The Bridgewater railway line was the name given to the "South line", the westernmost component of the AdelaideâÂÂMelbourne railway line, built in 1883 through the Adelaide Hills. The term was applied in connection with South Australian Railways suburban passenger services from the capital city, Adelaide, terminating at Bridgewater railway station. In 1987, poor patronage led to the services being curtailed to Belair and the line was consequently renamed the Belair line.
Initially, services on the Bridgewater line were provided by trains hauled by locomotives â in the first half of the 20th century usually F class; from 1924 Brill railcars; from 1956 to 1980 Red Hen railcars; and 2000 class railcars in the final 7 years. Services ran from Adelaide with trains along the line terminating either at Belair or Bridgewater. On special occasions after 1987, such as the Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival held every Easter weekend at Oakbank, trains ran further east to terminate at Balhannah. However, this service ceased before the standard gauge conversion because of the expense of operating the Balhannah branch line.
Much of the line is steep, with an abundance of curves of radius which, when combined with 1 in 45 (2 per cent) uncompensated grades, is equivalent to a grade of 1 in 37. Beyond Belair, the line continues to be single track. Crossing loops located at Belair, Long Gully, Mount Lofty, Aldgate and Bridgewater.
Services from Adelaide to Bridgewater usually took an average of one hour (stopping all stations), and about 50 minutes (express). Only one train every two hours operated during off-peak periods and weekends, most terminating at Belair, and no more than two trains per hour in either direction during peak hours.
When the more direct South Eastern Freeway replaced the previous winding main road through the Adelaide Hills in the late 1960s, rail patronage to Bridgewater declined heavily: the steep, winding route was uncompetitive with the new freeway. In 1985, the State Transport Authority sought to have the service withdrawn. At that time, the line had 12 services on weekdays, 9 on Saturdays and 5 on Sundays. On 26 July 1987, passenger services to Bridgewater were withdrawn. There followed an evaluation of the service by the federal Bureau of Transport Economics, which demonstrated the highly unprofitable nature of the line. Despite prolonged public agitation, the service was never reinstated. However, the public furore ensured the retention of services to Belair, which remains financially the worst performing of Adelaide's rail services. Closure of three stations on the line to permit operation on a single track after standardisation caused a similar public outcry, despite the existence of parallel bus services nearby.
In 1995, the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line was converted from broad gauge (1600mm) to standard gauge (1435 mm), ruling out any restoration of Adelaide commuter trains to Bridgewater and beyond.
Between Goodwood and Belair, the former double track route became two parallel single lines, one broad gauge for suburban services (owned by the state government), the other standard gauge for interstate and freight services (owned by the federal government). Along with this conversion, stations on the Belair line at Mile End Goods, Millswood (reopened in 2014), Hawthorn and Clapham closed; the other Belair line stations each had one platform closed.
(Note: dates are those that are indicated in each individual article)