Railways and Tramways of Australia
South Australia and Northern Territory
South Australia has a mixture of standard gauge, broad gauge and narrow gauge lines. It is the only state to have extensive networks of three different gauges. South Australia is also the only state to have a section of two transcontinental lines: the east–west line from Sydney to Perth, and the north–south line from Darwin to Adelaide. Most of the major interstate lines are managed by ARTC, while the line from Tarcoola to Darwin is managed by Aurizon.
Links to maps of the major railway lines in South Australia and the Northern Territory, and tramways in Adelaide, are below.
Australian Rail Maps: South Australia and Northern Territory
Australian Rail Maps: South-east Australia
Australian Rail Maps: Adelaide
Aurizon
Aurizon manages nearly 3700 kilometres of track in South Australia and the Northern Territory, including the standard gauge railway between Tarcoola and Darwin, which is 2246 km in length. Its network includes broad, standard and narrow gauge lines, although many lines under the management of Aurizon are currently mothballed. Most of its operational railways, apart from the line to Darwin, are the narrow gauge lines on the Eyre Peninsula from Port Lincoln to Wudinnah, Thevenard and Kevin, and from Cummins to Kimba.
Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC)
In South Australia the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) manages and maintains the following lines, all of which are standard gauge:
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Adelaide to the Victoria–South Australia border near Serviceton
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Adelaide to the Western Australia–South Australia border on the Trans-Australian Railway via Port Augusta
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Port Augusta to Whyalla
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Crystal Brook to the New South Wales–South Australia border near Broken Hill.
ARTC has a Network Control Centre in South Australia at Adelaide.
Government of South Australia, Department for Infrastructure and Transport
The South Australian Government’s Department for Infrastructure and Transport owns the railway and tramway networks that suburban trains and trams operate on in Adelaide. Railway lines extend to Belair, Gawler Central, Grange, Outer Harbor, Seaford and Flinders. The lines from Adelaide to Gawler, Seaford and Flinders are electrified. Adelaide’s main tramway is a standard gauge line that is 15 km in length and runs from the Entertainment Centre at Hindmarsh through the Central Business District to Moseley Square at Glenelg. Much of the line has its own right of way that is separate from road traffic, but it runs along roads in the Adelaide Central Business District and at Glenelg. Lines also extend along North Terrace to the Botanic Gardens, and 100 metres north along King William Road from North Terrace to the Festival Centre.