Alberton railway station, Adelaide explained

Alberton
Style:Adelaide
Address:Station Place, Alberton
Coordinates:-34.8581°N 138.5184°W
Owned:Department for Infrastructure & Transport
Operator:Adelaide Metro
Distance:10.2 km from Adelaide
Platforms:2
Tracks:2
Structure:Side platform
Parking:No
Bicycle:Yes
Accessible:Yes
Connections: Bus
Bus Routes:232 to Port Adelaide (Torrens Road)
Code:16492 (to City)
18463 (to Outer Harbor & Port Dock)
Opened:1856

Alberton railway station is the junction station for the Outer Harbor and Port Dock lines.[1] [2] Situated in the north-western Adelaide suburb of Alberton, it is 10.2 kilometres from Adelaide station. The station is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.

History

The railway station and the substantial brick and stone building on the northbound platform were constructed in 1856 when the line between Adelaide and Port Adelaide was built. The other intermediate stations on this line were at Bowden and Woodville. In the early days, Adelaide to Port Adelaide was a single-track railway. As traffic on the line increased, a second platform opened at Alberton in 1878 and the single track was duplicated throughout in 1881. Goods sidings were installed in 1892, controlled by a signal cabin adjacent to the Fussell Place level crossing.

As traffic declined in the second half of the 20th century, the goods siding and signal cabin were taken out of use in 1953. Alberton station has been unattended since 1 September 1987, but the building on the first platform is now used as a hairdresser. In late 2016, the station was ranked as one of the worst stations in the western suburbs based on 5 criteria.[3] On 17 May 2022, a 62 year old woman was fatally struck by a train at a crossing north of the station, causing the line to be closed for several hours and promoting calls for more gates at crossings along the Outer Harbor line.[4]

No freight trains operate through Alberton, however a significant amount of freight traffic used the nearby Rosewater loop until 2008 when the Mary MacKillop Bridge over the Port River was opened.[5] The Rosewater loop joined the Adelaide to Outer Harbor line at Port Adelaide Junction (just north of Alberton) heading for the Lefevre Peninsula and Pelican Point.

Services by platform

PlatformLinesDestinationsNotes
1style=background:#Outer Harborall stops services to Outer Harborsome peak hour services terminate at Osborne
style=background:#Port Dockall stops services to Port Dock
2style=background:#Outer Harborall stops services to Adelaide
style=background:#Port Dockall stops services to Adelaide

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/var/metro/storage/original/application/684c3f76dfe11ad139bbae9fa45d8cc5.pdf Outer Harbor & Grange timetable
  2. https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/about-us/news/news-items/2024/port-dock-railway-line Port Dock Railway Line - Adelaide Metro website, 17 June 2024
  3. News: And the worst rail stop in the west goes to …. 2016-09-08. The Advertiser. 2017-09-19. en-US.
  4. News: Pedestrian killed by train while trying to cross tracks at Alberton Railway Station. 2022-05-17. ABC News Australia. 2022-06-08.
  5. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-08-01/premier-mike-rann-opens-the-diver-derrick-and-mary/461144 Premier Mike Rann opens the Diver Derrick and Mary Mackillop road and rail bridges at Pt Adel