Transport in Adelaide
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Transport in Adelaide is notable as the city of Adelaide is centrally located on the Australian mainland and forms something of a strategic transport hub for east-west and north-south routes.
The city itself has a limited public transport system, which is managed by and known as the Adelaide Metro. The Adelaide Metro consists of a contracted bus system including the O-Bahn Busway (a guided busway), metropolitan railways, and the historic Adelaide-Glenelg Tram.
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[edit] Roads
Road transport in Adelaide has historically been comparatively easier than many of the other Australian cities, with a well-defined city layout and wide multiple-lane roads from the beginning of its development. Historically, Adelaide was known as a "twenty-minute city", with commuters having being able to travel from metropolitan outskirts to the city proper in roughly twenty minutes. However, these roads are now inadequate to cope with Adelaide's growing road traffic.
In 1964 the 'M.A.T.S.' plan for Adelaide (Metropolitan Adelaide Transport Study) was commissioned by the S.A. Government, which examined establishing a large network of highways along Adelaide's main urban transport corridors. The plan went as far as the State Government of the day purchasing land along Adelaide's major roads, in preparation for highway construction. However, later State Governments abandoned the plan for highways across Adelaide during the 1970s. The consequences of the political rejection of this plan are now being realised as increased traffic has seen travel times increase, and congestion on main thoroughfares such as South Road has become a daily reality. Adelaide is connected to Port Wakefield Road and the Sturt Highway in the north, and the South Eastern Freeway in the South East. The Southern Expressway acts as a bypass for congested South Road in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. The expressway is unique for changing direction according to peak flow.
The O-Bahn Busway is one of a few guided busways in the world. With large growth in the Northern Suburbs of Adelaide in the 1970s and 1980s Adelaide was faced with a transport dilemma. The Adelaide O-Bahn was constructed in 1986 in response, after beating competing proposals of expanded rail and road networks (one of the competing proposals was to build an Adelaide underground, but proved to be cost-ineffective in comparison). Interstate bus routes to and from all the major Australian towns and cities connect to Adelaide. Its main terminus for intra and interstate coach-liners is the Franklin Street Coach Terminal at Franklin and Bowen Streets in the city-centre. Beginning in 2005, the terminal is to undergo a complete $25 million reconstruction, in conjunction with the much larger $375 million former Balfours site redevelopment – the end-product being a new multistorey bus station and various residential and commercial towers.
[edit] Rail
- Main articles: Railways in Adelaide, Trams in Adelaide
While Adelaide's rail-network does not suffer the chronic delays of its inter-state counterparts, it is comparatively under-developed; Adelaide is the only mainland capital with a non-electric network. Amid increasing criticism over the ailing and dilapidated rail system, not helped by infrequent service and decaying infrastructure, the State Government developed a State Transport Plan , which was released in late 2005. The plan set out the framework for upgrading the public transport system. Conversely, Adelaide’s sole remaining tramway, from Victoria Square in the CBD to the historic beachside resort of Glenelg, is under went a AU$56 million upgrade in which state of the art new tram-cars now operate with the existing historic H-type’s of 1929. Adelaide is the midpoint of the Indian Pacific railway between Perth and Sydney, as well as the terminus of The Overland to Melbourne and The Ghan via Alice Springs to Darwin.
 Alberton Railway Station on the suburban Outer Harbor railway. |
 A H-Class tram (foreground) and Flexity tram (background) on Jetty Road, Glenelg |
[edit] Air
The Adelaide International Airport, located at West Beach, is Australia's newest and most advanced airport terminal and is designed to serve in excess of 5.4 million passengers annually. The new dual international/domestic terminal replaced the old and ageing terminals known locally as the 'tin sheds', and incorporates new state-of-the-art features, such as glass aerobridges and the ability to cater for the new Airbus A380. The airport is designed to handle 27 aircraft simultaneously and it is capable of processing 3,000 passengers per hour. It was officially opened in a ceremony in October 2005 by South Australian Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson, Premier of South Australia Mike Rann and Prime Minister of Australia John Howard. Due to problems with the new refuelling system, the new airport terminal was not used for interstate domestic flights until 17 February 2006.
[edit] Notes and References
- ^ Metro Malcontent - The Twenty Minute City No More, courtesy RAA [11] (.pdf)
- ^ RAA's Vision: Backwater to Benchmark, courtesy RAA [12]
- ^ Princes Highway SA (South-Eastern Freeway), courtesy Ozroads [13]
- ^ Southern Expressway, courtesy M Greenslade [14]
- ^ Adelaide Metro: The Adelaide O-Bahn, courtesy Adelaide Metro [15]
- ^ Adelaide's new Bus Terminal, courtesy Capital City Committee [16]
- ^ South Australia Transport Plan, courtesy South Australian Department of Transport [17]
- ^ Adelaide Metro: New Trams, courtesy Adelaide Metro [18]
- ^ Adelaide Airport, courtesy Adelaide Airport Limited [19]
- ^ Passengers urged to be patient as new SA terminal opens, courtesy ABC News [20]
