The Waikerie railway line was a railway line on the
South Australian Railways
South Australian Railways (SAR) was the organisation through which the Government of South Australia built and operated railways in South Australia from 1854 until March 1978, when its non-urban railways were incorporated into Australian Natio ...
network.
Route
The Waikerie railway line branched from the
Barmera railway line at
Karoonda, which was also the junction for the
Peebinga railway line on the other side of the main line. It extended north, north-east, and north again to
Waikerie, on the cliffs above the
River Murray.
History
Before construction started on the Waikerie railway, there was active discussion about where it should branch from the
Barmera or
Adelaide-Wolseley line. Eventually, the decision was made that it should branch from Karoonda at the 30-mile siding from
Tailem Bend
Tailem Bend (locally, "Tailem") is a rural town in South Australia, south-east of the state capital of Adelaide. It is located on the lower reaches of the River Murray, near where the river flows into Lake Alexandrina (South Australia), Lake Al ...
. Other possible branching points at that stage included the 40-mile (
Borrika) and 58½ miles (
Mindarie) from Tailem Bend.
There was also a proposal to branch from the 20-mile mark (
Wynarka). The line opened on 23 September 1914.
The Waikerie line was part of a significant expansion of the railways in South Australia in the early part of the 20th century to facilitate greater development of the rural areas of the state. The estimated cost of the Karoonda-Waikerie line, including rolling stock, was £251,350, with expected revenue of £10,000 per annum, working expenses of £10,820, and interest costs of £10,054. It was anticipated by the Railways Commissioner that the loss here would be £10,874 per annum. The area to be served was estimated at . The contract for the first was accepted for £16,220 in January 1914.
The Galga to
Waikerie section closed on 14 March 1990, followed by the
Karoonda-Galga section on 4 March 1994.
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See also
* Rail transport in South Australia
Notes
References
{{Reflist
Closed railway lines in South Australia
Railway lines opened in 1914
Railway lines closed in 1994