Alice - Darwin rail requirements

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

Interesting statistics from The Australian on 29/10. It says that 155,000 t
of steel rail will be needed for the line. Ignoring sidings for a moment,
let's do a few calculations.

1410km * 2 rails = 2,820,000m

2,820,000 m * 60kg/m = 169,200,000 kg = 169,200 t.

155,000 t gets you 1,410 km of 54kg rail.

Let's assume another 150km of loops (10 x 1.5km) and 100km of sidings in
yards. This gives 3,320,000 m of rail.

155,000,000 kg / 3,320,000 m = 46.68 kg/m.

Surely they can't be so stupid as to lay it with 47kg rail!!!

Cheers
David