Seaford railway line

Seaford railway line
A-City at Clarence Park station in February 2014
Overview
Locale	Adelaide, South Australia
Termini	Adelaide Seaford
Stations	Adelaide Mile End Adelaide Showground Goodwood Clarence Park Emerson Edwardstown Woodlands Park Ascot Park Marion Oaklands Warradale Hove Brighton Seacliff Marino Marino Rocks Hallett Cove Hallett Cove Beach Lonsdale Christie Downs Noarlunga Centre Seaford Meadows Seaford
Services	Every 7-8 mins (peak) Every 10-20 mins (weekday) Every 30 mins (weekend) Every 60 mins (night)
Operation
Opened	1913 (to Marino) 1974 (to Hallett Cove Beach) 1976 (to Christie Downs) 1978 (to Noarlunga Centre) 2014 (to Seaford)
Rolling stock	3000/3100 class 4000 class
Events
Re-sleepered (concrete)	2009-2013
Electrified	2014
Technical
Line length	35.9 km (22.3 mi)
Number of tracks	Quadruple track to Adelaide Showground Triple track to Goodwood Double track to Seaford
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)

The Seaford railway line is a suburban commuter line in Adelaide, South Australia.

History

Map of the Willunga line

Before the extension of the line to Noarlunga Centre in 1978, the Willunga line ran from Hallett Cove station on a different route through Reynella, Morphett Vale and Hackham to Willunga (south-east of Noarlunga). It closed in 1969 and in September 1972 a track-removal train removed the tracks. For six years Noarlunga had no train service.

The South Australian Railways and its successor, the State Transport Authority, extended the railway southwards in stages from Hallett Cove to cater for increasing residential development in the southern area. Opening dates for passenger services were:

• Hallett Cove Beach on 30 June 1974
• Christie Downs on 25 January 1976. (This was a temporary terminus just north of Beach Road and adjacent to Hyacinth Crescent, and was in a different location to the current Christie Downs station, which opened in November 1981.)
• Noarlunga Centre on 2 April 1978
• Seaford on 23 February 2014

Route

The line runs south from Adelaide station paralleling the Belair line as far as Goodwood. It then branches off in a south-west direction through the suburbs of Edwardstown, Oaklands Park and Marion to the coast at Brighton, where it turns south towards Noarlunga Centre in the southern suburbs. The line was known as the Marino and Hallett Cove line when it finished at Hallett Cove. Most trains terminated at Marino, with only about a quarter going to Hallett Cove.

Like the rest of the Adelaide network, the line is broad gauge. Dual gauge sleepers have been laid to allow for the line to be converted to standard gauge at a future date.^[1] The line is 35.9 kilometres long and is the second longest of the Adelaide suburban railway lines. The line is double track throughout.

The Australian Rail Track Corporation standard-gauge main line passes over the line just south of Goodwood station. The Tonsley line branches off south of Woodlands Park.

Seaford extension

An artist's impression of the viaduct over the Onkaparinga River

The most recent expansion of the line was a 5.5 kilometre extension to the southern suburb of Seaford. This included a 1.2 kilometre elevated rail bridge over the Onkaparinga River, a rail bridge over Old Honeypot Drive, and railway stations at Seaford Meadows and Seaford. New road bridges were also constructed over the extension at Goldsmith Drive, Seaford Road and Lynton Terrace.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Construction started in 2011 with the extension opening on 23 February 2014.^[7][8]

Funding for the extension

In 2005, the State Government announced the line would be extended. The plan was cancelled in December 2007 after a study concluded that the extension could not be justified. The government announced that it would retain the corridor to Aldinga for a possible extension further south in the future.^[9]

In July 2008, a feasibility study was commissioned by the government into extending the line.^[10] This extension was given approval after the Federal Government announced a $291 million investment in the project as part of the 2009/10 Federal Budget.^[11]

Services

3000 class railcar on the Seaford line before it was electrified

Trains to and from Adelaide operate every 10-20 minutes off-peak on weekdays, and every 30 minutes on weekends. In the late evening, trains run hourly. Previously, some stations are also serviced by trains from Brighton and from the Tonsley branch line on weekdays.^[12]

Prior to 2014, most trains were operated by 3000 class railcars augmented at times by 2000 class railcars. Since the electrification of the line, the latter are no longer authorised to operate on the line.^[13] Most services are now operated by A-City electric multiple units.

