Alberton railway station, Adelaide
{{Short description|Railway station in Adelaide, South Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Alberton
| style = Adelaide
| image = Alberton railway station south east view train on Platform 1 far 18 April 2025.jpg
| caption = South-east bound view, with a set of 3000 class railcars arriving at Platform 1 on a service to Outer Harbor, April 2025
| address = Station Place, Alberton
| coordinates = {{coord|-34.858088|138.518398|type:railwaystation_region:AU|format=dms|display=inline, title}}
| owned = Department for Infrastructure & Transport
| operator = Adelaide Metro
| line = {{Rail color box|system=Adelaide|line=Outer Harbor|inline=croute|type=|note=}} {{Rail color box|system=Adelaide|line=Port Dock|inline=croute|type=|note=}}
| distance = 10.2 km from Adelaide
| platforms = 2
| tracks = 2
| structure = Side platform
| parking = No
| bicycle = Yes
| accessible = Yes
| connections = {{ric|Adelaide|Bus}} Bus
| bus_routes = 232 to Port Adelaide (Torrens Road)
| code = 16492 (to City)
18463 (to Outer Harbor & Port Dock)
| zone =
| website = {{url| https://adelaidemetro.com.au/routes/OUTHA|Adelaide Metro}}
| opened = 1856
| closed =
| rebuilt =
| services = {{Adjacent stations
|system=Adelaide
|line1=Outer Harbor|left1=Cheltenham|right1=Port Adelaide
|line2=Outer Harbor|left2=St Clair|right2=Port Adelaide|note-mid2=Express
|line3=Port Dock|left3=Cheltenham|right3=Port Dock}}
}}
Alberton railway station is the junction station for the Outer Harbor and Port Dock lines.[https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/var/metro/storage/original/application/684c3f76dfe11ad139bbae9fa45d8cc5.pdf Outer Harbor & Grange timetable] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304025547/https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/var/metro/storage/original/application/684c3f76dfe11ad139bbae9fa45d8cc5.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }} Adelaide Metro 23 February 2014[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] 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
{{refimprove section|date=July 2023}}
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.{{Cite news|url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/west-beaches/and-the-worst-rail-stop-in-the-west-goes-to--adelaides-people-for-public-transport-rate-27-stations/news-story/5e166814d646d7d55ff278abf1904c35|title=And the worst rail stop in the west goes to …|date=2016-09-08|work=The Advertiser|access-date=2017-09-19|language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-17/sa-pedestrian-killed-at-alberton/101073610|title=Pedestrian killed by train while trying to cross tracks at Alberton Railway Station|date=2022-05-17|work=ABC News Australia|access-date=2022-06-08}}
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.[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] ABC News 1 August 2008 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
| class="wikitable" style="float: none; margin: 0.5em; " |
| Platform
!Lines !Destinations !Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|1
|style=background:#{{rcr|Adelaide|Outer Harbor}}|Outer Harbor |all stops services to Outer Harbor |some peak hour services terminate at Osborne |
| style=background:#{{rcr|Adelaide|Port Dock}}|Port Dock
|all stops services to Port Dock | |
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|2
|style=background:#{{rcr|Adelaide|Outer Harbor}}|Outer Harbor |all stops services to Adelaide | |
| style=background:#{{rcr|Adelaide|Port Dock}}|Port Dock
|all stops services to Adelaide | |
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
- Rails Through Swamp and Sand - A History of the Port Adelaide Railway M. Thompson, pub. Port Dock Station Railway Museum (1988) {{ISBN|0-9595073-6-1}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline|Alberton railway station}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20150304211449/http://sa-trackandsignal.net/Pdf%20files/Adelaide/AD023.pdf Track map]
{{Adelaide Metro railway stations|Outer Harbor=y|Port Dock=y|state=collapsed}}
Category:Railway stations in Adelaide