The Ghan of the sidings. In October 1980, a new standard gauge line from Tarcoola to Alice Springs on the Trans-Australian Railway opened, and the train took the form it has today. The new line is approximately west of the former line in order to avoid floodplains where the original line was often washed away during heavy rain. It was also hoped that the construction of the new line would improve the train's timekeeping. In November 1998, one service per week was extended from Adelaide to Melbourne while from April 1999, the other was diverted to operate to Sydney. Construction of Alice
Home Country Direct called. Sometimes, at a premium rate, one could call a third country instead of the home country. Before home country direct services were established, callers trying to call home were limited in their ability to make a call. While a few countries allowed reciprocal collect calls, most only allowed such calls "to" Canada or the United States, often at person-to-person rates, and even fewer nations permitted calls using a foreign telephone calling card. Many countries did not permit charge transfers at all, forcing the caller to pay directly to the service provider at the point the call originated. Home Country