A number of railcars needed for peak-hour services are stabled overnight in secure sidings at Port Stanvac, north of Lonsdale station, and at a much bigger facility adjacent to Seaford Meadows. The last freight trains on the line, to and from Port Stanvac Refinery, ceased in the late 1990s.

Re-sleepering and electrification

In 2008, the State Government announced a plan to upgrade and electrify the Seaford line with the Federal Government also to provide funding.^[14]

In December 2009, Stage 1 of the Noarlunga line upgrade was completed between Adelaide and Brighton.^[15] This work saw the track removed, with the track bed and track renewed. Dual gauge sleepers were laid to allow for the line to be converted to standard gauge at a future date.

Stage 2 commenced in February 2011 with the line closed for six months and continued the upgrade works between Oaklands and Noarlunga.^[16] Most stations received a minor upgrade due to the presence of asbestos in many station shelters, necessitating their replacement. These stations included Brighton, Seacliff, Marino, Marino Rocks and Lonsdale.

On 2 January 2013, the line closed to allow for its electrification and extension, with trains being replaced by bus services.^[17] Rail services resumed on 1 December 2013.^[18] The completed project was opened by the South Australian Transport and Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis on 18 January 2014.^[19]

Electric train services commenced in February 2014 after testing was completed on the line.^[7][8] At the time only four A-City electric multiple units had entered service, so most services continued to be operated by 3000 class railcars.

Gallery

Seaford Line suburban service
Legend
Gauge and interchange key  Broad gauge Standard gauge Adelaide Metro commuter trains Adelaide Metro trams Adelaide Metro buses GSR interstate trains
To Glenelg 0km 0:00 Adelaide Montefiore Road City West To Gawler, Grange and Port Adelaide To Port Augusta (ARTC) West Terrace1 Adelaide Depot Port Road To Adelaide Entertainment Centre Glover Avenue To Glenelg via Plympton 2.0km 0:04 Mile End Sir Donald Bradman Drive Mile End Goods(closed 1994) Adelaide Parklands Terminal Keswick(closed 2013) Anzac Highway/Greenhill Road / 4.0km 0:06 Adelaide Showground Leader Street 5.0km 0:08 Goodwood Glenelg Tram Victoria Street To Belair To Bordertown and Melbourne East Avenue 6.3km 0:10 Clarence Park 7.1km 0:12 Emerson Cross Road (Level crossing) South Road (Overpass) 7.9km 0:14 Edwardstown De Laine Avenue Angus Avenue Raglan Avenue 9.1km 0:16 Woodlands Park Sixth Avenue To Tonsley 10.2km 0:18 Ascot Park Daws Road Marion Road 11.4km 0:20 Marion Sturt River Old Oaklands(closed 2008) 12.9km 0:22 Oaklands Morphett Road 13.7km 0:24 Warradale 14.6km 0:26 Hove Brighton Road Jetty Road 16.0km 0:28 Brighton Edwards Street Shoreham Road South Brighton(closed 1976) 17.1km 0:30 Seacliff(To Adelaide only) Wheatland Street 17.2km 0:30 Seacliff(To Seaford only) Maitland Terrace Singleton Road 18.3km 0:32 Marino 18.9km 0:34 Marino Rocks 21.4km 0:37 Hallett Cove Jervois Terrace To Willunga The Cove Road 22.9km 0:39 Hallett Cove Beach Grand Central Avenue Meyer Road Christie Road Lonsdale Railcar Depot 26.7km 0:43 Lonsdale Dyson Road O'Sullivan Beach Road Flaxmill Road 28.9km 0:45 Christie Downs Elizabeth Road Old Christie Downs(closed 1978) Beach Road Hannah Road 30.2km 0:47 Noarlunga Centre Goldsmith Drive Old Honeypot Road Onkaparinga River 34.7km 0:50 Seaford Meadows Seaford Road Lynton Terrace 36.0km 0:52 Seaford
^1 West Terrace tram stop will become Royal Adelaide Hospital when hospital is constructed

• 
  The now demolished Keswick station, with Great Southern Rail's Adelaide Parklands Terminal in the background
• 
  Goodwood station, with the Glenelg Tram flyover in the background
• 
  Woodlands Park station
• 
  Oaklands station
• 
  Brighton station
• 
  Marino Rocks station
• 
  Hallett Cove Beach Station
• 
  Noarlunga Centre Interchange, prior to 2014

References