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
A-train (Denton County) 2016, to operate the A-Train from October 1, 2016. Figures collected by the American Public Transportation Association show that 1,500 people rode the A-train on an average weekday in the third quarter of 2011. As of the fourth quarter of 2015, average weekday ridership has increased to approximately 1,900 riders per day, making the A-Train the twenty-fifth most-ridden commuter rail system in the country. DCTA placed an order for 11 Stadler GTW 2/6 DMUs in 2010. The first of the new trains were delivered in late 2011 for testing prior to their entry into service. The full order was fulfilled