Fly Ted Down Under Journeys through the land of Oz

At home in Fremantle.

AUSTRALIA | Sunday, 5 June 2011 | Views [6009] | Comments [1]

An example of the ridiculous railway gauges in Australia: Western Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and parts of South Australia developed their railways with narrow gauges, which is the inside track shown here. New South Wales, Victoria and parts of South Australia built standard gauge, the outside track shown here, or even broad gauge tracks, for various reasons. These discrepancies remain today, which is quite a hassle when trains cross state lines. The first transcontinental train from Perth to Sydney, the Indian Pacific, only started operation in 1970 when the first rail line with a single gauge was completed across Australia. Previously, trains crossing state lines could be delayed for hours as either passengers and freight transferred to another train, or their existing train had its wheels changed to accommodate the different gauge.

Comments

1

Eh, Ted, if accuracy means anything to you, refraining from cliches would be a
good start. Those 'ridiculous railway gauges', you know, the kind seen in Brazil,
Argentina, Spain, Portugal, Japan as well as Australia are not really a handicap to their status of contemporary industrial countries. They were problems in the past.
But multi-gauge track systems have removed the 'ridiculousness'. In fact, Ted, these countries have actually stopped using sailing vessels for their transoceanic
commerce. How's that for being up to date, Ted. Perhaps it's an esthetic concern that you have, being a traveler/photo buff and all. In any case, it's a pleasure to allay your concerns about those 'ridiculous railway gauges', Ted.

Rollbocke Sep 19, 2014 11:06 PM