Editing Railways in Adelaide (section)

== Operators ==
[[Image:Freightlink container train headed for Darwin passes through Dry Creek on 5 Aug 2005 (cropped).jpg|thumbnail|right|250px|[[FreightLink]] Adelaide to Darwin freight train at [[Dry Creek railway station|Dry Creek]]]]
[[Image:AdelaideRail 6.jpg|thumbnail|right|250px|[[Pacific National]] freight from Melbourne to Perth passing [[Belair railway station|Belair]] in the Adelaide Hills]]
[[File:Goodwood Train.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Adelaide Metro [[3000 class railcar]]s at [[Goodwood railway station|Goodwood]] returning to [[Adelaide railway station|Adelaide]] on a Belair service]]
Rail services around Adelaide are provided by a mixture of private and government-owned organisations.

The [[Department for Infrastructure & Transport]] (DIT) owns the suburban passenger rail network, comprising seven lines originating from [[Adelaide railway station]] on [[North Terrace, Adelaide|North Terrace]] in the CBD. Between 31 January 2021 and 2 February 2025, operation of the network had been contracted to [[Keolis Downer]].<ref>''[https://www.weare.sa.gov.au/news/2023/q2/rail-services-to-return-to-public-hands. Rail services to return to public hands]''</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/about-us/news/news-items/2025/trains-are-coming-home|title=
Trains are coming home|publisher=Adelaide Metro|date=2 February 2025|access-date=2 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=4 February 2021 |title=Keolis begins operations and maintenance of Adelaide commuter rail in South Australia |url=https://cms.uitp.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Keolis-PR_New-rail-contract-in-Adelaide_31-Jan-2021.pdf |access-date=26 March 2025}}</ref>

The [[Australian Rail Track Corporation]] (ARTC), an agency of the [[Australian Government|federal government]], owns standard gauge interstate lines heading north and south, together with the [[dual gauge]] freight-only branch from [[Dry Creek-Port Adelaide railway line|Dry Creek to Port Adelaide]] and [[Pelican Point (Adelaide)|Pelican Point]]. The ARTC lines bypass the city to the west and do not enter the CBD. The ARTC network extends from Adelaide towards Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Darwin and is used by substantial interstate freight traffic.<ref>''[https://www.artc.com.au/ ARTC]'' </ref> 

Freight trains are operated by a number of private operators, which have access agreements with rail network owners such as the ARTC. The largest of these is [[Pacific National]], which handles the majority of interstate traffic and has the largest locomotive fleet. Other logistics companies also operate freight trains to and from interstate destinations and within South Australia.

[[Aurizon]] owns the remaining broad-gauge lines beyond the Adelaide suburban network. They were a handful of lines that were used mainly to move bulk grain and stone from the Barossa Valley and mid-north region of the state to the Port Adelaide area.<ref>''[https://www.aurizon.com.au/what-we-do/bulk/bulk-sa-and-nt/access-regional-network Access to South Australia Regional Rail Network]''</ref> 

[[Journey Beyond]] is a private company operating long-distance interstate passenger trains on the ARTC's standard gauge lines, and run from the [[Adelaide Parklands Terminal]], just west of the CBD. Journey Beyond's trains are the ''[[Indian Pacific]]'' to [[Central railway station, Sydney|Sydney]] and [[East Perth railway station|Perth]], ''[[The Ghan]]'' to [[Alice Springs railway station|Alice Springs]] and [[Darwin railway station|Darwin]], ''[[The Overland]]'' to [[Southern Cross railway station|Melbourne]] and the seasonal ''[[Great Southern (train)|Great Southern]]'' to [[Roma Street railway station|Brisbane]]. Regional intrastate passenger services in South Australia were withdrawn in 1990.

There are presently two heritage railways in South Australia run by volunteers, but none of these are in the Adelaide area. [[SteamRanger]] is based at [[Mount Barker railway station|Mount Barker]] and runs services through to [[Victor Harbor railway station|Victor Harbor]]. The [[Pichi Richi Railway]] is considerably more distant from Adelaide, based at [[Quorn railway station|Quorn]], and runs services through to [[Port Augusta railway station|Port Augusta]].<ref>''[https://www.pichirichirailway.org.au/ Pichi Richi Railway]''</ref><ref>''[https://www.steamrangerheritagerailway.org/ SteamRanger Heritage Railway]''</ref>