Re: Alice Springs - Darwin Rail Link

[telljb@ozemail.com.au (Tell)]

dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage) wrote:
>Don't forget the massive deposits of coal and iron ore near Coober Pedy.
>It was the discovery of these 2-3 years ago which finally made the Alice -
>Darwin line viable.

Not sure about the iron ore, but the Lake Phillipson
coal deposits out from Wirrida Siding (south of Coober
Pedy) were known before the Tarcoola to Alice line was
built.  Preliminary reports showed the coal had a very
low calorific value, lower than the Leigh Creek brown
coal as I remember.

When the standard gauge was officially opened to Alice
Springs, the NT government was planning the new Channel
Island power station for Darwin.  It was to be a coal
fired thermal station using coal shipped from Qld, the
extension of the standard gauge North to Darwin took on
a new dimension when somebody suggested the coal from
SA could be used.  Malcom Fraser was still the PM and
promised the line from Alice to Darwin would be built.
Little Bobby got in and scuttled it, the NT Government
then built a natural gas pipeline to Darwin and Channel
Island became a NG fired gas turbine station.

Incidentally the gas pipeline follows ANR's planned
right of way for most of the way to Darwin.!
    
Cheers

----Tell
Alice Springs NT