History of rail transport in Australia
Creating a standard gauge network
### Creating a standard gauge network

In the 20th century, the different state rail systems became more integrated, initially creating more [breaks of gauge](/wiki/Break_of_gauge "Break of gauge"). In 1917, the [Federal Government](/wiki/Government_of_Australia "Government of Australia")'s standard gauge [Trans\-Australian Railway](/wiki/Trans-Australian_Railway "Trans-Australian Railway") was completed between [Kalgoorlie](/wiki/Kalgoorlie_railway_station "Kalgoorlie railway station") and [Port Augusta](/wiki/Port_Augusta_railway_station "Port Augusta railway station"). However, this required a break of gauge at Kalgoorlie to reach [Perth](/wiki/Perth "Perth") and breaks of gauge at both Port Augusta and [Terowie](/wiki/Terowie_railway_station "Terowie railway station") to reach Adelaide. In 1927, the last section of the [Sydney–Broken Hill line](/wiki/Broken_Hill_railway_line "Broken Hill railway line") was completed between [Trida](/wiki/Trida%2C_New_South_Wales "Trida, New South Wales") and [Menindee](/wiki/Menindee_railway_station "Menindee railway station") meeting the [South Australian Railways](/wiki/South_Australian_Railways "South Australian Railways") line at a break of gauge and requiring a further break of gauge at Terowie to reach Adelaide.
[thumb\|The [Grafton Bridge](/wiki/Grafton_Bridge%2C_New_South_Wales "Grafton Bridge, New South Wales") over the [Clarence River](/wiki/Clarence_River%2C_New_South_Wales "Clarence River, New South Wales") showing [Bascule span](/wiki/Bascule_bridge "Bascule bridge") lifted to let shipping through)](/wiki/Image:GraftonBasculeBridgeSpanLiftingCirca1932.jpg "GraftonBasculeBridgeSpanLiftingCirca1932.jpg")
In 1932 the first progress in reducing the gauge conflict was made with the completion of the standard gauge [Sydney–Brisbane railway](/wiki/North_Coast_railway_line%2C_New_South_Wales "North Coast railway line, New South Wales") with the opening of [a bridge](/wiki/Grafton_Bridge%2C_New_South_Wales "Grafton Bridge, New South Wales") at [Grafton](/wiki/Grafton%2C_New_South_Wales "Grafton, New South Wales"). The first standard gauge line in South Australia, [Trans\-Australian Railway](/wiki/Trans-Australian_Railway "Trans-Australian Railway"), was completed in 1917 between Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie, requiring break\-of\-gauges at Terowie, Port Augusta and Kalgoorlie to reach Perth. This line was extended to [Port Pirie Junction](/wiki/Port_Pirie_Junction_railway_station "Port Pirie Junction railway station") in 1937 and the broad gauge line from Adelaide to [Redhill](/wiki/Redhill%2C_South_Australia "Redhill, South Australia") was extended to Port Pirie, removing one break\-of gauge.

In the 1950s, a parliamentary committee chaired by [William Wentworth](/wiki/William_Wentworth_%28Australian_politician%29 "William Wentworth (Australian politician)") recommended a much more modest and affordable plan to gauge convert the three main missing links:

* [Albury](/wiki/Albury_railway_station "Albury railway station") to [Melbourne](/wiki/Southern_Cross_railway_station "Southern Cross railway station") [standard gauge](/wiki/Standard_gauge "Standard gauge") track added parallel to [broad gauge](/wiki/Broad_gauge "Broad gauge") to complete the Sydney–Melbourne railway.
* [Kalgoorlie](/wiki/Kalgoorlie_railway_station "Kalgoorlie railway station") to [Perth](/wiki/East_Perth_railway_station "East Perth railway station") – [narrow gauge](/wiki/Narrow_gauge_railway "Narrow gauge railway") converted to standard gauge.
* [Broken Hill](/wiki/Broken_Hill_railway_station "Broken Hill railway station") to [Port Pirie](/wiki/Port_Pirie_%28Mary_Elie_Street%29_railway_station "Port Pirie (Mary Elie Street) railway station") – narrow gauge converted to standard.

In 1962 the [Albury](/wiki/Albury_railway_station "Albury railway station") to Melbourne [standard gauge](/wiki/Standard_gauge "Standard gauge") line was opened, completing the [Sydney–Melbourne railway](/wiki/Sydney%E2%80%93Melbourne_railway "Sydney–Melbourne railway"). In 1966, a new mixed standard and narrow gauge [Eastern Railway](/wiki/Eastern_Railway_%28Western_Australia%29 "Eastern Railway (Western Australia)") route was completed through the Avon Valley, east of Perth. In 1968 the Kalgoorlie to Perth line was completed and in 1969 the Broken Hill to Port Pirie standard gauge railway were opened, completing [Sydney–Perth railway](/wiki/Sydney%E2%80%93Perth_railway "Sydney–Perth railway").

The [Whyalla line](/wiki/Whyalla_railway_line "Whyalla railway line") was opened between Port Augusta and [Whyalla](/wiki/Whyalla_railway_station "Whyalla railway station") in 1972\. In October 1980, a new standard gauge railway was completed from [Tarcoola](/wiki/Tarcoola_railway_station "Tarcoola railway station") to [Alice Springs](/wiki/Alice_Springs_railway_station "Alice Springs railway station"), replacing the [former narrow gauge railway](/wiki/Central_Australia_Railway "Central Australia Railway"). Adelaide was connected to the standard gauge network with the opening of the line to [Crystal Brook](/wiki/Crystal_Brook%2C_South_Australia "Crystal Brook, South Australia") in 1982 and the [Melbourne–Adelaide railway](/wiki/Melbourne%E2%80%93Adelaide_railway "Melbourne–Adelaide railway") was converted to standard gauge in 1995\. Meanwhile, the Tarcoola to Alice Springs railway was extended to Darwin in 2004 to complete the [Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor](/wiki/Adelaide%E2%80%93Darwin_rail_corridor "Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor").


How does standard gauge impact train performance?