View source for History of rail transport in Australia

{{Use Australian English|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{History of Australia}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2021}}
{{Short description|Railway history of Australia}}

Australians generally assumed in the 1850s that railways would be built by the private sector. Private companies built railways in the then colonies of [[Rail transport in Victoria|Victoria]], opened in 1854, and [[Rail transport in New South Wales|New South Wales]], where the company was taken over by the government before completion in 1855, due to bankruptcy. [[Rail transport in South Australia|South Australia's]] railways were government owned from the beginning, including a horse-drawn line opened in 1854 and a steam-powered line opened in 1856. In Victoria, the private railways were soon found not to be financially viable, and existing rail networks and their expansion were taken over by the colony. Government ownership also enabled railways to be built to promote development, even if not apparently viable in strictly financial terms. The railway systems spread from the colonial capitals, except for a few lines that hauled commodities to a rural port.

Railways in Australia date from the 10&nbsp;December 1831 when the [[Australian Agricultural Company]] officially opened Australia's first railway,<ref name="CollieryRailways">{{citation|title=Colliery Railways of the Australian Agricultural Company in the Newcastle District|last1=Webber|first1=J |last2=Wylie|first2=R.F.|journal=[[Australian Railway History|Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin]]|date=March 1968|pages=53–63}}</ref> located at the intersection of Brown and Church Streets, [[Newcastle, New South Wales]]. Privately owned and operated to service the ''A Pit'' coal mine, it was a [[cast iron]] [[Rail profile#History|fishbelly]] rail on an inclined plane as a [[Cable railway#Gravity balance|gravitational railway]].<ref name= "Uncovering and understanding Australia’s First Railway">{{citation|url=http://www.arhsnsw.com.au/docsrrc/rrcdload01.pdf|title=Conference Paper: Uncovering and understanding Australia's First Railway|last1=Campbell|first1=D.|last2=Brougham|first2= J.|last3=Caldwell|first3=R.|journal= Australian Journal of Multi-disciplinary Engineering|volume=7 |issue=2|pages=2–3|publisher= Engineering Heritage Australia|location= Newcastle, NSW|access-date=14 July 2011|archive-date=22 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222150336/http://www.arhsnsw.com.au/docsrrc/rrcdload01.pdf}}</ref>

The colonial railways were built to three different gauges, which became a problem once lines of different systems met at [[Albury railway station|Albury]] in 1881 and [[Wallangarra railway station|Wallangarra]] in 1888. In the 20th century, the lines between major cities were converted to [[standard gauge]] and electrified suburban networks were built in [[Sydney]], [[Melbourne]], [[Brisbane]] and [[Perth]]. In the second half of the 20th century, many rural branch lines were closed to passenger traffic or altogether in all states. On the other hand, long heavy-haul railways were built to transport iron ore in [[Western Australia]] and coal in [[Queensland]] to ports. In Western Australia these railways are privately owned.

In the 1990s and the early 21st century, the traditional networks were reorganised and partially privatised. The interstate standard gauge network came largely under the control of the [[Australian Rail Track Corporation]] and private companies were allowed to operate on it for the first time. Some non-metropolitan intrastate networks became privately controlled and the operation of private freight and passenger trains commenced. The [[Railways in Melbourne|Melbourne suburban railways]] became the first urban rail system to be operated by private sector franchisees.

==Development of state-based networks==
[[Image:AlburyRailwayStationPlatform.jpg|thumb|The colonies of New South Wales and Victoria built their railway lines to different [[Track gauge#Dual gauge|gauges]]. Where they met, at [[Albury railway station|Albury]], all travellers had to change trains and all freight had to be laboriously trans-shipped. To shelter passengers roused from their beds in the middle of the night, a covered platform was needed; at {{convert|348|m|yd|abbr=off|comma=off}} it is one of the longest in Australia.]]
[[File:PXA 1031 40 Railway merlin SLNSW FL1548205.jpg|thumb|Transporting coal by rail, New South Wales, c. 1872]]

Railways in Australia date from the 10&nbsp;December 1831 when the [[Australian Agricultural Company]] officially opened Australia's first railway,<ref name="CollieryRailways" /> located at the intersection of Brown and Church Streets, [[Newcastle, New South Wales]]. Privately owned and operated to service the ''A Pit'' coal mine, it was a [[cast-iron]] [[fishbelly rail]] on an inclined plane as a [[Cable railway#Gravity balance|gravitational railway]].<ref name="Uncovering and understanding Australia’s First Railway" />

The earliest railway in South Australia consisted of the seven-mile horse-drawn freight line between [[Goolwa, South Australia|Goolwa]] and [[Port Elliot]], which began service on 18 May 1854, allowing steam ships to avoid the treacherous mouth of the [[Murray River]].<ref name="PictHistAust">{{citation|last=Testro|first= Ron|title=A Pictorial History of Australian Railways|publisher=Lansdowne Press|date=1971|page=9}}</ref> The first steam locomotive began service soon afterward on the [[Port Melbourne railway line|Port Melbourne line]] between Sandridge (now [[Port Melbourne]]), and [[Flinders Street railway station|Flinders Street]] in Melbourne.<ref name="PictHistAust" />

In 1848, the [[Sydney Railway Company]] was established to connect [[Goulburn railway station|Goulburn]] and [[Bathurst railway station, New South Wales|Bathurst]] to Sydney, mainly to convey wool for export to the United Kingdom. The company proposed that [[standard gauge]] ({{RailGauge|ussg}}) be used but had considerable difficulty in raising sufficient funds to commence construction and the first section of the line, between [[Granville railway station|Granville]] and Sydney was not opened until 1855. This area is now part of Sydney's western suburbs and the railway line became the first section of what is now the [[Main Suburban railway line|Main Suburban line]]. The Sydney Railway Company went bankrupt building it and as a result the line was taken over by the government, leading to the establishment of the [[New South Wales Government Railways]]. Part of the reason for the delay in starting construction and the Company's eventual bankruptcy was the start of the [[Australian gold rushes]] in 1851—these created a labour-shortage and forced up prices.<ref name=ahc4>{{cite web
 | url=http://www.ahc.gov.au/publications/linking-nation/chapter-4.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229004627/http://www.ahc.gov.au/publications/linking-nation/chapter-4.html|archive-date=29 February 2008|work=Linking a Nation
 | title=Chapter 4: Building Australia's First Railways, 1848–1873 | publisher= [[Australian Heritage Council]]}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=February 2021}}<ref name=ditrdlg>{{cite web
|url=http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/rail/trains/history.aspx
|title=History of Rail in Australia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080926231641/http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/rail/trains/history.aspx|archive-date=26 September 2008
|publisher=[[Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (Australia)|Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government]]
}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=February 2021}}<ref name=Webster >{{cite web
 | url=http://warrenfahey.com/fc_railways2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310173507/http://www.warrenfahey.com/fc_railways2.html|archive-date=10 March 2014
 | title=William Webster – the first railway engineer
 | publisher=The Iron Road warrenfahey.com  }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=February 2021}} In fact the railway did not reach Goulburn until 1869 and Bathurst until 1876, both lines having had to cross difficult topography.<ref name=msl>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW:main_south&mode=history 
 |title=Main South Line 
 |publisher=NSWrail.net 
 |archive-date=18 October 2012 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018015302/http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW%3Amain_south&mode=history 
 |url-status=dead 
}}</ref><ref name=mwl/>

