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 Afghan Express". By 1951, when steam engines were replaced by diesel-electric locomotives, this disparaging derivation, like the cameleers, had faded away. Modern marketing has completed the name turnabout. "The Ghan" was privatised in 1997 and has since then been operated by Great Southern Rail, initially as part of the Serco Group. GSR was sold to Allegro Funds, a Sydney investment fund, in March 2015. The train usually runs weekly year-round. During December 2012 and January 2013 it ran only once every two weeks. Until 2016, a second service operated between June and September. The train stops at Adelaide, Alice Springs,