Tarcoola railway station

Tarcoola
Station in the 1920s
Location Railway Terrace, Tarcoola
Coordinates 30°42′39″S 134°34′06″E / 30.7107°S 134.5684°E / -30.7107; 134.5684Coordinates: 30°42′39″S 134°34′06″E / 30.7107°S 134.5684°E / -30.7107; 134.5684
Line(s) Trans-Australian Railway
Platforms 1
Construction
Structure type Ground
Other information
Status Unstaffed

Tarcoola railway station is located on the Trans-Australian Railway. It serves the town of Tarcoola and is the northern junction of the Sydney-Perth and Adelaide-Darwin railways, which share approximately 530 kilometres (329 mi) of track between Tarcoola and Crystal Brook.

History

The Trans-Australian Railway was built through Tarcoola in 1915, and in 1980 it became a junction station when the Adelaide–Darwin railway diverged from Tarcoola to Alice Springs. This was extended to Darwin in 2004. It was initially built as a standard gauge replacement for the Central Australia Railway.

There is a triangular junction at Tarcoola which joins Crystal Brook, Darwin and Perth. Another triangular junction at Crystal Brook joins Tarcoola, Adelaide and Sydney.

The Ghan and the Indian Pacific passenger services through Tarcoola both run once per week in each direction all year round, and twice per week at various times.[1][2] The mail for Tarcoola arrives by train.

The station has two triangles, one for turning locomotives, and the larger one to the west of the town gives direct access from the Darwin line to the Trans-Australian Railway to Kalgoorlie.[3]

In 2018, the track between Tarcoola and Adelaide was upgraded from 47 kilograms per metre (95 lb/yd) to 60 kilograms per metre (120 lb/yd) rails. This was done while the track was open for service, with 600 metres (2,000 ft) of rail being replaced at a time between train services. The upgrade increased the maximum permitted axle load by four tonnes.[4]

Services

Great Southern Rail's The Ghan and Indian Pacific services pass Tarcoola but do not stop at the station.[5][6]

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  3. ↑ Track layout SA Signal & Track
  4. ↑ Lysaght, Gary-Jon (4 April 2018). "Rail upgrade work commences on key Adelaide-Tarcoola route through outback South Australia". ABC North and West. ABC News. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  5. ↑ The Ghan Timetable Archived 15 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Great Southern Rail
  6. ↑ Indian Pacific Timetable Archived 5 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Great Southern Rail
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