Rawlinna is a remote locality and railway siding

Rail siding

A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end...

 on the Trans-Australian Railway

Trans-Australian Railway

The Trans-Australian Railway crosses the Nullarbor Plain of Australia from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia...

 in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. It is also the site of a small lime

Lime (mineral)

Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...

 mine, in which the lime is extracted from the limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 that is prevalent in the area. The lime is mostly used in the gold

Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 production process at Kalgoorlie

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...

.

Rawlinna is also the start of the Connie Sue Highway

Connie Sue Highway

The Connie Sue Highway is an outback road that runs from Rawlinna on the Trans-Australian Railway to the Aboriginal community of Warburton on the Great Central Road. Approximately long and running north-south, it lies entirely in the state of Western Australia and crosses the Nullarbor Plain and...

, an outback track that leads to Warburton

Warburton, Western Australia

Warburton or Warburton Ranges is an Indigenous Australian community in Western Australia, just to the south of the Gibson Desert and located on the Great Central Road and Gunbarrel Highway...

.

There is no fuel for sale at Rawlinna. The closest locations are Caiguna

Caiguna, Western Australia

Caiguna is a small roadhouse community located on the Eyre Highway in Western Australia. It is the second stop east of Norseman on the long journey east across the Nullarbor Plain. Between Balladonia and Caiguna is a stretch of the highway which is one of the longest straight stretches of road in...

 and Cocklebiddy

Cocklebiddy, Western Australia

Cocklebiddy is a small roadhouse community located on the Eyre Highway in Western Australia. It is the third stop east of Norseman on the long journey east across the Nullarbor Plain. The area is noted for its underground caves and lakes.-History:...

 on the Eyre Highway

Eyre Highway

The Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highway 1/A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first to...

, more than 100 km to the south.

The 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...

 train, the Indian Pacific, which runs between Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 and Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, calls at the siding twice a week in each direction. Passengers can alight or disembark on request.

During the time of the Trans Australian Railway requiring personnel at railway stations - the community at Rawlinna supported a school