I was on one of the last trains to Port Dock in Sept 1981. At the time I was living out at Pooraka and I could catch a train from North field to Dry Creek then transfer to a train to Port Dock. I can remember catching a set of 55class Brills to Port Dock from Adelaide Station with my mother way back in the early 60s when I was a small child. I am happy the Port Dock line has re opened and I pray to the Train Gods that the Semaphore line is resurrected in the very near future. Nice presentation Job well done , looking forward to watching future content of yours.
Unfortunately, the changes to Semaphore Road won't accommodate this. I can remember many short trips on the Semaphore line, including getting to my job selling newspapers at one of the pubs on Semaphore Road and getting to the Semaphore Palais for high school socials.
@@TheTctoocold Easy remove all that awful traffic calming and the redundant bicycle lanes (3 each side is too many) and make the lanes straight and simple again like before.
If you think that’s appalling you should have seen the wonderful electric tram system Adelaide had prior to the end of WW2. Nothing left now but roads constantly need upgrading due to increasing amounts of car traffic.
Awesome review Rory!! That train line had a lots of spur lines in the 70’s. My Grandma lived near Exeter station which was another spur line between Glanville and Semaphore. My childhood was spent traveling on lines to Victor Harbor, Peterborough and Port Augusta. Hope SA restores more redundant train lines! Take care
We want/need the railway line to Mt Gambier to be re-introduced! Rex charge a fortune; the only other means of transport (other than the 5 hour drive) is Bus (8 hours!)
Whilst I want it, the cost would be astronomical. AFAIK it's the wrong gauge so they would pretty much have to start fresh. And considering how little the Adelaide to Melbourne line gets used (sadly) it probably wouldn't get enough use to justify the cost.
To take a train from Adelaide to punt Gambier requires the use of the Adelaide Hills line of which we know is slow and uses a line built in the 1880’s. Stateliner offers two ways to do this on their busses. They are “inland” and “coastal” with the costal service having a meal break stop very close to “Larry the light lobster” at Kingston SE.
I'm so excited to see this video. I am hoping to arrive by ship in November(outer harbour). and my plan was to catch the train to Port Adelaide just to visit all of the museums there, There are so many museums to see in Port Adelaide. I can't wait. I love all of your videos Rory as well.
Hi Rory, really enjoy your videos, it is great to see a line reopened, though that’s a lot of money for a 1km un-electrified track. They’ve also used the same voiceover guy to do the announcements as Yarra Trams has! I do hope they start to reopen and introduce trains back to regional SA. Anyway keep up the great work and i look forward to your next video adventure.
Much needed station due to all the industrial facilities being transformed into a new residential area around the port dock. Adelaide lacks in PT infrastructure but looks like it once had a good one and glad its slowly coming back. They should be looking at the Gawler line and extending it to the Barossa Valley and also a breakaway link on the Gawler line out towards Riverlea and Two Wells alongside existing freight and Ghan line
They need a second line out South that actually goes through the suburbs East of Main South Rd. The Seaford line wastes a lot of time going through nothing and industrial areas. Same with North Eastern suburbs. They have the O'Bahn, but that part of Adelaide along North East Rd is more densely populated than the Gawler line, again where you have the line running along empty space, industrial, airport land. They also need a line near Sir Donald Bradman Dr that services the airport and more of the Western suburbs as there's nothing between Anzac Hwy and Grange.
Love your videos, Rory. Keep up the good work, mate. Did the coppers ever catch the scumbag who tried to roll you at Southern Cross. I've worked for 13 years as a driver, and you all types. I'm glad it hasn't dulled your enthusiasm. Well done, mate, and keep the vids coming. Cheers.
Nice presentation Rory! What a shame we still live different gauges in Australia! I wonder if Adelaide will ever convert to SG ?? I was luck to get the BlueBird railcar to the Barossa back in the late 80's , and it was a great trip. Thanks for posting. Gregg.
Our railway system is so embarrassing 😔. We used to be one of the best in Australia, now we get hyped over a 1km diesel extension while everyone else is building massive electric tunnels and extensions.
@@Planetrainguy they have also secured more land for the Aldinga extension, are doing a round of station upgrades and rebuilds, hybrid fleet conversion of the diesel railcars and this gov did ppen the Gawler line.
South Australia only has 10 representative seats in federal parliament, there's no political incentive to build anything in SA as we make very little difference. the only reason we ended up electrified was to meet federal emission targets. you're right, the only reason we got this extra stop was because state gov couldn't back out so they did the bare minimum instead.
was surprised to see that there used to be a connection between dry creek and the outer harbour line! we need more connecting trains that dont just go to and from town
I arrived in Adelaide from Whyalla in July 1982, just one year the original Port Dock line closed in 1981. So on August 25 and August 27, I finally made this journey after a wait of just over 42 years. A Uranus half-return is the time for Uranus to do half an orbit around the Sun which is 42.005 years.
Thanks for the Great Video! Personally, I'd like to see the line near the Bridgeway Hotel reopen, and then extended. However I don't think this will be possible anymore. There is a skate park at the end on Bridge Road where the terminating station was.
