Marla is a small town on the Stuart highway in north-western South Australia

South Australia

South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

. It is located near the Ghan railway line. At the 2006 census

Census in Australia

The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...

, Marla had a population of 72.

Marla is accessible by train. The Ghan, run by Great Southern Railway

Great Southern Railway

Great Southern Railway can refer to:* Great Southern Railway - tourism and rail operator* Great Southern Railway - Former railway serving the South Gippsland region in Victoria, Australia...

 between Adelaide and Darwin

Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

 arrives twice weekly in each direction.

Marla's population is about 70 people and is a service town. The township centres around the Marla Travellers Rest service station which comprises a supermarket, pub, motel, caravan park, pool and workshop. It is situated east of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands and is a main service for these lands. There is a police station located at Marla which is a base for police officers working on these lands.

The Ghan
Chandler Chandler, South Australia Chandler is a remote rail siding in the far north of the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated 56 kilometres north of the town of Marla. It is located at the junction of the Stuart Highway and the entry to the Aboriginal lands of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara people... (to Darwin Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities... )	↔	Marla	↔	Manguri Coober Pedy Coober Pedy, South Australia Coober Pedy is a town in northern South Australia, 846 kilometres north of Adelaide on the Stuart Highway. According to the 2006 census, its population was 1,916 . The town is sometimes referred to as the "opal capital of the world" because of the quantity of precious opals that are mined there... (to Adelaide)