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Private company

South Australian Railways

Former railways agency in South Australia

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 National, and its Adelaide urban lines were transferred to the State Transport Authority. The SAR's tracks were built to three rail gauges: 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge; 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge; and from the 1980s, when gauge standardisation at last commenced, 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge.2 It ceased to exist in 1975.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1854Founded1
  • HeadquartersAdelaide1

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South Australian Railways 900 class locomotive number 900 at Mile End locomotive depot before transfer to museum
Photo: John Masson, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons3

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 National, and its Adelaide urban lines were transferred to the State Transport Authority. The SAR's tracks were built to three rail gauges: 1600 mm (5 ft 3 in) broad gauge; 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge; and from the 1980s, when gauge standardisation at last commenced, 1435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge.2

Acquisitions

  1. Succeeded Glenelg Railway Company1

Timeline

  1. Jun 30, 1975Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1854Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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