[[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] was the main beneficiary of the gold rushes, with the major discoveries around the state but particularly at [[Ballarat]] and [[Bendigo]] (then called ''Sandhurst'') in the early 1850s. While this created a labour shortage in the colony (which had separated from New South Wales in 1851), it also caused great development in Melbourne, first settled in 1835 and declared a city in 1847.  As a result, Australia's first steam-powered railway was a suburban line opened by the [[Melbourne & Hobson's Bay Railway Company]] from [[Port Melbourne railway line|Melbourne to Sandridge]] in 1854.<ref name=arhs1>{{cite web | title = ARHS Railway Museum: History 1839–1900 | work = ARHS Railway Museum | url = http://www.railwaymuseum.org.au/history.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929200801/http://www.railwaymuseum.org.au/history.html|archive-date=29 September 2009}}</ref> This line and almost all subsequent Victorian lines were built to [[broad gauge]] ({{RailGauge|1600mm}}, [[Rail gauge|gauge]]). In 1856, the government-owned [[South Australian Railways]] opened its first 1600&nbsp;mm (5&nbsp;ft 3&nbsp;in) gauge line from [[Adelaide]] to [[Port Adelaide railway station|Port Adelaide]].<ref name=ahc4/>

The three major Australian colonies at the time failed to follow advice from the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British Government]] to adopt a uniform gauge in case the lines of the various states should ever meet. In 1850 the original Irish engineer, [[Francis Webb Shields|Francis Sheilds]] persuaded the [[Government of New South Wales]] to require that all railways in the colony be of the Irish broad gauge. In 1853 a Scots engineer persuaded the legislature to change back to standard gauge. Unfortunately although New South Wales had informed Victoria of the change, the government there decided to continue with {{railgauge|1600mm}} gauge and South Australia then followed Victoria. Suggestions and proposals respectively that Victoria should follow New South Wales or New South Wales should convert to the Victorian gauge were made soon after but the states followed their initial choice.{{Citation needed|reason=Description is inaccurate: see JA Mills (2010) ''Australia's mixed gauge railway system: a reassessment of its origins'' (|date=January 2021}}{{main|rail gauge in Australia}}

Queensland's first line ({{RailGauge|3ft6in}} gauge—known in Australia as "[[narrow gauge railway|narrow gauge]]") from [[Ipswich railway station, Queensland|Ipswich]] to [[Bigge's Camp]], the first stage of a railway between [[Roma Street railway station|Brisbane]] and [[Toowoomba railway station|Toowoomba]], opened in 1865.<ref name=qrhbeginnings>{{cite web|url=http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/beginnings/beginnings.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115070653/http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/beginnings/beginnings.asp|archive-date=15 January 2010| work=QR History| title=Beginnings| publisher=[[Queensland Rail]]}}</ref> This gauge was intended to save money and was subsequently followed by [[Tasmania]] and Western Australia.<ref name=qrhgauge>{{cite web|url=http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/choice_of_a_different_guage/choice_different_gauge.asp| work=QR History| title=The choice of a different gauge| publisher=[[Queensland Rail]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115070321/http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/choice_of_a_different_guage/choice_different_gauge.asp|archive-date=15 January 2010}}</ref> As a result, in the middle of the 20th century Australia had almost equal amounts of each gauge. Tasmania's first {{RailGauge|1600mm}} gauge line opened in 1871 from [[Deloraine, Tasmania|Deloraine]] to [[Launceston, Tasmania|Launceston]] and was converted to {{RailGauge|1067mm}} gauge in 1888. Finally, Western Australia opened its first Government-owned line in 1879 between [[Geraldton]] and [[Northampton, Western Australia|Northampton]]. Lines spread in all the states from these first lines, connecting ports to farmland and ports.<ref name=ahc4/>

The mainline systems of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and [[Queensland]] met (albeit with three [[break-of-gauge|breaks of gauge]]) in the 1880s. Only Victoria and South Australia shared a common gauge, and even so they opted to change engines at the border. The other mainland colony, Western Australia, was isolated by 2,000&nbsp;km of desert.
The first break of gauge was created when the New South Wales and Victorian lines met at [[Albury railway station|Albury]] in 1883.<ref name=msl/> The railways of  Victoria and South Australia meet at [[Serviceton railway station|Serviceton]] in 1887, but these lines were both broad gauge.<ref name=arhs1/> In 1888 the railways of New South Wales and Queensland meet at [[Wallangarra railway station|Wallangarra]].<ref name=msl/> Meanwhile, in 1889, the first line ({{RailGauge|1067mm}} gauge) in the [[Northern Territory]] was opened from [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]] to [[Pine Creek railway station|Pine Creek]]. In 1914, an eight kilometre extension of the New South Wales Railways from [[Queanbeyan railway station|Queanbeyan]] to [[Canberra railway station|Canberra]] was opened to  create the [[Australian Capital Territory]]'s first and only line.<ref name=cbh>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW:canberra&mode=history 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018015138/http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW%3Acanberra&mode=history 
 |archive-date=18 October 2012 
 |title=Canberra Branch history 
 |publisher=NSWrail.net 
 |url-status=dead 
}}</ref>

===New South Wales===
{{further|Rail transport in New South Wales|Railways in Sydney}}
New South Wales' railways date from the 10&nbsp;December 1831 when the [[Australian Agricultural Company]] officially opened Australia's first railway,<ref name="CollieryRailways" /> located at the intersection of Brown and Church Streets, [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]]. Privately owned and operated to service the ''A Pit'' coal mine, it was a [[cast iron]] [[Rail profile#History|fishbelly]] rail on an inclined plane as a [[Cable railway#Gravity balance|gravitational railway]]<ref name="Uncovering and understanding Australia’s First Railway" />

[[File:Powerhouse Museum, Sydney - 2016-02-13 - Andy Mabbett - 35.jpg|thumb|Preserved second class coach of 1854, built by [[Metro-Cammell|Joseph Wright & Sons]] for the Sydney to Parramatta line at the [[Powerhouse Museum]]]]

