A national treasure
Construction of a transcontinental railway link began in Australia in 1878 at Port Augusta, a seaport on the east coast of the Eyre peninsula, north of Adelaide. Over the course of the next 50 years, the line gradually crept north, through some of the most inhospitable landscape on earth, reaching Alice Springs in 1929. Two days after the line was finally completed, The Ghan or Afghan Express, as it was nicknamed, after the Afghan camel trains that previously trekked the route – set off on its inaugural journey, departing Adelaide at 10.15am on 4 August. Some 124 passengers were aboard the 12 coaches, arriving in the then small, newly christened town of Alice Springs three days later. Following the same path as the overland telegraph – the route believed to have been taken by the explorer John McDouall – the original line crossed through unstable terrain prone to flooding, causing delays of hours or even days to The Ghan’s twice-weekly service. Eventually it was decided to replace the old narrow gauge track with a more modern standard gauge, and in 1980 the line was rerouted 100 miles to the west.

The incredible journey
It wasn’t until 2001 that construction began on the final leg of The Ghan route, from Alice Springs to Darwin, with the first train running on 1 February 2004. Over a kilometre in length, the train comprised two locomotives and 43 carriages, earning it a place in the history books as the longest passenger train in Australia. Today The Ghan is operated by Great Southern Rail (GSR), part of Serco, on a twice-weekly basis, carrying 60,000 passengers each year. The journey covers 2,979km, travelling at speeds of between 85-110km per hour. GSR supports the communities its trains travel through, and is a charity partner of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, an aeromedical health service for those who live, work or travel in the outback and regional Australia, a partnership which began in 2003 . GSR also supports Angel Flight, which arranges free air transport for those in need.