Trans-Australian Railway

The Trans-Australian Railway links Port Augusta in South Australia with Kalgoorlie in Western Australia across the continent’s arid interior. Its long, straight crossing includes the world’s longest stretch of straight railway track.

Nullarbor Plain: A vast, sparsely treed limestone plain spanning southern Australia between South Australia and Western Australia. The railway crosses this plain, whose exposed terrain shaped construction and maintenance.
Federation of Australia: The 1901 union of the six self-governing British colonies into the Commonwealth of Australia. The new Commonwealth inherited the obligation to connect Western Australia with the eastern states.
William J. George: An Australian railway engineer who served as chief engineer for construction of the Trans-Australian Railway. George directed engineering work on the line across remote terrain.
Trans-Australian Railway settlements: Small railway communities established along the line across the Nullarbor and adjacent arid regions. Railway operations created isolated settlements at sidings and service points.
Indian Pacific: An interstate passenger train service linking Sydney and Perth across Australia. The passenger service uses the Trans-Australian route, unlike the railway infrastructure itself.
Alfredton–Ooldea railway line: The long, straight section of the Trans-Australian Railway across the Nullarbor Plain. Its exceptionally straight alignment is the route’s best-known engineering feature.
Kalgoorlie–Port Augusta railway proposal: The early twentieth-century plan for a Commonwealth railway linking Kalgoorlie and Port Augusta. The proposal became the political and engineering foundation for the route.
Commonwealth Railways: The Australian federal railway authority that operated lines under Commonwealth control from 1917 to 1975. It built and operated the Trans-Australian Railway before its functions passed to Australian National.
Kalgoorlie: A Western Australian mining city founded during the gold rushes of the 1890s. The railway connected this inland mining centre to South Australia and the east.
Great Northern Railway (Western Australia): A Western Australian railway that ran north from Port Hedland toward Marble Bar and the Pilbara. It served a remote northern region rather than linking the continent’s east and west.

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