New South Wales' railways were standard gauge lines built to connect the ports of Sydney and Newcastle to the rural interior. The first public railway was the [[Main Suburban railway line|Main Suburban line]] from Sydney to [[Granville railway station|Parramatta Junction]] and after two decisions to change the [[rail gauge]], problems in raising capital and difficulties in construction, the line was opened in 1855.<ref name=ditrdlg/><ref name=Webster/><ref name=msl/> The [[Main Southern railway line|Main Southern line]] was built in stages from Parramatta Junction to the Victorian border at [[Albury railway station|Albury]] between 1855 and 1881 and connected to the [[Victorian Railways]] at a [[break-of-gauge]] in 1883.<ref name=msl/> The standard gauge connection from Albury to Melbourne was finally completed in 1962.<ref name=ditrdlg/>  Meanwhile, the [[Main Western railway line|Main Western line]] was built in stages to the north west of the state, starting in 1860 at Parramatta Junction and reaching [[Bourke railway station|Bourke]] in 1885.<ref name=mwl>{{cite web|url=http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW:main_west&mode=history |title=Main Western Line |publisher=NSWrail.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018015550/http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW%3Amain_west&mode=history |archive-date=18 October 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

[[File:S-type-16t NSWGR 1907-21 TramwayMus-BrokenHill-20171128.jpg|thumb|NSWGR freight car type ''S,'' built 1907–21.]]

The [[Main Northern railway line|Main North line]] was built in sections over several years. The Sydney to [[Newcastle railway station|Newcastle]] section was connected with the conclusion of the final two stages, Mullet Creek to [[Gosford railway station|Gosford]] (opened 16 January 1888) and [[Hawkesbury River railway station|Hawkesbury]] to Mullet Creek (opened 1 May 1889), of the Homebush to Waratah line, these final two stages required the construction of the [[Woy Woy Tunnel]] and the original [[Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13744427|title= Opening of the Hawkesbury Bridge|date=2 May 1889|page=7|access-date=30 June 2011}}</ref><ref name=mnl /> The Newcastle to [[Wallangarra railway station|Wallangarra]] section was constructed between 1857 and 1888 with a [[break-of-gauge]] required at the New South Wales and Queensland border.<ref name=mnl /> The [[North Coast railway line, New South Wales|North Coast line]], constructed between 1905 and 1932 with the completion of the [[Grafton Bridge, New South Wales|Grafton Bridge]], brought about the closure of the northern end of the Main North line at the [[Maitland railway station|Maitland]] [[Junction (rail)|junction]] due to its shorter distance.<ref name=ncl>{{cite web|url=http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW:north_coast&mode=history |title=North Coast Line |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018015559/http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW%3Anorth_coast&mode=history |archive-date=18 October 2012 |publisher=NSWrail.net |url-status=dead  }}</ref><ref name=Grafton>{{cite web |url=http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/downloads/clarenceriverfeasibilitystudyreport140203.pdf | title=Additional Crossing of the Clarence River – Feasibility Study Report | publisher=[[Roads & Traffic Authority]] |date=February 2003 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110410225037/http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/constructionmaintenance/downloads/clarenceriverfeasibilitystudyreport140203.pdf|archive-date=10 April 2011}} p1</ref>

The last main line, the [[Broken Hill railway line|Broken Hill line]] was completed to [[Broken Hill railway station|Broken Hill]] in 1927, connecting with the [[South Australian Railways]] at a break of gauge.<ref name=bhl>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW:broken_hill&mode=history 
 |title=Broken Hill Line 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018015425/http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW%3Abroken_hill&mode=history 
 |archive-date=18 October 2012 
 |publisher=NSWrail.net 
 |url-status=dead 
}}</ref>  Meanwhile, branch lines proliferated over the settled east of the state, including the [[Illawarra railway line|Illawarra line]] to [[Wollongong railway station|Wollongong]] and [[Bomaderry railway station|Bomaderry]] completed in 1893.<ref name=scl>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW:south_coast&mode=history 
 |title=South Coast Line 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018015627/http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW%3Asouth_coast&mode=history 
 |archive-date=18 October 2012 
 |publisher=NSWrail.net 
 |url-status=dead 
}}</ref> In 1926 work began on electrifying [[Railways in Sydney|Sydney's urban railways]] and connecting them together via new lines.

===Victoria===
[[File:Spirit of Progress c1938.jpg|thumb|Premier express train of the [[Victorian Railways]], the ''[[Spirit of Progress]]'' in 1937]]
[[File:Three-car-VLocity-VL38.jpg|thumb|A [[V/Line VLocity]] train, part of the [[Regional Fast Rail project]]]]

{{further|Rail transport in Victoria|Railways in Melbourne}}

Victoria's first railway was a suburban railway opened from Melbourne to [[Port Melbourne railway station|Port Melbourne]] in 1854.<ref name="arhs1"/> The [[Melbourne & Suburban Railway Company]]'s line from [[Princes Bridge railway station|Princes Bridge]] to [[Richmond railway station, Melbourne|Punt Road]] (Richmond) opened in 1859.<ref name="vrhist">{{cite web|title=VR timeline |work=victorianrailways.net |publisher=Mark Bau |url=http://www.victorianrailways.net/vr%20history/history.html |access-date=5 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530050949/http://www.victorianrailways.net/vr%20history/history.html |archive-date=30 May 2008  }}</ref>  In the same year the  [[Geelong and Melbourne Railway Company]] opened its line from Melbourne to [[Geelong railway station|Geelong]].<ref name="rg">{{cite web | title = Geelong Line | work = Rail Geelong | publisher = Marcus Wong | url = http://railgeelong.com/lineguide.php?line=geelong | access-date = 5 February 2008}}</ref>  Subsequently the [[Victorian Railways]] built new railways to connect farming and mining communities to the ports of Melbourne, Geelong and [[Portland, Victoria|Portland]].  In 1862 lines reached the great [[Victorian gold rush|gold rush]] towns of [[Bendigo railway station|Bendigo]] and [[Ballarat railway station|Ballarat]]. In 1864 a line was opened to the [[Murray River]] port of [[Echuca railway station|Echuca]].<ref name="vrhist" />  In 1883 the first connection with another State's rail system was made when the [[North East railway line|North East line]] was completed to the [[New South Wales Government Railways]] station at [[Albury railway station|Albury]], requiring a [[break-of-gauge]] to New South Wales' {{RailGauge|ussg}} [[standard gauge]] [[Main Southern railway line|Main Southern line]].<ref name="newsrail-line">{{cite journal |date=March 1990 | title = Tracks Across the State | first = Sid |last=Brown
 | journal = Newsrail | publisher = Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division)
 | volume = 18 | issue = 3 | pages = 71–76 }}</ref>  In 1887, Victorian Railways met [[South Australian Railways]] at [[Serviceton railway station|Serviceton]], although both systems used broad gauge.<ref name="awaugh">{{cite web | title = Victorian Railway Maps 1860–2000 | work = Victorian Railways Resources | publisher = Andrew Waugh | url = http://www.vrhistory.com/VRMaps/ | access-date = 5 April 2008 }}</ref>

