News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Trains

[SouthAussie94]

Would merging Edwardstown and Woodlands be the best solution? Emerson and Edwardtown are closer together than Edwardstown and Woodlands are. Would it not be better to then combine these two together?

Woodlands could still be moved towards Raglan Avenue to offer better connections with Castle Plaza and the former Hills site. Alternatively, both Ascot Park and Woodlands could be closed, with a new station built near Sixth Avenue/Dunorlan Road.

Combine this with the merger of Hove/Warradale and Marino/Marino Rocks and the Seaford line would have four stations fewer allowing significant time savings to be made..

[Torrens_5022]

Best solution I think is remove Warradale - the new Oaklands will be on top of the road, if it's built more heavily over the west side of the intersection, the new station will be longer, the current station is only 700m to Warradale the new would only be 550m - and about 1.6km to Hove, leave Hove for now - maybe need a rebuild if the Brighton Rd crossing is grade separated. Combine Edwardstown and Woodlands Park to Raglan Ave - there's a big bend between Edwardstown and Emerson so it would be hard to combine them . Combine Marino / Marino Rocks -

[Norman]

Would merging Edwardstown and Woodlands be the best solution? Emerson and Edwardtown are closer together than Edwardstown and Woodlands are. Would it not be better to then combine these two together?

Woodlands could still be moved towards Raglan Avenue to offer better connections with Castle Plaza and the former Hills site. Alternatively, both Ascot Park and Woodlands could be closed, with a new station built near Sixth Avenue/Dunorlan Road.

That's what I meant. Emerson would be at the intersection with South Road and Woodlands Park would be moved closer to the Hills site, but it might need a new name.

[Goodsy]

I don't know if this should be in the visions/suggestions area but does anyone else think that simply electrifying the Gawler line doesn't go far enough?

Several crossings should be upgraded namely Cormack Road, Kings Road and Park Terrace.
I'd also go so far as to duplicate line, with one line terminating at Munno Para and one continuing the Gawler line to Nuriootpa with an express train service to Adelaide

[PeFe]

I don't know if this should be in the visions/suggestions area but does anyone else think that simply electrifying the Gawler line doesn't go far enough?

Several crossings should be upgraded namely Cormack Road, Kings Road and Park Terrace.
I'd also go so far as to duplicate line, with one line terminating at Munno Para and one continuing the Gawler line to Nuriootpa with an express train service to Adelaide

Yes, electrifying the Gawler line does not go far enough!

What is needed is some sort of master plan incorporating future development around train stations...which train stations? Well that is
question 1.....time for a "station cull" along the Gawler line, too many stations that are too close together..
.
Remaining stations should be upgraded to a minimum standard expected of transport stops in 2016 and of course integrated into new residential/retail developments around the stations.

Grade separation..yes always a good idea...if you cant afford to do it now, you will have to do it in the future..there is no avoiding it.

Train to Nuriootpa.....not this century, maybe the next. Adelaide really does not need to expand beyond it's present urban boundaries, the population density in the Adelaide metro area is so low and the population growth so low that it is really not an issue

[SBD]

Extending to Nuriootpa would be a big step, and it's all only single track past Gawler station. Extending to Kalbeeba with a new station where the line crosses Barossa Valley Way would help people from Gawler East. I don't know what frequency could be supported going that far on single track. Possibly just putting two platforms at the terminus could mean a train leaves as soon as the next one arrives. The next logical extension would be Sandy Creek and Lyndoch stations, but that is getting a long way out for a metro service.

[rubberman]

What about servicing the suburbs expanding to the North. For example, Bolivar and Virginia?

It's almost too late to plan for that now, but you'd have thought that there was some plan for serving them apart from buses.

Not to mention the increasing numbers in the hills. The existing route is too slow, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be improved with civil works and re-routing. After all, the present route is pretty much designed for 1880s steam engines doing 20 mph. Chuff chuff.

[SBD]

What about servicing the suburbs expanding to the North. For example, Bolivar and Virginia?

It's almost too late to plan for that now, but you'd have thought that there was some plan for serving them apart from buses.

Not to mention the increasing numbers in the hills. The existing route is too slow, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be improved with civil works and re-routing. After all, the present route is pretty much designed for 1880s steam engines doing 20 mph. Chuff chuff.

Bolivar and Virginia are on the interstate standard gauge line. That would mean new/different rolling stock, and trying to find/create sufficient slots in the freight timetable to provide a credible urban service. I suspect that train has left the station.

The only way I can imagine funding "modern" tunnels (freight and commuter) through the hills would be if someone found a payable seam of copper that went mostly in the right direction. Most future discussion for the freight seems to be a new alignment crossing the range near Truro and entering Adelaide from the northeast near the Sturt Highway.

[Goodsy]

What about servicing the suburbs expanding to the North. For example, Bolivar and Virginia?

