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Flinders line
Flinders station with a 4000 class EMU in the background
Overview
LocaleAdelaide, South Australia
Termini
Stations11
Service
TypeCommuter rail
Operator(s)Adelaide Metro
Rolling stock4000 class
History
Opened1966
Re-sleepered
(concrete)		February 2012–13
ElectrifiedFebruary–September 2013
Technical
Line length13 km (8.1 mi)
Number of tracks
Track gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz AC from overhead catenary
Route map

Legend
km
0
 Adelaide Trams in Adelaide Buses in Adelaide
Gawler, Grange & Outer Harbor lines
to Port Augusta
Adelaide Depot
closed 2011
Port Road
Glover Avenue
Holdfast Bay line
2.0
 Mile End
Sir Donald Bradman Drive
2.9
 Mile End Goods
closed 1994
 Adelaide Parklands Terminal
Keswick
closed 2013
Anzac Highway (Keswick Bridge)
4.0
 Adelaide Showground
Showground Central
2003–2013
Leader Street
5.0
 Goodwood
Glenelg tram line (Goodwood Overpass)
Victoria Street
Belair line
to Bordertown & Melbourne
East Avenue
6.3
 Clarence Park
7.1
 Emerson
Cross Road (level crossing)
South Road (overpass)
7.9
 Edwardstown
De Laine Avenue
Angus Avenue
Raglan Avenue
9.1
 Woodlands Park Buses in Adelaide
Dunorlan Road
Seaford line
Daws Road
Celtic Avenue
11.5
 Mitchell Park
12.1
 Clovelly Park
closed 2020
Alawoona Avenue
12.2
 Tonsley
13.0
 Tonsley (original site)
1966–2019
Sturt Road
Flinders Drive
Laffer Drive
Southern Expressway
13.6
 Flinders Buses in Adelaide
km
broad gauge
standard gauge
This diagram:

The Flinders line is a suburban commuter line in Adelaide, South Australia, that branches off the Seaford line at Mitchell Park, and ends opposite Science Park, close to the Flinders University and the Flinders Medical Centre. The line is single track for most of its length, from Celtic Avenue, near Mitchell Park station, to its terminus.

History

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The railway was constructed between 1965 and 1966, as a branch line from Woodlands Park railway station on what was then the Willunga railway line, to serve the new Chrysler assembly plant at Clovelly Park. Construction of the plant had commenced in 1963, and the assembly line was opened in October 1964, remaining operational until it was closed in March 2008.[1] Upon opening, the Tonsley line served three stations: Mitchell Park, Clovelly Park, and the original Tonsley station.

Re-sleepering and electrification

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From 27 February 2012, the line between Woodlands Park and Tonsley was closed for reconstruction.[2][3] During the closure, the line was duplicated between Tonsley Junction and Mitchell Park station, the track was re-sleepered with dual gauge sleepers to allow for the line to be converted to standard gauge at a future date, and the entire line electrified.[4] The closure, initially planned to last one year, was extended until September 2013, to allow the electrification of the line, along with the Noarlunga Centre line.[5] In late 2013, a plan was announced to convert the line to a double-track railway, to be funded through joint State and Federal initiatives, but the incoming Federal government announced it would be changing their focus to roads, and cut funding. Accordingly, with $18 million having been spent on the project, the future of the line was unclear.[6] It eventually reopened on 5 May 2014, more than two years after closure.[4]

Flinders extension

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In July 2008, a feasibility study was commissioned by the government to extend the line to Flinders Medical Centre.[7] On 13 May 2016, as part of its 2016 federal election campaign, the Liberal pledged $43 million for the project. The State Labor Party committed $42 million towards the project, the estimated cost of which was $86 million.[8] The extension, referred to as the Flinders Link Project, would extend the line by 650 metres (2,130 ft) and replace the Tonsley station terminus on Sturt Road with a new terminus station adjacent to Flinders Medical Centre. An elevated single track, with a pedestrian and bike path, was to begin just north of the original Tonsley station site, and cross Sturt Road, Laffer's Triangle and Main South Road, before terminating at Flinders station.[9] Clovelly Park station would be replaced by a relocated Tonsley station as part of the extension project.[10][11]