In 1919, electrification and development of the [[Railways in Melbourne|Melbourne suburban lines]] commenced.<ref name="arhs2">{{cite web | title = ARHS Railway Museum: History 1900–1950 | work = ARHS Railway Museum | url = http://www.railwaymuseum.org.au/history2.html | access-date = 5 April 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927142351/http://www.railwaymuseum.org.au/history2.html | archive-date = 27 September 2007 | df = dmy-all }}</ref> Minor extensions to suburban lines have continued, but patronage fell as road transport gained favour from the 1960s. In recent years, patronage has risen substantially, with more than 200 million trips on the network in 2007–2008.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/public-transport-use-hits-alltime-high-20080820-3yjg.html |work=The Age |location=Melbourne, Australia | title=Public transport use hits all-time high | first=Clay | last=Lucas | date=20 August 2008}}</ref>  In 1981, Melbourne's only underground railway, the [[City Loop]] was opened.<ref name="vrhist" />  On the country network, a large number of uneconomic branch line railways have been closed since the 1950s, leaving a skeleton network by the time of the [[Lonie Report]] of 1980. [[Privatisation]] of the Victorian railway network was carried out by the Kennett Government in the 1990s, with freight, suburban and country rail services split into separate companies. This was later followed by the [[Regional Fast Rail project]] that saw track upgrades, new trains, and an improved timetable to major regional cities.

=== Queensland ===
{{further|Queensland Rail|Rail transport in Queensland}}
The first line opened in 1865 from [[Ipswich railway station, Queensland|Ipswich]] to [[Grandchester railway station|Grandchester]], a temporary terminus in the foothills of the [[Darling Downs]].<ref name=qrhbeginnings/> It was built to narrow [[Rail gauge|gauge]] {{RailGauge|3ft6in}} in order to reduce costs through the steep escarpment. This was subsequently applied to all the railways built in Queensland, except for the [[North Coast railway line, New South Wales|Sydney–Brisbane line]] and the [[Weipa]] mining railway, both built in the 20th century.<ref name=qrhgauge/> This was the first {{RailGauge|1067mm}} railway in the world, but the gauge subsequently spread to Western Australia, South Australia, [[Tasmania]], New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia and several African countries. The line was extended from Grandchester to [[Toowoomba railway station|Toowoomba]] at the top of a steep climb in 1867<ref name=qrhimported>{{cite web
| url=http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/imported_railway/imported_railway.asp
| work=QR History| title=An imported railway| publisher=[[Queensland Rail]]
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722075434/http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/imported_railway/imported_railway.asp
| archive-date=22 July 2008 }}</ref>  and was connected from Ipswich to Brisbane in 1875.<ref name=qrhbush >{{cite web
| url=http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/building_bush/building_bush.asp
| work=QR History| title=Building to the bush
| publisher=[[Queensland Rail]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722080937/http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/building_bush/building_bush.asp
| archive-date=22 July 2008
| access-date=8 April 2008 }}</ref>  From Toowoomba it was extended in stages to meet the [[New South Wales]] standard gauge line at [[Wallangarra railway station|Wallangarra]] in 1887 and to [[Charleville railway station, Queensland|Charleville]] in [[outback]] southern Queensland in 1888.<ref name=qrhcarrier >{{cite web| url=http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/common_carrier/common_carrier.asp
| work=QR History| title=The common carrier| publisher=[[Queensland Rail]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722080517/http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/common_carrier/common_carrier.asp| archive-date=22 July 2008}}</ref>

Independent lines were commenced from the east coast ports of [[Maryborough railway station, Queensland|Maryborough]], [[Bundaberg railway station|Bundaberg]], [[Gladstone railway station, Queensland|Gladstone]], [[Rockhampton railway station|Rockhampton]], [[Mackay railway station|Mackay]], [[Bowen railway station|Bowen]], [[Townsville railway station|Townsville]], [[Cairns railway station|Cairns]] and [[Cooktown, Queensland|Cooktown]]. The central line opened from Rockhampton to [[Westwood, Queensland|Westwood]] in 1887 and reached [[Winton, Queensland|Winton]] in central western Queensland in 1928. The northern line opened from Townsville to [[Charters Towers railway station|Charters Towers]] in 1882 and reached [[Mount Isa]] in 1929.<ref name=qrhcarrier/><ref name=qrhunified >{{cite web
| url=http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/unified_rail_system/unified_rail_system.asp
| work=QR History|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030013206/http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/unified_rail_system/unified_rail_system.asp|archive-date=30 October 2009
| title=Towards a unified rail system
| publisher=[[Queensland Rail]]
| access-date=8 April 2008 }}</ref><ref name=qrhvision >{{cite web
| url=http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/vision_splendid/vision_splendid.asp
| work=QR History|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630104400/http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/vision_splendid/vision_splendid.asp|archive-date=30 June 2010
| title=A vision splendid
| publisher=[[Queensland Rail]] }}</ref><ref name=qrhmode>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/competition/competition.asp
 |work        = QR History
 |title       = Rail as foremost mode of travel
 |publisher   = [[Queensland Rail]]
 |access-date  = 8 April 2008
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090912170503/http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/competition/competition.asp
 |archive-date = 12 September 2009
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref>  In 1888 the east-west lines began to be connected with the opening of the first section of the [[North Coast railway line, Queensland|North Coast line]] to [[Petrie railway station|Petrie]].  It was not until 1924 that this line finally reached Cairns, Cooktown was never connected.<ref name=qrhcarrier/><ref name=qrhunified/><ref name=qrhvision/><ref name=qrhmode/>

Many heavy haul coal lines were built in the late 20th century from the ports of Gladstone (beginning in 1968) and [[Hay Point]] (beginning in 1971). Electrification of some of the heavy haul coal lines commenced in 1986.<ref name=qrhcompetitive >{{cite web|url=http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/ongoing_investment/ongoing_investment.asp
| work=QR History|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930033704/http://www.corporate.qr.com.au/history/ongoing_investment/ongoing_investment.asp|archive-date=30 September 2009
| title=Modern competitive railway
| publisher=[[Queensland Rail]]}}</ref> Finally an electrified rail system was developed in suburban Brisbane from 1979. Eventually the North Coast line between Brisbane and Rockhampton was electrified.<ref name=qrhcompetitive /> This, together with the central Queensland mining railway, constitutes Australia's only significant rural rail electrification.

===Western Australia===
{{further|Rail transport in Western Australia}}
[[Image:BallaratLocomotive WEFretwellCollection.jpg|thumb|right|The locomotive "Ballarat" in the sand at [[Wonnerup]], 1921. Reputed to be the oldest in Western Australia, the engine now sits in St Marys Park, [[Busselton]].]]

