The Outer Harbor and Grange rail line will be closed during the July 2021 school holidays to allow work that will push the $715 million Gawler Rail Electrification Project towards completion by late 2021.
The two-week closure from Saturday 3 July will allow the project team to undertake vital work that cannot be completed with trains operating in the Adelaide Yard rail corridor near Adelaide Railway Station.
Weekend partial line closures of the Belair, Seaford and Flinders rail lines will also be required during the July 2021 school holidays as part of this work. Substitute buses will be available for all closures.
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Corey Wingard, said the closures were necessary to help push the project, which is supporting 535 jobs, towards completion by the end of the year.
"While the AFL has not yet released its final fixture for July, these closures may impact some rail services to matches," Minister Wingard said.
"But we wanted to provide this advice now, before the final AFL fixture is released, to give commuters as much notice as possible so they can plan ahead, with additional substitute buses to operate before and after any affected matches.
"After a number of delays outside of the project's control, the Gawler Rail Electrification Project is forging ahead and we remain on track to open the line by the end of 2021.
"When complete, we will have delivered on our promise of an electrified network through Adelaide from Gawler to Seaford, giving commuters a faster, cleaner and more reliable service.
"Unfortunately, a number of line closures are unavoidable to allow vital work that cannot be safely undertaken with trains operating in the rail corridor.
"This latest closure has been scheduled for the July 2021 school holidays due to the lower patronage during that time. However, I acknowledge this is still inconvenient and I thank all train users for their patience.
"Thank you also to our project team and construction workers who have done an exceptional job keeping this project on track despite a series of unfortunate external issues, including the closure of local steel supplier SA Structural and implications as a result of COVID-19."
Summary of rail closures
Outer Harbor and Grange rail line:
The Outer Harbor and Grange rail line will be fully closed from first service Saturday, 3 July, to last service Sunday 18 July 2021, with substitute buses operating between Adelaide and Outer Harbor and Grange.
Belair rail line:
The following temporary, weekend partial line closures of the Belair rail line between Adelaide Railway Station and Goodwood Station are required, with trains operating between Goodwood and Belair stations and substitute buses operating between Mitcham and Adelaide:
- First service Saturday, 3 July to last service Sunday, 4 July 2021
- First service Saturday, 10 July to last service Sunday, 11 July 2021
- First service Saturday, 17 July to last service Sunday, 18 July 2021.
Seaford rail line:
The following temporary, weekend partial line closures of the Seaford rail line between Adelaide Railway Station and Adelaide Showground Station are required, with trains operating between Adelaide Showground and Seaford stations and substitute buses operating between the Adelaide Showground and Adelaide, noting that the substitute bus services will set down and pick up in Cooke Terrace:
- First service Saturday, 3 July to last service Sunday, 4 July 2021
- First service Saturday, 10 July to last service Sunday, 11 July 2021
- First service Saturday, 17 July to last service Sunday, 18 July 2021.
Flinders rail line:
The following temporary, weekend partial line closures of the Flinders rail line between Woodlands Park Station and Flinders Station are required, with substitute buses operating between Flinders and Woodlands Park:
- First service Saturday, 3 July to last service Sunday, 4 July 2021
- First service Saturday, 10 July to last service Sunday, 11 July 2021
- First service Saturday, 17 July to last service Sunday, 18 July 2021.
In addition, a temporary partial line closure of the Seaford rail line between Noarlunga and Seaford railway stations will be required from 8am to 4pm on Sunday, 20 June to facilitate essential maintenance works. During this time, trains will operate between Adelaide and Noarlunga railway stations and substitute buses will operate between Noarlunga and Seaford.
More information on these rail closures and the substitute buses is available at www.dit.sa.gov.au/grep
