engineer The line reached Hawker in June 1880, Beltana in July 1881, Marree in January 1884 and Oodnadatta on 7 January 1891. Hawker ( is a town in the Flinders Ranges area of South Australia, 365 km north of Adelaide. Beltana is a semi- Ghost town north of Adelaide, South Australia. Marree ( is a small town located in the north of South Australia. Oodnadatta, South Australia ( is located in the heart of the desert 112 m above sea level 1011 km north of Adelaide. Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental Year 1891 ( MDCCCXCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common ^[1] It wasn't until 1926 that development to Alice Springs began,^[2] and that section was completed in 1929. Prior to completion, the final leg of the train journey was still completed by camel. ^[3] In fact, the train's current name honors Afghan camel drivers who arrived in Australia in the late 19th century to help find a way to reach the country's unexplored interior. Camels are Even-toed ungulates within the Genus Camelus. The Dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump and the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. ^[4] While there were plans from the beginning to extend the line through to Darwin, by the time the Alice Springs connection was complete, the Ghan was running at a financial loss, and plans for connection to Darwin were put on indefinite hold. ^[5] The original Ghan line followed the same track as the overland telegraph, which is believed to be the route taken by John McDouall Stuart during his 1862 crossing of Australia. John McDouall Stuart ( 7 September 1815 &ndash 5 June 1866) was the most accomplished and most famous of all Australia's inland explorers ^[6]

Construction of a New Line

The original Ghan ran for the last time in 1980^[7] and now its preservation is in the hands of The Ghan Preservation Society who repair sections of the old narrow gauge track and some notable sidings. ^[8] It was not until October 1980 that a new standard gauge line from Tarcoola, South Australia (a siding on the Trans-Australian Railway) to Alice Springs was constructed, and the train took the form it has today. Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge. Tarcoola ( postcode 5710 altitude 204 m is a town in the Far North of South Australia 416 km north-northwest of Port Augusta. The Trans-Australian Railway is a railway line that crosses the Nullarbor Plain of Australia from Port Augusta in South Australia to Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. The new line is located approximately 160 kilometres (100 miles) west of the former line, in an effort to prevent washout due to rain. ^[9] It was also hoped that the construction of the new line would improve the on-time performance of the train. ^[10]

Connection to Darwin

Construction of Alice Springs - Darwin line was believed to be the largest civil engineering project in the 50 years^[11] since the creation of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, the largest in Australia's history. The Snowy Mountains Scheme is a Hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia ^[12] Line construction began in July 2001, with the first passenger train reaching Darwin on February 4, 2004, after more than a century of planning and waiting^[13] and at a cost of AUD$1. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the Currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas 3 billion. ^[14] The Ghan's arrival in Darwin signified a new era of tourism in the Northern Territory,^[15] making travel to the region easier and more convenient as well as providing better access to and for Aboriginal communities in the region. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the center of the mainland continent as well as the central northern regions ^[16] The rail link will allow for more freight to travel through the region, leading to a hope that Darwin will serve as another trade link with Asia. ^[17]

In preparation for the connection to Darwin, one of the locomotives was named for Steve Irwin in a hope that the internationally-recognized face of Australia would help promote the new service and tourism to the region. Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 – 4 September 2006 known simply as Steve Irwin and Nicknamed " The Crocodile Hunter " was an iconic ^[18]

Operations

The Ghan at Alice Springs, 12 March 2007. Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

The Ghan is operated by Great Southern Railway Ltd, part of the Serco Group. Great Southern Railway (GSR owned by Serco Asia Pacific is a tourism business and rail transport operator in Australia. Serco Group plc ( is a Business Services company based in Hook North Hampshire of the United Kingdom In addition to the Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin, the train also makes a stop at Katherine. The stops at Katherine and Alice Springs allow time for optional tours. ^[19]

The Ghan runs twice-weekly from Adelaide to Alice Springs, and once or twice a week to Darwin,^[20] depending on seasonal traffic and demand. Initial demand for the Darwin connection, including sold out trains,^[21] was far more than planners had expected, leading to the increase in service even in the off-peak times. ^[22]

Incidents

• On 24 October 2002, the Ghan collided with a school bus in Salisbury in South Australia. Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Salisbury (ˈsɔːlzbəri is a suburb in the north of Adelaide, South Australia. South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country Although there weren't significant injuries to Ghan passengers, four people on the bus were killed. ^[23]
• On 12 December 2006, the Ghan collided with a truck at a level crossing and derailed 35 km south of Adelaide River in the Northern Territory. Events 627 - Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II 's Persian Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. A road train or roadtrain is a Trucking concept used in remote areas of Australia, the United States, and Western Canada to move Adelaide River is a town where the Stuart Highway crosses the Adelaide River in the Northern Territory of Australia. Seven of the 11 carriages came off the tracks. One woman was critically injured, other passengers received only minor injuries. The truck driver involved was arrested, according to the NT police,^[24] charged^[25] and found guilty^[26] of a number of charges related to the accident.
• On 4 March 2007, rains washed out a portion of the track between Darwin and Adelaide River. Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. During the time that it took to repair the track, all trains terminated in Katherine. Katherine is a town situated 320 km southeast of Darwin in the "Top End" of the Northern Territory, Australia. ^[27]
• On 6 August 2007, the Ghan collided with a truck at a level crossing 50 km north of Adelaide in South Australia. Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. A road train or roadtrain is a Trucking concept used in remote areas of Australia, the United States, and Western Canada to move Adelaide is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of South Australia, and is the fifth largest city in Australia with a South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country 3 Passengers were reported with minor injuries, suffering from shock. The truck driver was temporarily trapped in his vehicle. ^[28]

References

External links

• The Ghan homepage
• The Ghan ephemera digitised and held by the National Library of Australia
• The Ghanz