Grange railway line, Adelaide

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Grange Railway Line is a suburban branch line in the City of Adelaide, South Australia.

Contents 1 History 2 Route 3 Timetables and Scheduling 4 Proposed extension 5 Line guide 6 References

[edit] History

See also: Hendon railway line, Adelaide and Henley Beach railway line, Adelaide

The railway line between Woodville and Grange opened in September 1882. This 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 government-owned South Australian Railways in 1893^[1].

Modifications to the track layout at Woodville station in 1909 enabled trains from the Grange branch to travel beyond Woodville^[1] into Adelaide.

In November 1940 the Hendon branch line was opened diverging from the Grange line at Albert Park and running 1.1 km (¾ mile) to the Hendon munitions works. After the end of World War II the Hendon trains only operated at industrial shift-change times. In spite of low passenger numbers the Hendon branch continued operation until 1 February 1980^[1], after which the line was closed and removed.

The terminus at Grange was rebuilt in the late 1980s on the western side of Military Rd to eliminate a level crossing. The old station was formerly a stop on the Henley Beach line, an extension of the Grange line which closed in 1957.

A station named Holdens, located between Woodville and Albert Park stations adjacent to what is now the SA Manufacturing Park, was closed in 1992 and subsequently demolished.

[edit] Route

The line runs from the Adelaide Railway Station to the seaside suburb of Grange. The route follows the same alignment as the Outer Harbor Line as far as Woodville Station, where it diverges south west and across Port Road. The route then travels past Albert Park and bisects the Royal Adelaide Golf Club between Seaton Park and East Grange stations.

The line is single track from Woodville to Grange with no passing loops over its entire length. All stations on the line are unattended and have only very basic passenger waiting facilities. The line is 5.5 km long and broad gauge (1600mm).

[edit] Timetables and Scheduling

Services operate in tandem with Outer Harbor line trains. Weekday off-peak services run every 30 minutes, Weekday peak services run every 20-30 minutes with hourly services on Weekends, Evenings and Night^[2]. All services call at all stations along the route.

Once every two years services are temporarily cut back to Seaton Park station for approximately two weeks for the running of the Jacob's Creek Open golf tournament. Rail replacement buses are used to transport passengers for the remainder of the route.

Until 1996, Grange line services previously operated as a shuttle from Woodville station at night and on weekends, connecting with Outer Harbor line services.

The vast majority of services are operated by 3000 class railcars. 2000 class railcars ("Jumbos") are rare on this line, although the odd service can be seen during weekdays.

[edit] Proposed extension

It has been proposed to divert the line from Albert Park along a new alignment to service Westfield West Lakes and AAMI Stadium^[3], which would provide a major patronage boost for the line, which is little used outside of rush hour. It has also been proposed to convert the line to light rail.

[edit] Line guide

Port Line Suburban Services
Legend 0.0 Adelaide 1.7 Torrens Bridge 2.7 Bowden 4.2 Croydon 5.1 West Croydon 6.0 Kilkenny 6.8 Woodville Park 7.5 Woodville Outer Harbor line 7.8 Holdens 9.1 Albert Park Hendon line 9.8 Hendon 10.3 Seaton Park 11.1 Golflinks 12.0 East Grange 13.0 Grange Continued as the Henley Beach line 13.7 Kirkcaldy 14.5 Marlborough Street 15.3 Henley Beach

[edit] References