Bowden railway station, Adelaide
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Bowden
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| Location | |
| Street | Gibson Street |
| Suburb | Bowden |
| Distance from Adelaide | 2.7km |
| Access by | Level Pedestrian Crossing |
| Frequency | |
Hi-Frequency Station  |
No |
| Peak Frequency | Every 10-30 Mins |
| Weekday Frequency | Every 30 Mins |
| Weekend Frequency | Every 15-45 Mins |
| Night Frequency | Every 15-45 Mins |
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| Real Rail Time Display | No |
| Real Rail Time Speaker | Yes |
| Number of Platforms | 2 |
| Platform Layout | 2 Side Platforms |
| Toilets | No |
| Car Parking | No |
| Bike Storage | No |
| Lounge | No |
| Kiosk | No |
Wheelchair access  |
Yes |
| Other facilities | None |
| History | |
| Opened | 1856 |
| Rebuilt | unknown |
| Closed | unknown |
| Transfers | |
| Train transfer | None |
| Bus transfer | None |
| Adjacent Stations | |
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Bowden is the first station on the suburban railway lines from Adelaide to Outer Harbor and Grange. It is 2.7km (1¾ miles) from Adelaide.
On Monday to Friday off-peak trains depart every 30 minutes to and from the Grange line (each train makes a connection at Woodville for stations to Outer Harbor). Peak hour services run more frequently, whilst in the evenings and at weekends there is one train per hour to/from the Grange line and one per hour to/from the Outer Harbor line (although departure times are not evenly spaced).
All train services are operated by TransAdelaide. There are now no freight services through Bowden.
Bowden serves the inner-city suburbs of Bowden, Brompton and Hindmarsh. The station mainly caters for workers commuting to nearby factories and patrons of events at the nearby Hindmarsh Stadium and Adelaide Entertainment Centre. The importance of the station has decreased as older industries based in the vicinity have declined.
The station retains its original 1856 brick and stone station building on the northbound platform, although this is now unattended, as are most stations on the TransAdelaide network.
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[edit] History of Bowden Station
Bowden was one of the original stations on the Adelaide to Port Adelaide railway when the line opened in April 1856.
In 1871 sidings were constructed at the Woodville end of the station for delivery of coal from Port Adelaide to the adjacent gas works.
With increasing traffic, the single track Adelaide to Port Adelaide line was doubled in 1881, and the sidings at Bowden were extended as the gas works grew.
Two signal cabins were in operation at Bowden between 1884 and 1930, one at East St (at the Woodville end), the second at Gibson St (at the Adelaide end). The East St cabin was closed when colour light signalling was introduced on the Port line in the 1930’s.
The S.A. Gas Company sidings were closed in June 1973 and Bowden’s goods yard was closed completely from September 1977 along with the Gibson St signal cabin. The site of the gas works sidings is still visible on the north side of the line near the Chief St underpass.
With falling passenger numbers, the station has been unattended since November 1979, which was a far cry from the middle years of the 20th Century when usage was high enough to justify two staffed ticket offices at Bowden – one on the up platform and one on the down.
[edit] References
- 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