It's almost too late to plan for that now, but you'd have thought that there was some plan for serving them apart from buses.

Not to mention the increasing numbers in the hills. The existing route is too slow, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be improved with civil works and re-routing. After all, the present route is pretty much designed for 1880s steam engines doing 20 mph. Chuff chuff.

Bolivar and Virginia are on the interstate standard gauge line. That would mean new/different rolling stock, and trying to find/create sufficient slots in the freight timetable to provide a credible urban service. I suspect that train has left the station.

The only way I can imagine funding "modern" tunnels (freight and commuter) through the hills would be if someone found a payable seam of copper that went mostly in the right direction. Most future discussion for the freight seems to be a new alignment crossing the range near Truro and entering Adelaide from the northeast near the Sturt Highway.

borrow against future earnings from the nuclear waste dump, and presumably lay new tracks for Virginia

[Waewick]

What about servicing the suburbs expanding to the North. For example, Bolivar and Virginia?

It's almost too late to plan for that now, but you'd have thought that there was some plan for serving them apart from buses.

Not to mention the increasing numbers in the hills. The existing route is too slow, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be improved with civil works and re-routing. After all, the present route is pretty much designed for 1880s steam engines doing 20 mph. Chuff chuff.

Bolivar and Virginia are on the interstate standard gauge line. That would mean new/different rolling stock, and trying to find/create sufficient slots in the freight timetable to provide a credible urban service. I suspect that train has left the station.

The only way I can imagine funding "modern" tunnels (freight and commuter) through the hills would be if someone found a payable seam of copper that went mostly in the right direction. Most future discussion for the freight seems to be a new alignment crossing the range near Truro and entering Adelaide from the northeast near the Sturt Highway.

borrow against future earnings from the nuclear waste dump, and presumably lay new tracks for Virginia

A bit like they did with Olympic dam.....

[Brucetiki]

What about servicing the suburbs expanding to the North. For example, Bolivar and Virginia?

It's almost too late to plan for that now, but you'd have thought that there was some plan for serving them apart from buses.

Not to mention the increasing numbers in the hills. The existing route is too slow, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be improved with civil works and re-routing. After all, the present route is pretty much designed for 1880s steam engines doing 20 mph. Chuff chuff.

Bolivar and Virginia are on the interstate standard gauge line. That would mean new/different rolling stock, and trying to find/create sufficient slots in the freight timetable to provide a credible urban service. I suspect that train has left the station.

The only way I can imagine funding "modern" tunnels (freight and commuter) through the hills would be if someone found a payable seam of copper that went mostly in the right direction. Most future discussion for the freight seems to be a new alignment crossing the range near Truro and entering Adelaide from the northeast near the Sturt Highway.

There used to be a service to Penfield back in the day, with the first stop (Hilra) serving the older part of Salisbury North (the line ran parallel to the freight line). Sadly, bar a stub that was used to store trains when services used to terminate at Salisbury, the rest of the line has been ripped up, and the corridor between the Gawler line and Bagster Rd is now an industrial estate, so there's no chance of that line making a comeback in the foreseeable future.

[Goodsy]

What about servicing the suburbs expanding to the North. For example, Bolivar and Virginia?

It's almost too late to plan for that now, but you'd have thought that there was some plan for serving them apart from buses.

Not to mention the increasing numbers in the hills. The existing route is too slow, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be improved with civil works and re-routing. After all, the present route is pretty much designed for 1880s steam engines doing 20 mph. Chuff chuff.

Bolivar and Virginia are on the interstate standard gauge line. That would mean new/different rolling stock, and trying to find/create sufficient slots in the freight timetable to provide a credible urban service. I suspect that train has left the station.

The only way I can imagine funding "modern" tunnels (freight and commuter) through the hills would be if someone found a payable seam of copper that went mostly in the right direction. Most future discussion for the freight seems to be a new alignment crossing the range near Truro and entering Adelaide from the northeast near the Sturt Highway.

There used to be a service to Penfield back in the day, with the first stop (Hilra) serving the older part of Salisbury North (the line ran parallel to the freight line). Sadly, bar a stub that was used to store trains when services used to terminate at Salisbury, the rest of the line has been ripped up, and the corridor between the Gawler line and Bagster Rd is now an industrial estate, so there's no chance of that line making a comeback in the foreseeable future.

It even has its own wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penfield_railway_line

[rubberman]

So, basically, build lots of suburbs like Bolivar, and no doubt develop the salt pans into housing eventually, but no rail or light rail or O-Bahn out there.

Sensational Adelaide, just sensational.

At least, given the ALP has been in power for so long, we know where to pin the blame.

[ChillyPhilly]

Buckland Park is the prime example here.

[Goodsy]

Buckland Park is the prime example here.

Buckland Park didn't go ahead