1929, when it was renamed the Central Australia Railway. In 1957, the new standard gauge line was built from Stirling North (near Port Augusta) to Marree on a new alignment west of the Flinders Ranges and the narrow gauge line between Hawker and Marree was abandoned. The remainder of the narrow gauge line between Stirling North, Quorn and Hawker was abandoned in 1972, although the Stirling North – Quorn section has been taken over by the Pichi Richi tourist railway (with a more recent extension into the town of Port Augusta completed in 2001). The narrow gauge line from Marree to Alice Springs was abandoned with the opening of the new standard gauge railway from Tarcoola to Alice Springs in 1980. The standard gauge line from Stirling North has since been abandoned north of the Leigh Creek Coalfield. Eyre Peninsula lines The Eyre Peninsula Railway was built to narrow gauge as their primary purpose was to promote the development of the area. Construction started with a railway between Port Lincoln and Cummins, opened in 1907. Growth of the network continued through until the 1950s. The system covers some 800 route kilometres, of lightly built permanent way. BHP developed two separate systems. The BHP Whyalla Tramway from the Whyalla Steelworks () for ore haulage, and the Coffin Bay Tramway, a standard gauge from Proper Bay to Coffin Bay on Southern Eyre Peninsula for mineral sand haulage. The tramway operated from 1966 and was closed in 1989, with the tracks being removed in 2000. Northern Territory railway The Northern Territory was part of South Australia from 1863 to 1911, when it was transferred to Commonwealth control. The Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway was a narrow gauge railway and ran from Darwin, once known as Palmerston, to Pine Creek. The John Cox Bray Government in South Australia introduced the Palmerston and Pine Creek Railway Bill in 1883. The £959,300 contract went to C & E Millar of Melbourne on the proviso that they could use Asian labourers. The line reached Pine Creek in 1888 and was officially opened on 30 September 1889. Singhalese and Indian gangs did the grubbing and earthwork and 3,000 Chinese labourers laid over of track per day. A total of 310 bridges and flood openings were built. The Commonwealth Government took over the line in 1911 and renamed it the Northern Territory Railway. The line was extended to Katherine