The first railway in Western Australia was the [[Ballaarat tramline]], a private timber railway from [[Wonnerup, Western Australia|Lockville]] to [[Yoganup, Western Australia|Yoganup]] near [[Busselton]], south of [[Perth]]. In 1879, the [[Western Australian Government Railways]] opened a {{RailGauge|1067mm}} [[Rail gauge|gauge]] line to connect the copper mine at [[Northampton, Western Australia|Northampton]] and the port of [[Geraldton]]. Subsequently lines also developed from the ports of [[Fremantle]] (the port of Perth), [[Bunbury, Western Australia|Bunbury]], [[Albany, Western Australia|Albany]] and [[Esperance, Western Australia|Esperance]], mainly for carrying grain and minerals. The line between [[Fremantle railway station|Fremantle]], Perth and [[Guildford railway station, Perth|Guildford]] (about 15&nbsp;km further east) was opened in 1881. In 1893, Perth was connected to the port of Bunbury, 175 kilometres south of Perth. In the following year the [[Midland Railway of Western Australia|Midland Railway Company]] opened a [[Midland railway line, Western Australia|line]] from Perth to [[Walkaway railway station|Walkaway]], which connected with the Government line to Geraldton, 424&nbsp;km north of Perth. In 1896, the railway connected Perth to [[Kalgoorlie]], where gold had been discovered in 1893.<ref name=ahc5/>

In the 20th century, Perth was finally connected to the eastern states. In 1917, the standard gauge [[Trans-Australian Railway]] connected eastern Australia with the narrow gauge network at [[Kalgoorlie railway station|Kalgoorlie]].<ref name=ahc5/> The nationalisation of non-paying branch lines started in 1957, with the closure of many lines. Commencing in the 1960s, a number of long distance heavy-haul railways have been built in the [[Pilbara]] region by major iron mining companies, particularly [[BHP]] and [[Hamersley Iron]]. New lines are still being built in this area, particularly to supply the booming [[Economy of China|Chinese market]]. In 1986, the electrification of [[Transperth|Perth suburban lines]] with a {{25 kV 50 Hz}} overhead power supply commenced. The longest new line was opened on 23 December 2007 from Perth to [[Mandurah railway line|Mandurah]].

===South Australia===
{{details|Rail transport in South Australia}}
In 1854, [[South Australia]] opened a horse-drawn tramway from the port of [[Goolwa, South Australia|Goolwa]] on the [[Murray River]] to an ocean harbour at [[Port Elliot]] to transfer freight between  shallow-draft vessels and coastal and ocean-going vessels, which later became part of the steam-powered network. The South Australia line was later extended to a safer harbour at [[Victor Harbor, South Australia|Victor Harbor]].<ref name=ahc4/>

The first South Australian steam-operated line was built as a [[Victorian broad gauge|broad gauge]] {{RailGauge|1600mm}} line in 1856 between the city and [[Port Adelaide railway station|Port Adelaide]] stopping at Bowden, Woodville and Alberton, followed by a broad gauge line to [[Gawler railway station|Gawler]] the next year 1857. This line was extended to [[Kapunda]], a copper mining town in 1860 and then to [[Burra, South Australia|Burra]] the great copper centre in 1870.<ref name=ditrdlg/> Gradually, a network of lines spread out from [[Adelaide]], [[Port Wakefield, South Australia|Port Wakefield]], [[Wallaroo, South Australia|Wallaroo]], [[Port Broughton]], [[Port Augusta railway station|Port Augusta]], [[Kingston SE]], [[Beachport]], [[Whyalla railway station|Whyalla]], [[Port Pirie (Ellen Street) railway station|Port Pirie]] and [[Port Lincoln]]. Some of these were built initially to carry ore, particularly copper. Some lines later carried freight from the Murray River and grain from the broadacre lands.<ref name=ahc4/><ref name=ahc5/><ref name=hrsa>{{cite web| url=http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au/common/nrm_a01_index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421072929/http://www.natrailmuseum.org.au/common/nrm_a01_index.html|archive-date=21 April 2009| title=A History of Rail in South Australia| publisher=National Rail Museum }}</ref> All but the lines radiating from Adelaide were initially narrow {{RailGauge|1067mm}} gauge lines. The first narrow  gauge line was completed in 1870 from [[Port Wakefield, South Australia|Port Wakefield]] to [[Hoyleton, South Australia|Hoyleton]] but was soon upgraded to broad gauge and extended to [[Blyth, South Australia|Blyth]], the station nearest the township of [[Clare, South Australia|Clare]].<ref name=ahc5/>

The first interstate connection was completed in 1887, when the South Australian and Victorian broad gauge railways met at [[Serviceton railway station|Serviceton]].<ref name=arhs1/> In 1888 a narrow gauge line was opened from [[Port Pirie (Ellen Street) railway station|Port Pirie]] to [[Broken Hill railway station|Broken Hill]], with a connection at [[Peterborough railway station, South Australia|Peterborough]] to [[Adelaide railway station|Adelaide]].<ref name=ahc5/> The broad gauge line was completed from Adelaide to [[Terowie railway station|Terowie]] in 1880.<ref name=Terowie>{{cite web
| url=http://www.aussieheritage.com.au/listings/sa/Terowie/TerowieUrbanConservationArea/11845
| title=Terowie Urban Conservation Area, Terowie, SA, Australia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804135324/http://www.aussieheritage.com.au/listings/sa/Terowie/TerowieUrbanConservationArea/11845|archive-date=4 August 2008
| work=Australian Heritage Database
| publisher=Aussie Heritage}}</ref> The line north of Terowie was built as a narrow gauge line in stages to Peterborough and [[Quorn railway station|Quorn]] in 1882<ref name=Peterborough>{{cite web
| url=http://www.aussieheritage.com.au/listings/sa/Peterborough/PeterboroughRailwayRoundhouseandTurntable/11165
| title=Peterborough Railway Roundhouse and Turntable, Railway Terrace, Peterborough, SA
| work=Australian Heritage Database
| publisher=Aussie Heritage
| access-date=11 April 2008 }}</ref> and [[Oodnadatta]] in 1891.<ref name=ahc5/> This was extended to [[Alice Springs]] by the [[Commonwealth Railways]] in 1929, when it was renamed the [[Central Australia Railway]].<ref name=ahc5/>

