Tonsley railway line

Tonsley railway line
Overview
Type Commuter rail
Locale Adelaide, South Australia
Termini Adelaide
Tonsley
Stations 11
Operation
Opened 1966
Operator(s) Adelaide Metro
Rolling stock
Events
Re-sleepered
(concrete)		 February 2012–13
Electrified February–September 2013
Technical
Line length 13.0 km (8.1 mi)
Number of tracks
Track gauge 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification 25 kV AC overhead
Route map
Up arrow Glenelg tram
0 km
 Adelaide
Montefiore Road
City West
Gawler, Grange and Outer Harbor lines
to Port Augusta
(ARTC)
Royal Adelaide Hospital
Adelaide Depot (closed 2011)
Port Road
Glover Avenue
Holdfast Bay line (closed 1929)
2.0 km
 Mile End
Sir Donald Bradman Drive
Mile End Goods (closed 1994)
 Adelaide Parklands Terminal
Keswick (closed 2013)
Anzac Highway
4.0 km
 Adelaide Showground
Leader Street
5.0 km
 Goodwood
Left arrow Glenelg tram Right arrow
Victoria Street
Belair line
to Bordertown and Melbourne
(ARTC)
East Avenue
6.3 km
 Clarence Park
7.1 km
 Emerson
Cross Road (level crossing)
South Road (overpass)
7.9 km
 Edwardstown
De Laine Avenue
Angus Avenue
Raglan Avenue
9.1 km
 Woodlands Park
Dunorlan Road
Seaford line
Daws Road
Celtic Avenue
11.5 km
 Mitchell Park
12.1 km
 Clovelly Park
Alawoona Avenue
13.0 km
 Tonsley
Flinders extension
(under construction)
↓
Sturt Road
Flinders Drive
Laffer Drive
Main South Road
Flinders
Victorian broad gauge
standard gauge
narrow gauge

The Tonsley railway line is a suburban commuter line in Adelaide, South Australia that stems off the Seaford line at Mitchell Park to end opposite Science Park and close to the Flinders University and the Flinders Medical Centre. The line is single track for most of its length, from Celtic Avenue near Mitchell Park station to the terminus at Tonsley, with two intermediate stations. Services operate every 30 minutes on weekdays with no trains operating at night or on the weekend.

History

The Tonsley railway line was constructed as a branch line of the Seaford line between 1965 and 1966 to serve the new Chrysler plant at Clovelly Park. Construction of the plant had commenced in 1963, and the assembly line was opened in October 1964 (remaining operational until it was closed in March 2008).[1] It services three stations - Mitchell Park, Clovelly Park, and Tonsley.

Re-sleepering and electrification

From 27 February 2012, the line between Woodlands Park and Tonsley was closed for construction.[2][3] During this time the line was duplicated between Tonsley Junction and Mitchell Park station, the track re-sleepered with dual gauge sleepers to allow for the line to be converted to standard gauge at a future date, and the entire line electrified.[4] The closure (initially planned as one year) was extended until September 2013, for electrification of the line along with the Noarlunga Centre line.[5] In late 2013, a plan was announced to convert the line to a double-track railway. This was to be funded through joint State and Federal initiatives, but the incoming Federal government announced it would be changing their focus to roads, and cut funding. Accordingly, the future of the line was unclear, with $18 million spent on the project.[6] It eventually reopened on 5 May 2014, more than two years after closure.[4]

Flinders extension

In July 2008, a feasibility study was commissioned by the government to extend the line to Flinders Medical Centre.[7] On the 13 May 2016, as part of the 2016 Liberal election campaign, a funding pledge of $43 million was announced for the plan.[8] The extension, referred to as the Flinders Link Project, would extend the line by 650 metres and replace the existing Tonsley station with a new terminus station adjacent to Flinders Medical Centre. An elevated single track with a pedestrian and bike path will begin just north of the existing Tonsley station site to cross Sturt Road, Laffer's Triangle and Main South Road, before terminating at Flinders Medical Centre.[9] It is expected to be built concurrently with the Darlington Upgrade Project.[10][11]

Line guide

Parking / Park ‘n’ Ride / Hi Frequency

Station Image Opened Additional information
Tonsley 1966 Terminus
Clovelly Park 1966 Originally Chrysler Park railway station; renamed in 1984
Mitchell Park 1966
Woodlands Park 1925 Transfer: Seaford line
Edwardstown 1913
Emerson 1928
Clarence Park 1913
Goodwood 1883-03-05 Transfer: Belair line
Adelaide Showground 2014-02-17
Mile End 1898 Opened as Mile End Passenger; renamed Mile End
Adelaide 1865-04-19 Transfer: Gawler, Grange, Outer Harbour lines

Services

Services operate between 6.30 AM and 7.30 PM on weekdays only.[12] Services were only extended to operate during weekday off-peak periods in 2004. Stations between Adelaide and Woodlands Park are also serviced by the Seaford line, and stations between Adelaide and Goodwood are also serviced by the Belair line. Prior to 2014, most trains were operated by 3000 class railcars augmented at times by 2000 class railcars. Since the electrification of the line, the latter are no longer authorised to operate on the line.[13] Once the full fleet is delivered, services will be operated by A-City electric multiple units.

References

  1. ↑ "Mitsubishi could announce Adelaide closure today". Australian Car Advice. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  2. ↑ Two Adelaide rail lines facing disruption ABC News 3 February 2012
  3. ↑ Travellers shunted from Tonsley and Grange train lines Adelaide Advertiser 3 February 2012
  4. 1 2 Rail revitalisation Tonsley line Archived 13 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure
  5. ↑ Rail Network Closures 2013 Adelaide Metro
  6. ↑ Marion Council lobbies for state and federal governments to put Tonsley rail upgrade ahead of politics Guardian Messenger 3 October 2013
  7. ↑ Government looks at extending Noarlunga, Tonsley rail lines Adelaide Advertiser 3 July 2008
  8. ↑ Yaxley, Louise (13 May 2016). "Coalition's $43m Adelaide rail funding pledge aimed at shoring up marginal seat, Anthony Albanese says". News. ABC. ABC. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "Flinders Link Project". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  10. ↑ "Darlington Upgrade Project". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Green light for $85.5m Flinders Link rail extension". Premier of South Australia. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  12. ↑ Seaford & Tonsley timetable Adelaide Metro 20 July 2014
  13. ↑ "Limited life for 2000 class Jumbo railcars" Railway Digest January 2015 page 20
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