Transportation in Australia

Railways:
total: 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified)
broad gauge: 3,719 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge: 15,422 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 14,506 km 1.067-m gauge
dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges (1999)

The Great Southern Railway, owned by Serco Asia Pacific, operates three trains: the Indian Pacific (Sydney-Adelaide-Perth), The Ghan (Adelaide-Alice Springs, to be extended to Darwin in 2004 after the AustralAsia Railway has been completed) and the Overland (Melbourne-Adelaide) [1].

V/Line operates trains and buses in Victoria [1].

Cities with underground railway systems:

• Melbourne (simply known as the 'City Loop' because it is a simple circuit of the central business district with five stations)
• Sydney (Sydney subways)

Highways:
total: 913,000 km
paved: 353,331 km (including 13,630 km of expressways)
unpaved: 559,669 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft

Pipelines: crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas 5,600 km

Ports and harbors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville

Merchant marine:
total: 57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,657,194 GRT/2,206,574 DWT
ships by type: bulk 28, cargo 4, chemical tanker 4, container 1, liquified gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 8, roll-on/roll-off 6 (1999 est.)

Airports: 408 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 265
over 3,047 m: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 115
914 to 1,523 m: 120
under 914 m: 8 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 143
1,524 to 2,437 m: 18
914 to 1,523 m: 113
under 914 m: 12 (1999 est.)

Reference

Much of the material in this article comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000.

See also : Australia

railway maps