Timetables for the buses – which were last week delivered to more than 45,000 letterboxes in the line’s catchment area – show commuters will need to leave their homes earlier to reach their destinations on time.

The timetable also showed bus services to Noarlunga would depart Oaklands Interchange 25 minutes earlier than the usual trains.

The schedule – which shows only one replacement bus service for each train – has frustrated some local train users.

Morphett Vale resident, Melanie Lawrence, 24 – who was at Noarlunga station last Wednesday – said the substitute bus service timetable would be a “big inconvenience”.

“I usually get to spend time with my two-year-old son in the morning before I take him to my mum’s house before heading to the station where I travel to the city for work,” Ms Lawrence said.

“Now I don’t know what I’m going to do. It will be a big rush. It means I’ll have to probably wake up about an hour or so earlier than I already do.”

Monica Golab, 45, of Port Noarlunga – who also travels to the city for work – said she was already “dreading the early mornings” and the continual “stopping and starting” of buses.

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Commuters were last month told they would be without a rail service for six months, while contractor Tracksure lays new tracks, replaces sleepers, improves level crossings and upgrades stations.

A Transport Department spokesman said the substitute bus timetable had been aligned as “closely as possible” with the train timetable, and would “cater for the full capacity of the Noarlunga line services, and be monitored daily throughout the closure”.

“On average the journey time will increase by about 15 minutes,” he said. “There are some express options which only add about eight to 10 minutes to the overall journey time.”

Buses will replace trains from Sunday, February 6, and will service the 12 stations from Noarlunga to Oaklands.

via Messenger News

The Noarlunga Centre-Oaklands line will be closed from Sunday, February 6, so private contractor Tracksure can lay new tracks, replace sleepers, upgrade stations and improve level crossings.

Thousands of commuters will have to take substitute buses which will service the 12 affected stations.

Emily Davidson, 20, of Seacliff relies on the train to get to work and university up to seven days a week.

“It’s going to be inconvenient … buses aren’t as reliable because with the train at least you know when you’re going to get there, but with buses you can’t really predict it with all the traffic,” she said.

Justin Callahan, 17, who catches the train from his Marino Rocks home to Brighton station and then a bus to school, said the closure would be an inconvenience.

“We’ll have to factor in a bus to a bus to a bus and there’ll be problems with connections,” he said.

“It’s going to take much longer.”

A Transport Department spokesman said substitute buses would cater for the rail line’s full passenger capacity but would take longer than the regular train service.

“On average, the journey time will increase by about 15 minutes,” he said.

“There are some express options which only add approximately 8-10 minutes to the overall journey time.”

People for Public Transport secretary Margaret Dingle said commuters would have to be patient during the closures, which would be beneficial in the long run.

“It’s regrettable that the line will be closed for so long, as it was originally supposed to be four months, but it will be a good thing,” she said.

“As long as there is an adequate number of buses and they don’t drive too many people away from using public transport, then there shouldn’t be too much trouble.”

A Transport Department spokesman said the upgrade eventually would give passengers a much smoother and more reliable journey.

“It is also the first step towards electrification and the operation of brand new electric trains on the Noarlunga line in 2013,” he said.

Hallett Cove Beach station, which has been closed since August for maintenance, will open mid-year when stage two of the Noarlunga line upgrade is finished.

via Messenger News

Train users were last week told that from February, substitute bus services would be servicing the 12 stations from Noarlunga to Oaklands.

Contractor Tracksure will spend six months laying new tracks and replacing sleepers, improving level crossings and upgrading stations.

Transport SA said it would commit enough buses to accommodate the thousands who used the Noarlunga line each day.

The number of buses and the temporary timetables will be released early in the new year.

But some southern train users expressed a reluctance to use the buses, concerned they would lose too much time.

Bike safety instructor and mechanic David Hughes, 25, said he had planned to use the line to travel to Mawson Lakes during 2011, but would now have to reconsider his options.

“Normally I’d take my bike because I need it for work,” he said.

“But usually you can’t take your bike on the bus, when it’s been closed before, so that would inconvenience me quite a bit.”

Mr Hughes, of Christies Beach, said he would likely have to drive to Oaklands during the closure, which he said would cost him time and money.

Tom Watts, 26, of Hallett Cove, said he was very reluctant to use the bus services to travel to the city for work each day.

“I did some house sitting at Belair, when their train line was closed, and it was a pain to catch those buses all the way down,” Mr Watts said.

“I’ll probably drive all the way to the city if I can, but generally I’ll probably drive to Oaklands.”

Christine Probert, 25, of Noarlunga Downs, said she caught the train most days, but would not be greatly affected by the line closure.

“I was really, really annoyed when I first found out, but they’ve changed the bus timetable around, so I’ll be able to get an express bus straight from town, so I’m fine with it,” she said.

Keep up-to-date with the Noarlunga railway line upgrade in our forum

People for Public Transport secretary Margaret Dingle said commuters would have to be patient during the closures, which would be beneficial in the long run.

“It’s regrettable that the line will be closed for so long, as it was originally supposed to be four months, but it will be a good thing,” she said.

“As long as there is an adequate number of buses and they don’t drive too many people away from using public transport, then there shouldn’t be too much trouble.”

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon said the upgrades were necessary as part of the State Government’s $2.6 billion plan to upgrade Adelaide’s public transport system.

“This track upgrade work will create up to 1000 jobs for South Australians and is also the first step towards electrification of the Noarlunga line, which is expected to be completed in 2013,” he said.

via Messenger News

The report, compiled by consultancy firm GHD for the federal transport department, concludes that even the cheapest upgrade − improving the tortuous existing rail path through the Adelaide Hills − is not cost effective.

GHD researchers found even the most productive of the five options studied would provide benefits of $190m over 30 years, compared with construction costs for the five of between $700m and $3.2bn each.

“While there are benefits flowing to rail track managers, train operators and the communities that surround the rail line, the size of these benefits is modest and the size of the capital outlay required to generate such benefits is large, particularly in the new alignment options,” the report says.

Share your opinion: View and discuss the Adelaide Hills rail bypass proposals.

The current alignment has a capacity of 10.7 million tonnes of freight a year, which is more than double the 4.8 million tonnes a year currently carried on the rail line.

However, steep grades and tight curves force trains to travel more slowly and to use 50 percent more locomotive power per tonne than on other interstate rail freight corridors, the report says.

They also restrict trains to a maximum of 3,500 tonnes gross.

The terrain of the Adelaide Hills causes greater locomotive and wagon wear and tear and higher maintenance costs than would be incurred with a straighter, flatter alignment.

Responses from the Australian Trucking Association and the Australasian Railway Association to the report were awaited at deadline today.

via Supply Chain Review

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