Capital City Stations:
Adelaide

Adelaide Railway Station

Adelaide Railway Station is the central terminus of the Adelaide Metro railway system. All lines approach the station from the west, and it is a terminal station with no through lines, with most of the traffic on the metropolitan network either departing or terminating here. It has nine platforms, all using broad gauge track. It is located on the north side of North Terrace, west of Parliament House. Until 1984, Adelaide station was also the terminus for regional and interstate passenger trains, but there are no longer any regular regional train services in South Australia, and all interstate services are now handled at Adelaide Parklands Terminal.

Adelaide Railway Station is also home to the state's only legal casino. Adelaide Casino is today known as Skycity; there are free musical concerts and, at other times, a range of entertainments. Housed in a classic 1929 sandstone building that fits the image created by its owners as catering to the upper end of the casino market, which remains its core business.
Contact: (08) 8212 2811. Location: North Tce, Adelaide.

Adelaide Parklands Terminal

Adelaide Parklands Terminal is the terminal from which interstate passenger rail services commence, terminate or pass through. These include The Ghan (Adelaide to Darwin), The Overland (Adelaide to Melbourne) and The Indian Pacific (Perth to Sydney via Adelaide). Also known as Keswick Terminal, access to the Terminal is from Richmond Road or Sir Donald Bradman Drive. Location: Richmond Road, Keswick, SA.

Port Augusta, SA

Within South Australia, Port Augusta is the most northerly point accessible by sea - apart from the far west coast. At a national level, Port Augusta is the central point of a vast web of communications, where highways and railways from Adelaide and Melbourne to the south, Queensland and New South Wales to the east, Western Australia to the west and the Northern Territory in the north, all come together - due to the unique nature of Port Augusta's geography. Consequently, Port Augusta is very much the country's transport hub.

Tarcoola, SA

Tarcoola, a former goldmining town, marks the junction of the standard gauge railway from Adelaide, with one line continuing north to Darwin, and the other turning west to Perth. There are only a handful of people living permanently in Tarcoola today, while relief and maintenance crews use the railway quarters during the working week.

Marree, SA

Marree, South Australia (formerly Hergott Springs), is located in a remote area, 589 kilometres (366 mi) north of Adelaide at the junction of the infamous Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track. At the heart of the town is a defunct railway station with two derelict Ghan trains waiting patiently. These bullish old locos are the colour of dried blood and have an inverted chevron on the nose. One has a sign: "FOR SALE".

Peterborough, SA

Peterborough is a railway town at the junction of the Port Pirie to Broken Hill line and the Adelaide to Quorn, Port Augusta, Hawker, Leigh Creek and Marree, it is the eastern gateway to South Australia for those coming from New South Wales via Broken Hill. Its greatest claim to fame is that it is one of only two places in Australia (the other is Gladstone) where three railway gauges met. This particular absurdity was the result of different state governments being unable (or unwilling) to agree on a standard railway gauge.

Cook, SA

As remote towns go, it doesn't get any more isolated than this. At the centre of the Nullarbor, in the harshest of climates, lies the ghost town of Cook. Nothing but desert for miles around, even the Eyre Highway, which crosses the Nullarbor, is 100km away to the south. Adelaide and Perth are more than 1000 kilometres away on either side. The nearest town is Ceduna, a five-hour drive away.

Quorn, SA

Quorn Railway Station has a significant if not colourful role in railway history in South Australia. It was planned as a railway junction for rail traffic travelling north-south and east-west across the continent and for the transport of minerals from the Flinders Ranges. The Great Northern Railway, later known as the Central Australia Railway, reached Quorn from Port Augusta in 1879.

Terowie, SA

Terowie, a desgnated historic town, was once a thriving railway town, but today is a mere shadow of what it used to be. Terowie was the change of gauge junction for the railway north to Alice Springs, west to Kalgoorlie and east to Broken Hill. Each line had a different gauge. It was here, during World War II, that General Douglas MacArthur made his famous promise to the waiting press - "I Will Return".

Hamley Bridge, SA

Hamley Bridge is a South Australian town where the railway had a big impact. In 1869 the line from Roseworthy to Forresters was built and opened. In 1880 the current station was established a few hundred meters north of the original station. Hamley Bridge station was built originally for the Broad Gauge Peterborough line. In that same year, a line from Hamley Bridge to Balaklava was opened and that line later extended to Gladstone. That line was built as a narrow gauge line and Hamley bridge was a break of gauge station until 1927 when the Gladstone line was converted to broad gauge.

Tarlee, SA

Tarlee Railway Station was once on a busy railway line but now sits laying dormant like so many stations scattered throught the rural areas of South Australia. Located about an hour and a half’s drive north of Adelaide, Tarlee is a small townwith a small population that hasn't seen much action since the mid 1980s. The railway line came to the town in 1870 and passenger services ran until December of 1986.