Port Augusta railway station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Port Augusta railway station
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| Location | Stirling Road, Port Augusta |
| Coordinates | 32°29′37″S 137°46′02″E / 32.4937°S 137.7672°E |
| Line(s) | Adelaide-Port Augusta |
| Platforms | 2 (1 island) |
| Construction | |
| Structure type | Ground |
| Other information | |
| Status | Unstaffed |
The Port Augusta railway station is an important train station in Port Augusta, South Australia. It is located on the main railway line that connects Port Augusta to Adelaide.
Contents
History of the Port Augusta Railway
Early Railway Lines (1878-1929)
In 1878, Port Augusta became the starting point for a new railway line. This line was planned to go all the way to Darwin in the north. It was called the Great Northern Railway. This railway used a "narrow gauge" track, which means the rails were closer together than on standard tracks.
The Great Northern Railway slowly grew longer. By 1891, it reached a town called Oodnadatta. In 1882, Port Augusta also got a railway connection to Adelaide. This happened when the line to Peterborough was finished. From Peterborough, trains could already go to Adelaide.
The very first Port Augusta railway station was on Commercial Road. Today, this old station is a special building. It is now used as an art gallery.
For a long time, the railway to Oodnadatta was run by the South Australian Railways. Then, in 1911, the Australian Government took over the line. Later, in 1926, the Commonwealth Railways started running the trains. The railway line was finally extended to Alice Springs in 1929.
Building the Trans-Australian Railway (1913-1937)
Between 1913 and 1917, a new, very long railway line was built. This was the Trans-Australian Railway. It connected Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. This new line used "standard gauge" tracks. These tracks are wider than the narrow gauge tracks.
Because of this, Port Augusta became a "break of gauge" station. This means trains on different sized tracks met here. Passengers and goods had to switch trains to continue their journey. For example, if you came from Kalgoorlie on a standard gauge train, you would switch to a narrow gauge train to go to Adelaide.
A new, larger station building was built to handle all these transfers. It had platforms for both standard gauge and narrow gauge trains. In 1937, the standard gauge line was extended to Port Pirie Junction. This helped make travel easier.
New Lines and Modern Times (1957-Today)
In 1957, a new standard gauge line was built. This line went from Stirling North to Marree. It replaced the older narrow gauge line that went through Quorn.
Later, in 1972, a railway line to Whyalla was opened. This line helped transport materials for the Whyalla Steelworks.
In 2001, a part of the old narrow gauge line was reopened. This was the section between Port Augusta and Quorn. It is now used by the Pichi Richi Railway Preservation Society. They run historic trains for fun.
Port Augusta has always been an important place for railways. A company called Downer Rail even has a factory there.
Today, famous passenger trains like The Ghan and Indian Pacific pass through Port Augusta. However, they do not stop at the station.
