The
Dowerin–Merredin Railway Act 1909, an
act by the
Parliament of Western Australia granted
assent on 21 December 1909, authorised the construction of a railway line from
Dowerin to
Merredin, thereby extending the already existing Goomalling to Dowerin railway line. This railway line, passing through Amery, was officially opened as far as
Korrelocking on 6 February 1911, with the full extension to Merredin opening on 28 August 1911. Until 1928, Amery was known as Ejanding, when it was renamed to Amery and a siding on the railway further north was named
Ejanding. The '
assented to on 16 December 1926, authorised the construction of the spur lines north of Amery, to be known as the Ejanding Northwards Railway''' with the contract for the construction awarded to Western Australian
Public Works Department on 28 June 1927. The new railway line was to split at
Burakin, heading north from there to Kalannie and east to
Kulja, with both officially opening on 15 April 1929. The contract for this extension was awarded to the Public Works Department on 15 April 1929 and the extension was opened on 27 April 1931. At this point,
approval of railway lines by the Parliament of Western Australia had dropped off and no act was passed to expand the Kalannie railway line. By 1948, the Burakin to Bonnie Rock was rumored to be closed but this was denied by the state government. In October 1953, the state government proposed to close the line, citing its losses. While the government was accepting that the railway line could not be expected to achieve a profit it did expect it to cover 50 percent of its operating cost. However, at this point, the line cost
£A 30,000 annually to operate but only earned less than £A 9,000. In November 1953, the decision was made to keep the Burakin to Bonnie Rock railway line open, as was the
Wiluna to Meekatharra line, because the state government was concerned about the need for heavy road freight subsidies if these lines were to be closed. Instead, it planned to close the
Bellevue–Mundaring–Mount Helena line, as it did not require such subsidies. As of 2024, the railway line is operated by
Arc Infrastructure. The Amery to Kalannie line and Burakin to Beacon lines are operational while the section from Beacon to Bonnie Rock is not. ==Elevation==