Re: Melbourne Darwin Railway

[dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

Taliesin Walker (taliesin@chariot.net.au) wrote:
> Just out of interest: If the Melbourne-Brisbane section of the track was to
> be built, would it be possible to run trains directly from Adelaide to
> Brisbane bypassing Sydney?

Easy. The proposal involves using some existing infrastructure. The
approximate route is Melbourne - Sheparton - Narranderra - Temora - Parkes
- Dubbo - Narrabri - Moree - Toowoomba - Brisbane. Also improvements to
Narrabri - Newcastle.

The second stage would be Toowoomba - Miles - Moura - Blackwater - Emerald
- Aramac - Hughenden - Townsville, with a branch Moura - Gladstone.

The third stage would be Hughenden - Cloncurry - Mt Isa - Tennant Creek,
joining the Alice - Darwin railway if completed, or on to Darwin.

A possible fourth stage is Katherine - Whyndam.


Interestingly, the concept is not new. A railway from Melbourne to the
Gulf of Carpentaria was first proposed in 1887, but was abandoned due to
the depression of the 1890s. It was again proposed in 1934 as an
infrastructure project to help get men back into work.

In 1946, Sir Harold Clapp proposed to the Chifley Government that a
standard gauge railway be built from Melbourne to Darwin via Mildura,
Broken Hill, Bourke, Charleville, Longreach and Cloncurry for the future
defence of Australia. Chifley's Cabinet actually voted in favour of
building it, but could not get the cooperation of the States. It was
shelved in favour of the Snowy Mountains Project.

Sir Garfield Barwick took it up in the early 1960s (associated with the
Melbourne standard gauge project) but received no political support.

Cheers
David