Kinda makes sense why I didn't hear about this, I don't live in port Adelaide. I mean I live in the port Adelaide Enfield council area so I should have still heard about this
Great - it will certainly beat walking from Port Adelaide station down to the museums and waterside. BTW both the Railway & Maritime museums are very good. Haven't been to the Aviation Museum. (Have you got a video coming up from WA ?)
Good video, they should now reopen Mount Barker, Roseworthy and Barossa lines. Perhaps electrify the Outer Harbor and grange lines and retire the 3000s and replace them with new regional trains.
It is still appalling that Adelaide suburban railway is mostly still unelectrified with only Seaford/Tonsley, Flinders and Gawler lines being electric.
Sydney has almost 5x the population of Adelaide spread across double the area. The diesel cars are fine, and do the job for a generally under patronised service. Did you notice how few passengers there were on the train? Yeh let’s spend billions upgrading it to electric for the 5 people who catch it each day. There are much bigger cities than Adelaide around the world that still have extensive diesel train networks.
@Craig-dr7gl People do not catch it because the service is reportedly shite. Perth is of similar size and they have 4x the Patronage. Cities that are much bigger operate with diesel, name them.
Great video....but I have to say as a South Australian I am quite embarrassed that SA thought this was something to celebrate given it was a 1km line extension, with a new stop that was walking distance of another on the existing line....seems more like a political stunt (pork barrelling) than an actual improvement to the states transport infrastructure
Those complaining the new Port Dock line is a waste of money, do remember Rory was travelling off peak hence few passengers, plus it's a short line. Furthermore, Port Dock is being redeveloped so more apartments are being built with people moving into the area. So the infrastructure was built ahead of time which makes Port Dock more appealing. The new line will gradually see more & more passengers.
Port Adelaide station is within walking distance. If they’d wanted to terminate trains they could have put a crossover at the Adelaide end of Port Adelaide, maybe a bay platform if we’re feeling fancy, and it wouldn’t have cost 50 mil
So easy to close rail lines, so expensive to reopen them. I do not understand the mentality that says 'we have declining passenger numbers so let's reduce services to make it even less inviting to use rail.' The correct answer to declining passenger numbers is to open more lines, electrify lines, increase frequency of services, and generally do everything to make people want to use rail because it is the best and most convenient option.
I was one of those that thought why build this. But then you have to remember that governments should be looking into the future as well as dealing with the present. There are big plans and dreams for Port Adelaide - to make it the tourist hub that it should be. There are already lots of museums there and they are all concentrated over near St Vincent Street which is close to where this line terminates so much more tourist friendly. Also, there is more housing being built over that side of Port Adelaide, and if you make the services easier to use people will use them - so less traffic on the roads.
Yes, seems like someone is in on the rort....$50 million for 1 kilometre of rail...there is no way SA will ever expand its railway system with prices like that
The Service is owned by Journey Beyond. I suspect that JB would like to get rid of the Overland, but for that to happen both the Vic and/or SA government must take it over.
the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Minister for Energy and Mining is the same guy he made this new train line to poniot at and say look no one is using our new station there's no interest in rail
That would have competed with the train line (assuming it went up Port Rd) so i dont think thats wise. Better to contribute to electrification and/or upgrade the existing station
I think there were a lot politics and favours involved in this project and none of them had anything to do with providing a better public transport service to the public.
As roads and cars approved in the 1980s, south australias regional rail services were scrapped with the last ever regional passenger train running to mount gambier on 31 december 1990.
Hey Rory would you please fly with: Turkish Airlines Melbourne to Singapore Saudia Boeing 747 Dhaka to jeddah Biman Bangladesh Airlines Dhaka to chattogram
I guess it's the nearby housing developments lobbying the government because their town houses will sell better if next to a station. It doesn't help the general public, just lines the pockets of a few rich people.
I hear this trope a lot, but what people who say this don't seem to take into account is this will remove several intersections along that route which create traffic jams
More likely money laundering process. What a joke to build only 1km line ?! Why so long? It's a horrible looking station.. absolutely basic! And it started in 2022? Look where your tax payments go! No offence but Adelaide is boring and developments are sucks..
The new railway line is a complete waste of money and could have been another guided busway that would have been cheaper to build and maintain. City railways, both train and tram are the worst option considering that guided busways are far cheaper and convenient.
They could have opened the old rosewater line or rebuilt the Reynella line but nope. Lets waste millions on a useless line we have to transfer from. No point may as well just stay on to port Adelaide and walk. Typical sa government wants us to pay for a shitty deal.
Adelaide is a city in long-term decline in terms of size, importance, and prestige. That is not a knock or an attack - it happens to the best of cities when they lose their economic relevance. Detroit was a beautiful city. What it has become is not the fault of its residents. Adelaide used to matter a lot in Australia, now it does not matter at all. It does not have corporations or businesses of relevance, and therefore the professional classes that would support those businesses flock to Sydney and Melbourne. Cities rise and fall.
Our rail system is a total joke. No where near extensive enough to actually be useful. Recently came from London where the tube is absolutely amazing, you’d never need a car there. Here…you can’t get anywhere easily
@@Lupi33z Does not stop SA from build massive freeway systems. Whilst you cannot expect Adelaide to match London's vast Metro and Commuter network, it should have a decent electric commuter service.
