Belair line

34.992597°S 138.632355°E / -34.992597; 138.632355

Belair line
A 3000 class railcar exiting Sleeps Hill Tunnel.
Overview
LocaleAdelaide, South Australia
Termini
Stations15
Service
TypeCommuter rail
Operator(s)Adelaide Metro
Rolling stock3000/3100 class
History
Opened1883
Re-sleepered
(concrete)
April–August 2009
partly Electrified (Adelaide–Goodwood)January–July 2013
Technical
Line length21.5 km (13.4 mi)
Number of tracks
Track gauge1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrificationonly partial: 25 kV 50 Hz AC from overhead catenary (Adelaide–Goodwood)
Route map

km
0
Adelaide Trams in Adelaide Buses in Adelaide
Adelaide Depot
closed 2011
Glover Avenue
2.0
Mile End
2.9
Mile End Goods
closed 1994
Keswick
closed 2013
4.0
Adelaide Showground
Showground Central
2003–2013
Leader Street
5.0
Goodwood
Victoria Street
Seaford and Flinders lines
Goodwood loop
5.9
Millswood
7.0
Unley Park Buses in Adelaide
Hilda Terrace/Sussex Terrace
7.5
Hawthorn
closed 1995
Angas Road
Grange Road
8.5
Mitcham Buses in Adelaide (passing loop)
Wattlebury Road
9.3
Torrens Park Buses in Adelaide
Clapham (original site)
1908–15
10
Clapham
closed 1995
Springbank Road
Barretts Road
10.7
Lynton
Sleeps Hill loop
Sleeps Hill
closed 1950s
Original alignment
closed 1920
Sleeps Hill tunnels
Sleeps Hill viaduct
14.2
Eden Hills
Willunga Street
Shepherds Hill Road tunnel
Eden Hills loop
17.2
Coromandel
Brighton Parade
Coromandel Parade
Main Road
18.1
Blackwood Buses in Adelaide (passing loop)
19.3
Glenalta
Main Road
Main Road
20.2
Pinera
Upper Sturt Road
21.5
Belair
Belair Depot
closed 1987
37.2
Bridgewater

The Belair line is a suburban rail commuter route in the city of Adelaide, South Australia, that runs from the Adelaide station to Belair in the Adelaide Hills via the Adelaide-Wolseley line using diesel 3000/3100 class railcars. Prior to 1995, this part of Adelaide-Wolseley was a two-track broad gauge line. In 1995, Adelaide-Wolseley was converted to standard gauge meaning Adelaide to Belair is now effectively two separate single-track lines running in parallel: the Belair commuter line (still broad gauge) and the Adelaide-Wolseley standard gauge freight line.

History

The Adelaide-Wolseley line from Adelaide to Belair and Bridgewater opened in 1883. In 1919, a new alignment was built around Sleeps Hill as part of the duplication of the line. This involved a new double track tunnel being built to replace two tunnels and two viaducts.[1] The new alignment was also 400 metres (1,300 ft) shorter. On 18 June 1928, the line was duplicated from Eden Hills to Blackwood and on to Belair on 24 June 1928.[2]

Passenger services stopped beyond Belair on 23 September 1987.[2] In 1995, the track used by Adelaide bound services was converted to standard gauge as part of the Adelaide to Melbourne standardisation project. The broad gauge passenger services south of Goodwood were thus restricted to one track with crossing loops located at Mitcham, Sleeps Hill, Eden Hills and Blackwood. At the same time, the stations at Millswood, Hawthorn and Clapham were closed to speed up services. Millswood was later reopened on 12 October 2014.[3]

Re-sleepering and electrification

In 2008, the State Government announced a plan to rebuild the Belair line.[4] The line closed on 26 April 2009 with buses replacing trains. 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. Unlike the other lines this is not planned in the immediate future due to extra engineering work and complications with the standard gauge line. The line reopened on 23 August 2009.[5]

The Belair line was closed from 1 January 2013 to 14 July 2013 to allow electrification of the line from Adelaide to Goodwood (built concurrently with electrification of the adjacent Seaford line) and construction of a grade separation at Goodwood Junction with relatively little work performed on the Belair line itself.[6][7] In 2021 the new operator of the line, Keolis, enforced the limit on bicycles per carriage, constricting the local Mitcham Hills mountain bike circuit.[8]

Route

All services are operated by Adelaide Metro's 3000 class railcars. Until June 2007, some services on weekends were operated by a 2000 class railcar modified to incorporate increased bike capacity. In 2005, trains ran the route every 30 minutes on weekdays (hourly after 7pm) and every 60 minutes on weekends and public holidays. From 2006, because of the single line, this was downgraded to every 36/24 minutes on weekdays. In 2018 trains depart at least twice every hour on weekdays, with as little as 10 minutes waiting time during rush hour.[9]

The standard gauge track is owned by the Australian Rail Track Corporation and continues beyond Belair as the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line. The track is used by freight trains operated by One Rail Australia, Pacific National and SCT Logistics, and by the twice-weekly Overland service to Melbourne operated by Journey Beyond.

Line guide

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

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 Flinders Seaford
Millswood 5.9 km 1910s Millswood
Unley Park 7.0 km 1910s Hawthorn, Unley Park, Westborne Park Buses in Adelaide Bus
Mitcham 8.5 km 1883 Lower Mitcham Buses in Adelaide Bus
Torrens Park 9.3 km 1914 Lower Mitcham, Torrens Park Buses in Adelaide Bus
Lynton 10.7 km 1946 Clapham, Lynton
Eden Hills 14.2 km 1912 Eden Hills
Coromandel 17.2 km 1883 Blackwood
Blackwood 18.1 km 1883 Blackwood Buses in Adelaide Bus
Glenalta 19.3 km 1921 Blackwood, Glenalta
Pinera 20.2 km 1920s Belair Buses in Adelaide Bus
Belair 21.5 km 1883 Belair Buses in Adelaide Bus

Former stations

References

  1. Sleep's Hill Reserve Archived 15 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine City of Mitcham
  2. Callaghan, WH (1992). The Overland Railway. Sydney: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 124, 217, 239. ISBN 0-909650-29-2.
  3. Adelaide's Millswood Station reopens after almost 20 years ABC News 13 October 2014
  4. 2008/09 State Budget Archived 27 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine South Australian Department of Treasury & Finance June 2008
  5. Belair Line Renewal Adelaide Metro
  6. Goodwood Junction upgrade Archived 13 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure
  7. Goodwood Junction Rail Grade Separation Archived 22 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine York Civil
  8. "Carriage limits squeezing mountain bikers off popular Adelaide foothills line". ABC News. 14 March 2021.
  9. "Belair Train Timetable" (PDF). Adelaide Metro. April 2018. pp. 2, 5. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
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