Track upgrades

The dual section of track between Adelaide and Mawson Lakes will be completely renewed resulting in a faster, safer and smoother ride for travelers. The work includes:

• Base layer
  Upgrade of the surface on which the track is laid.

• Concrete sleepers
  Replacement of old wooden sleepers with new gauge convertible concrete sleepers.
• Drainage
  Improvement of stormwater drainage to reduce track damage and maintenance.
• Rail
  Replacement or refurbishment of old rail lengths.
• Railcar depot
  Connection of the new Dry Creek railcar depot to the rail system.

Station upgrades

Stations at Elizabeth and Munno Para will receive upgrades between 2010 and 2011. Images and additional information can be found here.

Links

• DTEI project page
  The official Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure project page.
• Substitute timetable
  A downloadable (PDF) substitute timetable for the Gawler railway line.
• RailSA Forums
  A thread on our own forums covering the upgrade’s progress. The only up-to-date source of upgrade discussion, information and photographs.

The Gawler Line will be shut down between Adelaide and Mawson Interchange for about four months to facilitate the major upgrade which will pave the way for electrification of the line.

More than 14,500 people on average board Gawler Line trains on weekdays. From Sunday, many will travel on one of 46 substitute buses between Mawson Lakes and the city. The Transport Department has urged commuters to prepare travel plans to ensure they reach their destinations on time.

Georgia Pollard, 19, takes the tram from Goodwood and then the Gawler train to UniSA at Mawson Lakes four times a week. “It already takes me just over an hour to get there, so it’s going to take more like an hour and a half or just over two hours,” she said. “It’s a bit ridiculous.”

The first stage of the upgrade involves:

UPGRADING the base layer;

INSTALLING new gauge-convertible concrete sleepers;

IMPROVING stormwater drainage;

REFURBISHING or replacing rail;

CONNECTING the new Dry Creek railcar depot to the Gawler line.

Train services will continue from the outer suburbs of Gawler and Gawler Central to Mawson Lakes. Buses between Mawson Lakes and the city will leave Mawson Lakes Interchange as soon as seats are taken, immediately after a train has arrived. They will travel directly along Salisbury Highway, Port Wakefield Rd, Churchill Rd and Jeffcott St to Adelaide Railway Station. They will not pick up passengers but may allow passengers off if required.

Five stations between Mawson Lakes and the city will be closed. Other buses from Mawson Lakes will pick up passengers at designated stops on Churchill Rd.

via AdelaideNow

The upgrade is expected to get underway this year, but when exactly is yet to be determined.

During the first stage of the upgrade, the Adelaide Railway Station to Mawson Interchange section of the line will be closed and replaced with bus services, similar to what occured during stage one of the Noarlunga line upgrade late last year.

For further information, please visit the DTEI website. You can also keep up-to-date with the latest rail revitalisation developments and more on the forums.

It is understood the man was sitting on a platform at Womma train station about 12.30am.

The man had his legs dangling over the edge when an express train came through and he was dragged under the train.

He is in the Royal Adelaide Hospital with serious, but non life-threatening, injuries. Transit police are investigating the incident.

AdelaideNow

There will be multi-million-dollar rebuilds of railway stations at Elizabeth and Munno Para.

Shelter and car parking will be improved and there will be pedestrian overpasses with lifts to improve access to bus interchanges.

Upgrade work is due for completion in 2013.

ABC News