The Ghan the standard gauge Stirling North to Marree line opened, and the Ghan was curtailed to operate only north of Marree. In October 1980 the remainder of the line was replaced by a standard-gauge line built to the west of the original line. An extension north from Alice Springs to Darwin opened in January 2004. Construction of what was then known as the Port Augusta to Government Gums Railway began in 1878 when Premier of South Australia William Jervois broke ground at Port Augusta. The line reached Hawker in June 1880, Beltana in July 1881, Marree in January 1884 and Oodnadatta
Last Train Home (film) Ebert praised the film for its depiction of conflict in one family as they struggle to improve their quality of life; giving the film four out of four stars. He concluded that due to the film's depiction of the effects of capitalism on the country that "[t]he rulers of China may someday regret that they distributed the works of Marx so generously." Praising "Last Train Home" as "a documentary masterpiece," Brian Brooks of IndieWIRE wrote that "filmmaker Lixin Fan may very well be one of modern-day China's great non-fiction storytellers." Critics of IndieWIRE placed "Last Train Home" at "top four"