Flinders line

Tonsley railway line
3000 class railcar at Tonsley.
Overview
Locale	Adelaide, South Australia
Termini	Adelaide Clovelly Park (temporary) Flinders (under construction)
Stations	11
Service
Type	Commuter rail
Operator(s)	Adelaide Metro
Rolling stock	3000/3100 class A-City 4000
History
Opened	1966
Re-sleepered (concrete)	February 2012–13
Electrified	February–September 2013
Technical
Line length	13.0 km (8.1 mi)
Number of tracks	2 (to Mitchell Park) 1 (to Clovelly Park)
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Electrification	25 kV AC overhead
Route map km 0 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 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 km broad gauge standard gauge

The Tonsley railway line is a suburban commuter line in Adelaide, South Australia that stems off the Seaford line at Mitchell Park to end opposite Science Park and 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. Services operate every 30 minutes on weekdays with no trains operating at night or on the weekend unless there is an Special event in town.

History

The Tonsley railway line was constructed as a branch line of the Seaford line between 1965 and 1966 to serve the new Chrysler 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). Upon opening the Tonsley line serviced three stations - Mitchell Park, Clovelly Park, and Tonsley (closed 2019).

Re-sleepering and electrification

From 27 February 2012, the line between Woodlands Park and Tonsley was closed for construction. During this time the line was duplicated between Tonsley Junction and Mitchell Park station, the track 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. The closure (initially planned as one year) was extended until September 2013, for electrification of the line along with the Noarlunga Centre line. In late 2013, a plan was announced to convert the line to a double-track railway. This was 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, the future of the line was unclear, with $18 million spent on the project. It eventually reopened on 5 May 2014, more than two years after closure.

Flinders extension

In July 2008, a feasibility study was commissioned by the government to extend the line to Flinders Medical Centre. On the 13 May 2016, as part of the 2016 Liberal election campaign, a funding pledge of $43 million was announced for the plan. The extension, referred to as the Flinders Link Project, would extend the line by 650 metres and replace the existing Tonsley station with a new terminus station adjacent to Flinders Medical Centre. An elevated single track with a pedestrian and bike path will begin just north of the existing Tonsley station site to cross Sturt Road, Laffer's Triangle and Main South Road, before terminating at Flinders station. Tonsley station was closed after the final service on 28 June 2019, allowing construction of the rail overpass on the station site; services currently terminate at Clovelly Park station until the extension is complete. Built concurrently with the adjacent Darlington Interchange for the North–South Motorway, major works commenced in July 2019 with expected completion in 2020.

Line guide

colspan=7 style=background:#Template:Adelaide color|Tonsley Line
Name	Distance from Adelaide	Year opened	Serving suburbs	Connections
Adelaide	0.0 km	1856	Adelaide	Train transfers to Belair, Gawler, Outer Harbor, Grange & Seaford lines Tram transfers Bus transfers
Mile End	2.0 km	1898	Mile End
Adelaide Showground	4.0 km	2014	Keswick, Wayville
Goodwood	5.0 km	1883	Forestville, Goodwood	Train transfers to Belair line
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	Train transfers to Seaford line Bus transfers
Mitchell Park	11.5 km	1966	Clovelly Park, Mitchell Park
Clovelly Park	12.1 km	1966	Michell Park, Tonsley
Flinders (under construction)	13.7 km	2020	Bedford Park

Former stations

• Tonsley – opened 1966, closed 2019.

Services

Services operate between 6.30 AM and 7.30 PM on weekdays only. Services were only extended to operate during weekday off-peak periods in 2004. Stations between Adelaide and Woodlands Park are also serviced by the Seaford line, and stations between Adelaide and Goodwood are also serviced by the Belair line. 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 and they were retired from service in 2015. The line is fully operated by A-City electric multiple units.

Gallery

• 
  Clovelly Park station in 2007
• 
  Tonsley station in 2009

External links

• Tonsley to City - Adelaide Metro website