The Ghan for more freight to travel through the region, leading to a hope that Darwin will serve as another trade link with Asia. In preparation for the connection to Darwin, one of the locomotives was named after Steve Irwin in a hope that the internationally recognised face of Australia would help promote the new service and tourism to the region. The modern Ghan has featured in an episode of Channel 5's series "Chris Tarrant: Extreme Railways", and the Mighty Trains series. It was also the subject of a slow television documentary called 'The Ghan: Australia's Greatest Train Journey'. The entire journey
The Ghan along the track so that bore water could be used. When a new line to Alice Springs was built in the 1970s, the use of diesel locomotives meant that there was far less need for water, thus allowing the line to take the much drier route from Tarcoola to Alice Springs. The original Ghan was featured in an episode of BBC Television's series "Great Railway Journeys of the World" in 1980, presented by Michael Frayn. The original Ghan ran for the last time in 1980, and the Ghan Preservation Society repairs sections of the old narrow gauge track and some