Woodville railway station, Adelaide

Woodville
Location Woodville Road
Woodville
Line(s) Grange Line, Outer Harbor Line
Distance 7.5 km from Adelaide
Platforms 3
Bus routes

100 Circle Line
150 to Osborne (Port Road)
155 to West Lakes (Port Road)
157 to Largs Bay (Port Road)
230 to Port Adelaide via Rosewater (Torrens Road)

232 to Port Adelaide via Alberton (Torrens Road)
300 Circle Line
Construction
Parking Yes
Bicycle facilities Yes
History
Opened 1856
Services
Preceding station   Adelaide Metro   Following station
toward Adelaide
Grange line
toward Grange
Outer Harbor line
toward Outer Harbor

Woodville railway station is the junction station for the Grange and Outer Harbor lines with the lines diverging immediately north of the station.[1] Situated in the western Adelaide suburb of Woodville, it is 7.5 kilometres from Adelaide station. It has auto pedestrian gates and lights, the only location with these lights on the line. Platform 3 has a small kiosk, built around 2006, that sells refreshments and tickets.

History

Northbound view in October 2005
Track layout at Woodville station showing former Holdens station.
Track layout at Woodville station in 2005

Woodville station was one of the original stations on the Adelaide to Port Adelaide railway, which opened in April 1856. The only other intermediate stations on the new line were at Bowden and Alberton. In the early days, Adelaide to Port Adelaide was a single-track railway and a passing loop was provided at Woodville. As traffic on the line increased, the single track was duplicated throughout in 1881.

The 1920s and 1930s saw significant development of heavy industry in Woodville and the neighbouring areas. For example, Holdens Motor Body Builders (later General Motors Holden) built a factory in the fork between the Grange and Outer Harbor lines. Sidings were laid to service the factory and Holdens station opened in 1928 a short way along the Grange line. Cars were dispatched by rail from Holdens' sidings.

The Woodville signal cabin became obsolete after a resignalling project in the late 1980s and has been relocated to the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide. In late 2016, the station was ranked as one of the best stations in the western suburbs based on 5 criteria.[2]

Grange Railway

The railway line between Woodville and Grange opened in September 1882. It was a private railway, constructed by the Grange Railway and Investment Company. The early railway was not a financial success and was bought out by the South Australian Railways in 1893.[3]

Branch lines

In World War II several munitions and armaments factories were opened, which resulted in construction of two new industrial branch lines in the Woodville area. The Finsbury line was opened in September 1940 and departed from the main line at Woodville. It headed in a northerly direction and serviced a wartime munitions works at Cheltenham Park and a Government Supply Depot at Finsbury. The line continued through Pennington to join the Dry Creek-Port Adelaide railway at Gillman Junction. The layout at Woodville station was altered in 1942 when a new platform face was constructed on the north-east side of today’s Platform 3 to serve Finsbury trains. The original 1856 station building on the Port Adelaide-bound platform was demolished and a new signal cabin was provided adjacent to the Woodville Road level crossing.

This industrial line had limited passenger services, designed mainly to cater for workers at factories in the vicinity. After the end of World War II there were no off-peak trains, or weekend services after Saturday lunchtime. The Finsbury line closed on 17 August 1979 and later dismantled and redeveloped. The Islamic Arabic Centre & Al-Khalil Mosque on Torrens Road, Woodville North stands where the extensive Woodville North station platform used to stand until the 1980s.

Services by platform

For many years the Grange line was operated by a shuttle service train at weekends and in the evenings. This terminated at Platform 1 and made connections with Outer Harbor line trains to and from Adelaide. However, since about 1996, all Grange trains have operated through to Adelaide.

Platform Lines Destinations Notes
1 Grange All stops services to Grange
2 Outer Harbor All stops services to Outer Harbor Some peak hour services terminate at Osborne
3 Grange All stops services to Adelaide
Outer Harbor All stops services to Adelaide Some peak hour services runs express from Woodville to Adelaide
Bus Transfers: Stop 222 (Woodville Road)
Route No. Destination & Route Details
100
 Glen Osmond[4]
101
 Flinders University[5]
300
 Circle Line[6]
Bus Transfers: Stop 21 (Port Road)
Route No. Destination & Route Details
J7
 Adelaide Airport via Findon Road[7]
150
 Osborne via Port Road[8]
155
 West Lakes via West Lakes Boulevard[9]
157
 Largs Bay via West Lakes[10]

References

  1. ↑ Outer Harbor & Grange timetable Adelaide Metro 23 February 2014
  2. ↑ "And the worst rail stop in the west goes to …". The Advertiser. 2016-09-08. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  3. ↑ Rails Through Swamp and Sand – A History of the Port Adelaide Railway. M. Thompson pub. Port Dock Station Railway Museum (1988) ISBN 0-9595073-6-1.
  4. ↑ Route 100 Adelaide Metro
  5. ↑ Route 101 Adelaide Metro
  6. ↑ Route 300 Adelaide Metro
  7. ↑ Route J7 Adelaide Metro
  8. ↑ Route 150 Adelaide Metro
  9. ↑ Route 155 Adelaide Metro
  10. ↑ Route 157 Adelaide Metro
  • Rails Through Swamp and Sand – A History of the Port Adelaide Railway. M. Thompson pub. Port Dock Station Railway Museum (1988) ISBN 0-9595073-6-1

Media related to Woodville railway station, Adelaide at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 34°52′37″S 138°32′16″E / 34.877004°S 138.537779°E / -34.877004; 138.537779

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