Port Augusta to Port Pirie Railway Act 1935

Port Augusta to Port Pirie Railway Act 1935

This law formalises an agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of South Australia to build a new standard-gauge railway line connecting Port Augusta to Port Pirie (specifically to the suburb of Solomontown). It also repeals two earlier, superseded railway acts.

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What does it actually do?

• Approves a formal Agreement (reproduced in full in a Schedule) between the Commonwealth and South Australia, replacing an earlier 1925 deal that had planned a different route (Port Augusta to Red Hill).
• Authorises the Commonwealth Railways Commissioner (the government official in charge of federal railways) to build the new line as an extension of the existing Trans-Australian Railway — the line running from Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta.
• Sets a cost cap of £625,000 (including rolling stock — that is, trains and carriages), to be funded from Commonwealth loan money.
• Specifies the gauge (track width) as 4 feet 8½ inches — the standard gauge — creating a continuous standard-gauge link.
• Requires South Australia to build a complementary line (from Red Hill to Port Pirie) at its own expense, to complete the connection.

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Financial arrangements

• The Commonwealth agrees to pay South Australia as a contribution toward the State's costs — including building its portion of the railway and any lost revenue on other State rail lines caused by the new arrangement.