Adelaide-Wolseley railway line

Adelaide-Wolseley railway line
Overview
System Railways in Adelaide
Termini Adelaide
South Australia/Victoria state border
Continues from Adelaide-Port Augusta line, Mile End
Continues as Western standard gauge line, Serviceton
Services Belair Line
The Overland
Operation
Opened 1887
Reopened 1995 (standarised)
Operator(s) Adelaide Metro
Aurizon
Genesee & Wyoming Australia
Great Southern Rail
Pacific National
SCT Logistics
Technical
Line length 313 km (194 mi)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
Old gauge 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Route map
km
0.0 Adelaide
to Gawler & Outer Harbor
to Crystal Brook & Port Augusta
Mile End Loop1,656 m
Adelaide Parklands Terminal

Belair railway line
Goodwood Junction
to Seaford & Tonsley

Belair Loop1,543 m

21.5 Belair
Bridgewater line
37.2 Bridgewater
South Eastern Freeway
Yantaringa Tunnel
Ambleside Loop1,850m
Spoehr Road
Onkaparinga Valley Road
45.8 Balhannah Loop694m
to Mount Pleasant
Junction Road
Wenzel Road
Mattner Road
Altmanns Road

50.0 Mount Barker Junction/Loop 1,550m

SteamRanger to Victor Harbor
Blakiston Road
Woodside Road
Old Princes Highway
Jeffrey Street
Bartley Street
62.4 Petwood Loop1,052 m
72.2 Callington Loop1,850 m
Strathalbyn Road
Woodchester Road
82.2 Monarto South Loop1,550 m
Ferries Macdonald Road
to Sedan (closed) (GWA)
Princes Highway
Cyprus Terrace
Mannum Road
96.6 Murray BridgeLoop 961 m
Monteith Loop1,850 m
120.3 Tailem Bend Loop2,054 m
North Terrace
Trevena Road
to Loxton & Pinnaroo (GWA)
Magpie Road
Dukes Highway
153.4 Coomandook Loop1,960 m
Government Road
183.4 Coonalpyn Loop1,550 m
Northcote Road
211.3 Tintinara Loop1,850 m
228.5 Coombe Loop1,550 m
Emu Flat Road
249.2 Keith Loop1,871 m
273.0 Wirrega Loop1,550 m
Pinnaroo Road
Dukes Highway
North Terrace
293.9 BordertownLoop 2,180 m
Crecoona Terrace
307.0 Wolseley Loop1,005 m
West Terrace
to Mount Gambier & Portland (DPTI)
313.2 South Australia/Victoria state border
to Melbourne (ARTC)

Crossing loop lengths[1]

The Adelaide-Wolseley railway line is a 313 kilometre line running from Adelaide to Wolseley on the Australian Rail Track Corporation network.[2][3] It is the South Australian part of the Melbourne–Adelaide railway.

History

The line opened in stages, on 14 March 1883 from Adelaide to Aldgate, on 28 November 1883 to Nairne, on 1 May 1886 to Bordertown and on 19 January 1887 to Serviceton.[4]

Until April 1987, TransAdelaide services operated on the first 37 kilometres of the line from Adelaide to Bridgewater, when the service was curtailed to Belair, the terminus of today's Adelaide Metro Belair line.[5]

The line consisted of double track as far as Belair, where it became single track for the remainder of the journey east. In 1995, the track was converted to standard gauge as part of the gauge conversion of the line to Melbourne. This included one of the lines west of Belair, effectively converting this section to two single lines.

In 2009, the Belair line was relaid with Dual gauge sleepers that will allow it to be converted to standard gauge, resulting in the line again becoming double track.[6][7]

Originally operated by South Australian Railways, in March 1978 it was transferred to Australian National and in July 1998 to the Australian Rail Track Corporation.

Route

Major towns on the route include Murray Bridge, Tailem Bend, Keith and Bordertown.[2]

The line is standard gauge and single track throughout its entire 313 length, with 18 crossing loops.[3]

Services

Today the route is mainly served by interstate freight services operated by Aurizon, Pacific National and SCT Logistics, as well as irregular intrastate grain freight services from the Loxton and Pinnaroo lines operated by Genesee & Wyoming Australia. These branch line trains ceased operating in July 2015, to be replaced by road transport, however it is possible that trains will continue to be used on this line from Tailem Bend to Port Adelaide.[8]

Great Southern Rail's The Overland is the only scheduled passenger service to traverse the full route, calling at Murray Bridge and Bordertown stations.[9] Adelaide Metro services operate from Adelaide to Belair.[5]

References

  1. "Adelaide to Melbourne MTP Effective from 24th January 2016" (PDF). ARTC. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 Dry Creek - Victorian border map SA Track & Signal
  3. 1 2 D3 Wolseley to Mile End Australian Rail Track Corporation
  4. Newland, Andrew; Quinlan, Howard (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 53. ISBN 0-909650-49-7.
  5. 1 2 Belair timetable Adelaide Metro 12 October 2014
  6. 2008/09 State Budget South Australian Department of Treasury & Finance June 2008
  7. Belair Line Renewal Adelaide Metro
  8. Strathearn, Peri (21 May 2015). "End of line for Murraylands, Mallee grain trains". The Murray Valley Standard (Fairfax Regional Media). Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  9. The Overland Timetables Great Southern Rail
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