Australia's rail dream realised at last

Australian rail workers have realised a 145-year dream by laying the last piece of track in a railway through the heart of the Australian Outback..

The transcontinental link, from the northern coast to the southern coast 1,860 miles away, was first proposed in 1858, but was never considered economically viable until recent years.

It's now seen as a vital gateway to the Asian market.

"The Alice Springs to Darwin railway - one of Australia's biggest infrastructure projects - has happened," Transport Minister John Anderson told Parliament.

The piece of track completes a link between the central Australian town of Alice Springs and the northern city of Darwin, the country's maritime gateway to Southeast Asia.

It links Darwin by rail with Adelaide - as well as the nation's other four mainland state capitals and the national capital, Canberra - creating a continental rail network.

The rail link will be used mostly by freight trains as a cheap way of getting Australian goods to Darwin for shipment to Asian markets. A passenger train also will make the trip.

"The route will be "one of the great railway journeys of the world," said Mike Rann, Premier of South Australia

The rail link cost €765m and involved massive construction projects, including the building of 90 bridges.