===Tasmania===
{{details|Rail transport in Tasmania}}
The first railway in Tasmania was a broad [[rail gauge|gauge]] {{RailGauge|1600mm}} line opened between [[Deloraine, Tasmania|Deloraine]] and [[Launceston, Tasmania|Launceston]] in 1871 by the [[Western railway line, Tasmania|Launceston and Western Railway]]. It quickly went bankrupt and was effectively taken over by the Tasmanian Government in 1872. In 1876 the [[Tasmanian Main Line Company]] opened a narrow gauge {{RailGauge|1067mm}} [[South railway line, Tasmania|line]] from [[Hobart]] to [[Evandale, Tasmania|Evandale]] (near Launceston), connecting with an extension of the Launceston and Western line at a [[break-of-gauge]]. Further gauge confusion was added in 1885 when the Tasmanian Government built a narrow gauge line west of Deloraine to [[Devonport, Tasmania|Devonport]]. This was resolved in 1888 by the conversion of the Launceston–Deloraine line to narrow gauge.<ref name=ahc5/>

The Tasmanian Government bought the Tasmanian Main Line Company in 1890, creating the [[Tasmanian Government Railways]]. In 1901 the line to Devonport line was extended to [[Burnie]], connecting with the [[Emu Bay Railway]]'s [[Melba railway line|Melba line]] to [[Zeehan, Tasmania|Zeehan]]. Other branches were built but the Tasmanian system has always been small and unprofitable. Operated by the Tasmanian Government owned [[TasRail]] since 2009, previous owners include [[Australian National Railways|Australian National]], [[Australian Transport Network]] and [[Pacific National]].

===Off network gauges===
{{Main|Rail gauge in Australia}}

==Development of the national network==

In the 19th century, railways were created to enable agricultural and minerals traffic to be carried to ports for export, and to allow passenger and freight operations between colonial capitals and regional areas.  Coastal shipping handled most passenger and freight traffic between the colonies. [[John Whitton]] was appointed Engineer in Chief of the [[New South Wales Government Railways]] in 1856 and immediately advised his government that the short railway that had been opened in Sydney be converted to broad gauge in case the railways of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia ever joined, but he was refused because "...&nbsp;his political masters&nbsp;...&nbsp;were unable to envisage intercolonial traffic ever developing."<ref name=ahc5>{{cite web
 | url=http://www.ahc.gov.au/publications/linking-nation/chapter-5.html
 | work=Linking a Nation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229151856/http://www.ahc.gov.au/publications/linking-nation/chapter-5.html|archive-date=29 February 2008 | title=Chapter 5: The Railway Age, 1874–1920
 | publisher=[[Australian Heritage Council]]}}</ref>  However, the problem of different gauges became apparent with the meeting of lines of the different systems at Albury in 1883<ref name=mnl>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW:main_north&mode=history 
 |title=Main North Line 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018015404/http://www.nswrail.net/lines/show.php?name=NSW%3Amain_north&mode=history 
 |archive-date=18 October 2012 
 |publisher=NSWrail.net 
 |url-status=dead 
}}</ref> and Wallangarra in 1888.<ref name=mnl/>

In the 1890s, the establishment of an [[Federation of Australia|Australian Federation]] from the six colonies was debated. One of the points of discussion was the extent that railways would be a federal responsibility. A vote to make it so was lost narrowly, instead the [[Constitution of Australia|new constitution]] allows "the acquisition, with the consent of a State, of any railways of the State on terms arranged between the Commonwealth and the State" ([[Section 51 of the Australian Constitution|Section 51]] xxxiii) and "railway construction and extension in any State with the consent of that State" (Section 51 xxxiv). However, the [[Government of Australia|Australian Government]] is free to provide funding to the states for rail upgrading projects under Section 96 ("the Parliament may grant financial assistance to any State on such terms and conditions as the Parliament thinks fit").<ref>[[:wikisource:Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act|Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act]]</ref>

The Australian Government has full responsibility for railways in the federal territories, although the Northern Territory's railway is now owned and operated by the private [[AustralAsia Rail Corporation]] and the only railway in the [[Australian Capital Territory]], the [[Canberra railway station|Canberra]]-[[Queanbeyan railway station|Queanbeyan]] railway is now operated by [[NSW TrainLink]].

In 1910, a conference of Railway commissioners chose {{RailGauge|ussg}} to be the [[standard gauge]]. Over the decades, many plans were floated to fix the break of gauge. These failed, mainly because they were too ambitious and proposed to convert all lines, even lines of little economic value.

===Creating a standard gauge network===
In the 20th century, the different state rail systems became more integrated, initially creating more [[break of gauge|breaks of gauge]]. In 1917, the [[Government of Australia|Federal Government]]'s standard gauge [[Trans-Australian Railway]] was completed between [[Kalgoorlie railway station|Kalgoorlie]] and [[Port Augusta railway station|Port Augusta]].<ref name=hrsa/>  However, this required a break of gauge at Kalgoorlie to reach [[Perth]] and breaks of gauge at both Port Augusta and [[Terowie railway station|Terowie]] to reach Adelaide. In 1927, the last section of the [[Broken Hill railway line|Sydney–Broken Hill line]] was completed between [[Trida, New South Wales|Trida]] and [[Menindee railway station|Menindee]] meeting the [[South Australian Railways]] line at a break of gauge and requiring a further break of gauge at Terowie to reach Adelaide.<ref name=bhl/>
[[Image:GraftonBasculeBridgeSpanLiftingCirca1932.jpg|thumb|The [[Grafton Bridge, New South Wales|Grafton Bridge]] over the [[Clarence River, New South Wales|Clarence River]] showing [[Bascule bridge|Bascule span]] lifted to let shipping through)]]
In 1932 the first progress in reducing the gauge conflict was made with the completion of the standard gauge [[North Coast railway line, New South Wales|Sydney–Brisbane railway]] with the opening of [[Grafton Bridge, New South Wales|a bridge]] at [[Grafton, New South Wales|Grafton]].<ref name=mnl/> The first standard gauge line in South Australia, [[Trans-Australian Railway]], was completed in 1917 between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie,<ref name=hrsa/> requiring break-of-gauges at Terowie, Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie to reach Perth. This line was extended to [[Port Pirie Junction railway station|Port Pirie Junction]] in 1937 and the broad gauge line from Adelaide to [[Redhill, South Australia|Redhill]] was extended to Port Pirie, removing one break-of gauge.<ref name=ahc5/>

In the 1950s, a parliamentary committee chaired by [[William Wentworth (Australian politician)|William Wentworth]] recommended a much more modest and affordable plan to gauge convert the three main missing links:

*[[Albury railway station|Albury]] to [[Southern Cross railway station|Melbourne]] [[standard gauge]] track added parallel to [[broad gauge]] to complete the Sydney–Melbourne railway.
*[[Kalgoorlie railway station|Kalgoorlie]] to [[East Perth railway station|Perth]] – [[narrow gauge railway|narrow gauge]] converted to standard gauge.
*[[Broken Hill railway station|Broken Hill]] to [[Port Pirie (Mary Elie Street) railway station|Port Pirie]] – narrow gauge converted to standard.