The original Tonsley station was closed after the final service on 28 June 2019, allowing construction of the rail overpass at the station site. Services terminated at Clovelly Park station until the extension was completed.[12] Built concurrently with the adjacent Darlington Upgrade for the Southern Expressway,[13][14] major works took place from July 2019 to October 2020.[15][16] The line was temporarily closed after the last service on 20 November 2020 for the extension to be commissioned, and fully reopened on 29 December. The operating hours of the line were expanded to include weekday nights and weekends. Before that, the line only ran between 6:30 am and 7:30 pm on weekdays, and was closed on weeknights and weekends.[17][18]

Line guide

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Flinders Line
Name Distance from
Adelaide 		Year opened Serving suburbs Connections
Adelaide 0.0 km 1856 Adelaide Gawler Grange
Outer Harbor Port Dock

Buses in Adelaide Bus Trams in Adelaide Tram

Mile End 2.0 km 1898 Mile End
Adelaide Showground 4.0 km 2014 Keswick, Wayville
Goodwood 5.0 km 1883 Forestville, Goodwood Belair
Clarence Park 6.3 km 1913 Black Forest, Clarence Park
Emerson 7.1 km 1928 Black Forest, Clarence Park
Edwardstown 7.9 km 1913 Edwardstown
Woodlands Park 9.1 km 1925 Ascot Park, Edwardstown Seaford

Buses in Adelaide Bus

Mitchell Park 11.5 km 1966 Clovelly Park, Mitchell Park
Tonsley 12.4 km 2020 Mitchell Park, Tonsley
Flinders 13.7 km 2020 Bedford Park Buses in Adelaide Bus

Former stations

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Services

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Trains to and from Adelaide operate every 20 minutes during weekday peak periods, every 30 minutes off-peak on weekdays, and on weekends into the late evening.[19][20] Before the extension to Flinders, services operated between 6.30 am and 7.30 pm on weekdays only.[21] Services were only extended to operate during weekday off-peak periods in 2004. Stations between Adelaide and Woodlands Park are also served by Seaford line trains, and stations between Adelaide and Goodwood are also served by Belair line trains. Prior to 2014, most trains were operated by 3000 class railcars, augmented at times by 2000 class railcars. Following the electrification of the line, the latter were no longer authorised to operate on the line[22] and they were retired from service in 2015. The line is now operated by 4000 class electric multiple units.

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References

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  1. ^ "Mitsubishi could announce Adelaide closure today". Australian Car Advice. Archived from the original on 12 April 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2008.
  2. ^ Two Adelaide rail lines facing disruption Archived 5 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine ABC News 3 February 2012
  3. ^ Novak, Lauren (3 February 2012). "Travellers shunted from Tonsley and Grange train lines". Adelaide Now. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b Rail revitalisation Tonsley line Archived 13 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure
  5. ^ Rail Network Closures 2013 Adelaide Metro
  6. ^ Marion Council lobbies for state and federal governments to put Tonsley rail upgrade ahead of politics Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Guardian Messenger 3 October 2013
  7. ^ Government looks at extending Noarlunga, Tonsley rail lines Adelaide Advertiser 3 July 2008
  8. ^ Yaxley, Louise (13 May 2016). "Coalition's $43m Adelaide rail funding pledge aimed at shoring up marginal seat, Anthony Albanese says". News. ABC. ABC. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  9. ^ "Flinders Link Project". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  10. ^ "Flinders Link Project - Report and Attachments" (PDF). Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  11. ^ Etheridge, Michelle. (28 February 2018). "New station on track", CoastCity Weekly, p5.
  12. ^ "Tonsley station closing". Adelaide Metro. Government of South Australia. 6 June 2019. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Darlington Upgrade Project". Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 25 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  14. ^ "Green light for $85.5m Flinders Link rail extension". Premier of South Australia. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  15. ^ Wills, Daniel (29 April 2019). "Tonsley rail line extension to Flinders to be complete next year, price tag blows out to $125m". The Advertiser. Adelaide. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  16. ^ Henson, Elizabeth (19 July 2019). "Construction work begins on $125m 'Flinders Link', a 650m extension of old Tonsley line". The Advertiser. Adelaide. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  17. ^ "More services for the Adelaide passenger rail network". Adelaide Metro.com.au. Adelaide. 12 October 2020. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  18. ^ "New Flinders Railway Line". Adelaide Metro.com.au. Adelaide. 20 November 2020. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Flinders & Seaford proposed train timetable - Adelaide Metro" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  20. ^ "New Flinders Railway Line". Adelaide Metro. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  21. ^ Seaford & Tonsley timetable Archived 23 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine Adelaide Metro 20 July 2014
  22. ^ "Limited life for 2000 class Jumbo railcars" Railway Digest January 2015 page 20
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