Rail Transport in South Australia - Timeline

Timeline

• 1856 - First broad (1600 mm) gauge line from Adelaide to Port Adelaide opens
• 1870 - First narrow (1067 mm) gauge line opens from Port Wakefield to Balaklava - isolated from broad gauge system. Originally horse drawn railway.
• 1880 - Broad gauge line reaches Terowie
• 1887 - Railways of South Australia and Victoria meet at Serviceton, Victoria
• 1888 - Narrow gauge line built from Port Pirie to Broken Hill, New South Wales
• 1891 - Narrow gauge line reaches Oodnadatta from Terowie break-of-gauge station
• 1917 - First standard gauge line completed between Port Augusta, South Australia and Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, requiring a break-of-gauge at Terowie, Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie to reach Perth
• 1919 - Railways of South Australia and New South Wales meet at Broken Hill, New South Wales with a break-of-gauge
• 1937 - Trans-Australian Railway extended to Port Pirie and the broad gauge railway from Adelaide to Redhill extended to Port Pirie
• 1970 - Port Pirie to Broken Hill standard gauge line officially opened, completing the Sydney - Perth rail link
• 1980 - Tarcoola, South Australia to Alice Springs standard gauge railway opened, first stage of the Adelaide-Darwin railway
• 1982 - Adelaide to Crystal Brook, South Australia standard gauge railway opened, connecting Adelaide to the standard gauge network
• 1995 - Adelaide to Melbourne gauge converted from broad gauge to standard gauge under the Federal Government One Nation Project
• 2008 - South Australian Treasurer Kevin Foley announces budget which includes plans to electrify the Noarlunga, Outer Harbor and Gawler rail lines

The first South Australian steam-operated line was built as a broad gauge (1600 mm) line in 1856 between the city and Port Adelaide stopping at Bowden, Woodville and Alberton. This line is now part of the Adelaide suburban network and has been proposed for standardisation and conversion to light rail. It was extended as the Outer Harbor line to Outer Harbor in 1908. A branch was built to Grange in 1882. It was extended as the Henley Beach line to Henley Beach in 1894 and closed in 1957.