Crystal Brook-Broken Hill railway line

The Crystal Brook-Broken Hill railway line is a 371 kilometre line running from Crystal Brook to Broken Hill on the Australian Rail Track Corporation network.[1][2]

Crystal Brook-Broken Hill railway line
A Pacific National steel train from Newcastle bound for Whyalla, passing through Yunta, between Broken Hill and Crystal Brook in 2017
Overview
Termini	Crystal Brook Broken Hill
Continues from	Adelaide-Port Augusta line
Continues as	NSW Broken Hill line
Service
Operator(s)	Genesee & Wyoming Australia Great Southern Rail Pacific National SCT Logistics
History
Opened	1888
Reopened	1970 (standardised)
Technical
Line length	371 km (231 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Old gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map Broken Hill line to Sydney 394.2 km Broken Hill Crossing loop 1,169m South Road Gypsum Street Darbon Terrace Abbatoir Road 389.8 km Kanandah Crossing loop 1,014m 386.7 km Bemax Siding 377.6 km Pinnacle Mines Siding 363.5 km Thackaringa Crossing loop 996m 346.0 km New South Wales South Australia Barrier Highway 320.8 km Mingary Crossing loop 1,854m Barrier Highway 276.9 km Olary Crossing loop 998m 239.6 km Mannahill Crossing loop 2,500m 195.8 km Yunta Crossing loop 1,984m 146.0 km Hillgrange Crossing loop 1,877m Barrier Highway Wilmington-Ucolta Road Peterborough railway line to Terowie, Hamley Bridge and Adelaide Silver Street 109.7 km Peterborough Crossing loop 2,200m Hurlestone Street Peterborough–Quorn railway line to Quorn 98.6 km Yongala Crossing loop 1,009m 73.5 km Jamestown Crossing loop 998m Yhor Street RM Williams Way Clyde Street Jamestown Road 60.0 km Caltowie Crossing loop 1,054m Adams Street Wilmington railway line to Laura and Wilmington Bondowie Street 43.9 km Gladstone Crossing loop 1,990m Gladstone railway line to Balaklava, Hamley Bridge and Adelaide Horrocks Highway Weston Road Adelaide-Port Augusta line to Port Augusta 0.0 km Coonamia (Port Pirie) Goyder Highway Crystal Brook Triangle Adelaide-Port Augusta line to Adelaide broad gauge standard gauge narrow gauge

History

In the 1875, the South Australian Railways built a narrow gauge line from Port Pirie to Gladstone.[3] This was extended to Cockburn in 1888 where it joined with the Silverton Tramway.

In April 1963, the Federal Government decided to replace the narrow gauge line with a new standard gauge line to create an East-West rail corridor from Sydney to Perth.[4] The new line opened in January 1970.[5] Parts of the new line are on a different alignment than the old narrow gauge route. For example, the new line bypasses the town of Oodla Wirra, and followed a new alignment rather than the route of the Silverton Tramway.[6]

In 1982, the Adelaide to Port Augusta line was converted to standard gauge. As part of this the junction with the Port Pirie to Broken Hill line was moved 24 kilometres east to Crystal Brook.

The 371 kilometre line is single track throughout with 13 crossing loops.[2]

Services

The main traffic on the line is interstate freight trains operating between Sydney, Parkes, Adelaide and Perth with the majority operated by Pacific National and SCT Logistics. Genesee & Wyoming Australia operate intrastate services.[7]

The only passenger service is Journey Beyond's Indian Pacific. In the 1980s, the line was briefly served by The Alice and Australian National's Adelaide to Broken Hill service.

References

1. Crystal Brook - Kanandah map SA Track & Signal
2. D15 Broken Hill to Crystal Brook Australian Rail Track Corporation April 2014
3. PGladstone Archived 28 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine National Railway Museum
4. "Webb report" (PDF). Australian Rail Track Corporation. 1976. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
5. Broken Hill Railway Precinct NSW Environment & Heritage
6. Ron J Fitch (2006). Australian Railwayman: From Cadet Engineer to Railways Commissioner. Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 195–199. ISBN 1-877058-48-3.
7. Rail Transport Memorandum of Outstanding signed with Genesee & Wyoming Australia Carpenteria Exploration 31 October 2012