In 1962 the [[Albury railway station|Albury]] to Melbourne [[standard gauge]] line was opened, completing the [[Sydney–Melbourne railway]]. In 1966, a new mixed standard and narrow gauge [[Eastern Railway (Western Australia)|Eastern Railway]] route was completed through the Avon Valley, east of Perth. In 1968 the Kalgoorlie to Perth line was completed and in 1969 the Broken Hill to Port Pirie standard gauge railway were opened, completing [[Sydney–Perth railway]].<ref name=ditrdlg/>

The [[Whyalla railway line|Whyalla line]] was opened between Port Augusta and [[Whyalla railway station|Whyalla]] in 1972. In October 1980, a new standard gauge railway was completed from [[Tarcoola railway station|Tarcoola]] to [[Alice Springs railway station|Alice Springs]], replacing the [[Central Australia Railway|former narrow gauge railway]]. Adelaide was connected to the standard gauge network with the opening of the line to [[Crystal Brook, South Australia|Crystal Brook]] in 1982 and the [[Melbourne–Adelaide railway]] was converted to standard gauge in 1995.<ref name=hrsa/> Meanwhile, the Tarcoola to Alice Springs railway was extended to Darwin in 2004 to complete the [[Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor]].<ref name=ditrdlg/>

== Private railways ==
There have always been niches for private railways in most colonies, such as:
*timber – private timber lines have occurred in most forested areas of Australia since the late 19th century
*mining – private iron mining railways alone now account for most Australian rail freight by tonnage, but private coal railways have been important since the early years of coal mining in the mid 19th century
*quarrying
*major factory sites, such as steel works
*temporary lines at construction sites
*agriculture, especially the sugar industry

=== Timber railways ===
Most timber railway operations across Australia were transitory, only existing for the time that timber was extracted. Some lines were moved regularly to the areas of forest to be exploited. A few 19th century operations were horse hauled, but most were steam powered.  Very few timber railways lasted into the 1960s with the advent of more versatile and stronger road based haulage.<ref>{{citation|last1=Gunzburg|first1=Adrian |last2=Austin|first2= Jeff |date=2008|title=Rails through the Bush: Timber and Firewood Tramways and Railway Contractors of Western Australia|location= Perth, W.A. |publisher=[[Rail Heritage WA]]|isbn= 978-0-9803922-2-7}}</ref>

=== Mining railways ===
[[File:Port Hedland, Western Australia.jpg|thumb|A train transporting iron ore on the [[Mount Newman railway]] in 2003]]
Starting in the 1960s, four heavy duty railways were developed in the [[Pilbara]] region of the far north of Western Australia for the haulage of iron ore from several mines to the nearest ports. These railways are isolated from  each other and from the national system, carrying no other traffic.

The very heavy traffic on these lines, up to 100 million tonnes per year, push wheel/rail technology to its limits, and has resulted in considerable research and development that has been of value to railways worldwide.

These iron ore railways are all {{RailGauge|1435mm}} gauge, and started off using American standards for track, locomotives and wagons.

In 2008, the [[Fortescue Metals Group]] (FMG) commenced operating a fifth iron ore railway in the [[Pilbara]].

The railway lines are:
*[[Hamersley & Robe River railway]] ([[Rio Tinto (corporation)|Rio Tinto]])
*[[Mount Newman railway]] ([[BHP]])
*[[Goldsworthy railway]] (BHP)
*[[Fortescue railway]] (FMG)

==1990s and recent developments==

=== Privatisation===
In 1992, the largely [[Government of Australia|Federal Government]] owned [[National Rail Corporation]] took over interstate rail freight operations from [[Australian National Railways|Australian National]], [[FreightCorp]] and the [[Public Transport Corporation]], and commenced operations on the interstate network. National Rail Corporation's freight operations and rolling stock (not infrastructure) were combined with the New South Wales Government owned FreightCorp and sold to [[Toll Group|Toll Holdings]] and [[Patrick Corporation]] as [[Pacific National]] in 2002.

Australian National was privatised in 1997. Its [[Tasmania]]n operations and infrastructure ([[TasRail]]) were sold to [[Australian Transport Network]], which was taken over by Pacific National in 2004. South Australian branch lines were sold to [[One Rail Australia|Genesee & Wyoming Australia]]. Its passenger operations were taken over by [[Journey Beyond|Great Southern Railway]].

State freight and country passenger operations were privatised. Urban passenger trains remained in government ownership, except in [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], because such services are politically sensitive and could not operate profitably.

New operating companies that appeared included:
*[[Aurizon]]
*[[Australian Railroad Group]]
* Australian Southern Railroad, eventually named [[One Rail Australia]]
*[[Bowmans Rail]]
*[[FreightLink]]
* [[Magnetic Rail Group]]
*[[Patrick Corporation|Patrick Rail Operations]]
*[[Qube Holdings|Qube Logistics]]
*[[Rail First Asset Management]]
*[[SCT Logistics]]
*[[Southern & Silverton Rail|Silverton Rail]]
*[[South Spur Rail Services]]
*[[Southern Shorthaul Railroad]]
*[[Watco Australia]]

Licensing of personnel with nationally recognised credentials facilitates the transfer of those people from one state or operator to another, as traffic demands.

===Separation of infrastructure and operations===
Construction and maintenance of network infrastructure were consolidated into non-profit government bodies, in the case of the interstate network and the non-urban railways of New South Wales ([[Australian Rail Track Corporation]]) and Western Australia ([[Arc Infrastructure|WestNet Rail]]). This was intended to provide access to new and existing players.

The '''interstate rail network''' of the former [[Australian National Railways]] was transferred to the newly established [[Australian Rail Track Corporation]] in 1998. In 2002, the [[Tarcoola-Darwin railway line|Tarcoola–Alice Springs line]] was leased to the [[AustralAsia Rail Corporation]]. The ARTC track consists of the track from [[Kalgoorlie railway station|Kalgoorlie]] to [[Broken Hill railway station|Broken Hill]] and [[Serviceton railway station|Serviceton]]. The ARTC also manages under lease the interstate standard gauge rail network in New South Wales and Victoria and has rights to sell access between [[Kalgoorlie]] and [[Kwinana Beach|Kwinana]] to interstate rail operators under a wholesale access agreement with the Western Australian track owner and operator, [[Arc Infrastructure|Brookfield Rail]]. It also "has a working relationship with [[Queensland Rail]] about the use of the 127 kilometres of standard gauge line between the Queensland border and [[Fisherman Islands railway line|Fisherman Islands]]. ARTC intends to start discussions with Queensland about leasing this track once the NSW arrangements are bedded down".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.ministers.dotars.gov.au/ja/releases/2003/december/artc_summary.htm
 | title=Media release, December 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070909132618/http://www.ministers.dotars.gov.au/ja/releases/2003/december/artc_summary.htm|archive-date=9 September 2007|first=John|last=Anderson|author-link=John Anderson (Australian politician)|publisher=Government of Australia}}</ref> The ARTC also maintains the NSW rural branch lines under contract.

