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
Train Home Train Home Train Home is an album by American singer/songwriter Chris Smither, released in 2003. Guest Bonnie Raitt provides slide guitar and backup vocals on "Desolation Row". Writing for Allmusic, critic Hal Horowitz called the release "a quiet gem" and wrote of the album "Chris Smither settles into his distinctive combination of folk and blues with this excellent release. Although not pushing established boundaries, his rich, velvety voice and mature spoken-sung vocals convey a sense of truth and add depth to these introspective compositions." Music critic Robert Christgau gave the album a choice cut for "Let It Go". All songs