Kalgoorlie, with its crews and locomotives taking over at those stations. In 1975, Commonwealth Railways was absorbed into an enlarged federal government corporation, Australian National Railways Commission, branded as Australian National Railways and later as "Australian National", which continued to operate the Trans Australian. In 1993, Australian National took over operation of the entire coast-to-coast service following agreement with the governments of Western Australia and New South Wales. In 1997, following the privatisation of Australian National, the Indian Pacific was sold to a company, Great Southern Rail (as of 2020 trading as "Journey Beyond"). , the Indian Pacific is a weekly, all-through, experiential tourism service. From the start of construction until 1996, the Tea and Sugar supply train carried vital provisions to the work sites and localities, all of them isolated, along the route: a butcher and banking and postal services were among the facilities provided. Terrain The length of the line, as constructed, was , slightly less than the original survey. Although there are several hundred curves and gradients on the line, the route includes the longest length of straight track in the world – . A Commonwealth Railways map marked the western end as from Port Augusta, between Loongana and Nurina, and states: "The 'Long Straight' extends from this point for a distance of 297 miles and terminates at the 496 miles [sic] between Ooldea and Watson." According to South Australian astronaut Andy Thomas, the line is identifiable from space because of its unnatural straightness: "It's a very fine line, it's like someone has drawn a very fine pencil line across the desert". At no point along the route does the line cross a permanent fresh watercourse. Bores and reservoirs were established at intervals, but the water was often brackish and unsuitable for steam locomotive use, let alone human consumption, so water supplies had to be carried on the train. In the days of steam locomotion, about half the total load was water for the engine. In later years, condenser plants were built at several major stations. Names of stopping places Reflecting the line's ownership by the Commonwealth Government, eight of the localities were named (or renamed) after Australian Prime Ministers. Other prominent people's names were also allocated, as shown on the adjacent map. Operations Because of the inevitable problems of finding suitable water for steam locomotives in a desert, the original engineer, Henry Deane envisaged diesel locomotives