Other railways continue to be integrated, although access to their infrastructure is generally required under [[National Competition Policy (Australia)|National Competition Policy]] principles agreed by the Federal, State and Territory governments:
*Queensland – [[Queensland Rail]]
*Tasmania – [[Pacific National]]
*Victorian non-interstate lines – Pacific National
*Western Australian non-interstate lines – [[Australian Railroad Group]]
*South Australian non-interstate lines – [[One Rail Australia|Genesee & Wyoming Australia]]
*[[Tarcoola-Darwin railway line|Tarcoola-Darwin railway]] – [[FreightLink]]

Much maintenance of tracks were contracted out.

=== Australian Government funding ===
The [[Government of Australia|Australian Government]] has provided substantial funding for the upgrading of roads since the 1920s, but it has not regularly funded investment in railways except for its own railway, the [[Commonwealth Railways]], which was established in 1911 to build the [[standard gauge]] [[Trans-Australian Railway]] between [[Kalgoorlie railway station|Kalgoorlie]] and [[Port Augusta railway station|Port Augusta]], and to take over the {{RailGauge|1067mm}} gauge railways between Port Augusta and [[Oodnadatta]] (used by the old "[[The Ghan|Ghan]]") and the [[Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway]]. Commonwealth Railways became part of [[Australian National Railways]] in 1975, which was privatised in 1997. Although the Australian Government has considered the funding of railways owned by State Government to be a State responsibility, it has made loans to the States for gauge standardisation projects from the 1920s to the 1970s. From the 1970s to 1996, the Australian Government has provided some grant funding to the States for rail projects.

====One Nation program====
Under the [[Keating government]]'s [[One Nation (infrastructure)|One Nation program]]:
*the [[Melbourne-Adelaide railway|Melbourne-Adelaide line]] was converted to standard gauge in 1995.
*the {{RailGauge|1067mm}} gauge [[Fisherman Islands railway line|Fisherman Islands line]] to the [[Port of Brisbane]] was converted to dual {{RailGauge|1435mm}} / {{RailGauge|1067mm|disp=1}} gauge and extended in parallel with the duplicated passenger line to [[Dutton Park railway station|Dutton Park]].
*a standard gauge link was built to the port at [[Fremantle Harbour|Fremantle]].
*new standard gauge sidings were provided at [[Outer Harbor, South Australia|Adelaide Outer Harbor]].
*a separate freight line was built between [[Ingleburn railway station|Ingleburn]] and [[Glenfield railway station, Sydney|Glenfield]] as the first stage of what is now known as the [[Southern Sydney Freight Line]]. It was extended in 2013 to connect with the [[Metropolitan Goods railway line|Metropolitan Goods line]] near [[Sefton railway station|Sefton]] with funds provided by the [[Government of Australia|Australian Government]] under [[AusLink]].
*the [[North Coast railway line, New South Wales|Sydney–Brisbane line]] was upgraded with longer passing loops, the replacement of wooden trestles with concrete bridges, concrete resleepering, some minor deviations and bank stabilisation.
*[[passing loop]]s were extended between [[Wodonga railway station|Wodonga]] and Melbourne.

====Alice Springs to Darwin railway====
In 2004, the final link in the [[Adelaide-Darwin rail corridor]] – the long-awaited 1420&nbsp;km Alice Springs to Darwin line – was opened by the [[AustralAsia Rail Corporation]] with assistance from the [[Government of Australia|Australian Government]] and the governments of [[South Australian Government|South Australia]] and the [[Government of Northern Territory|Northern Territory]]. The Northern Territory expected that the line would open up mining ventures that would otherwise be uneconomic without a heavy duty rail line.{{Citation needed|date=February 2021}}{{Update inline|date=February 2021}}

====Inland Rail====
[[Inland Rail]] is a railway construction project extending from Melbourne to Brisbane along a route west of the [[Great Dividing Range]]. Construction in stages commenced in 2018 and is scheduled to be completed in 2025, using existing routes where appropriate.

''See [[Rail transport in Australia]] for current Australian Government rail funding.''

===Single regulator===
In 2009, it was proposed to combine the seven separate state rail regulators into a single regulator.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.ntc.gov.au/filemedia/Reports/SingleNatRailSafetyRegDrRISNov08.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140212055759/http://www.ntc.gov.au/filemedia/Reports/SingleNatRailSafetyRegDrRISNov08.pdf|archive-date=12 February 2014|title=Single, national rail safety regulatory and investigation framework: draft regulatory impact statement|publisher= National Transport Commission |location=Australia|date=November 2008}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=February 2021}}

==See also==
*[[History of rail transport]]
*[[Rail transport in Australia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Brown, Sid. "Tracks Across the State". ''Newsrail'' (Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division)) (March 1990).  18 (3): 71–76.
* Carroll, Brian. ''Australia's Railway Days: Milestones in Railway History'' (Macmillan Company of Australia, 1977).
* Hearn, Mark. ''Working Lives: A History of the Australian Railways Union (NSW Branch)'' (Sydney: Hale & Iremonger, 1990).
* Hill, William (1894). "[https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/250254 State Railways in Australia]". ''Journal of Political Economy''. '''3''' (1): 1–23.
* Lee, Robert. "A Fractious Federation: Patterns in Australian Railway Historiography." ''Mobility in History'' 4#1 (2013): 149–158.
* Rowe, Denis. "The Robust Navvy: The Railway Construction Worker in Northern New South Wales, 1854–1894." ''Labour History'' (1980): 28–46.  [https://www.jstor.org/stable/27508435 in JSTOR]
* Taksa, Lucy. "'About as popular as a dose of clap': Steam, diesel and masculinity at the New South Wales Eveleigh railway workshops." ''The Journal of Transport History'' 26#2 (2005): 79–97.
* Testro, Ron. ''A Pictorial History of Australian Railways'' (Lansdowne Press,  1971) 
* Wills-Johnson, Nick. "Competition Policy and Railway Investment in Australia." Planning and Transport Research Centre Working Paper 12 (2007). [https://ssrn.com/abstract=965608 online]
* Wotherspoon, Garry. "The determinants of the pattern and pace of railway development in New South Wales, 1850–1914." ''Australian Journal of Politics & History'' 25.1 (1979): 51–65.

==External links==
*[http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an11434053 John L. Buckland collection of railway transport photographs] / National Library collection that covers all aspects of Australian railway history
*[http://blog.projex.com.au/history-australian-railway/ A history of the Australian railway]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} / Covers several aspects of railway development in Australia, with nice images

{{Australian rail}}
{{History of rail transport in Oceania}}
{{Australia topics}}

[[Category:History of rail transport in Australia| ]]