The Grange line is a suburban railway branch line in the Adelaide conurbation, South Australia, which starts at Woodville railway station, from Adelaide railway station on the Outer Harbor line, and ends at Grange railway station, from Woodville. Services on the line continue beyond Woodville to and from Adelaide. The line was opened in 1882 by a land development company and was unprofitable almost from the start. The South Australian Railways operated it from 1891 and purchased it in 1894, when it was also extended south from Grange to Henley Beach. After 73 years, the line was shortened to its original Grange terminus in 1957.
Key events in the Grange and Henley Beach line are shown in the adjacent timeline.
In September 1882, a line was opened on the present-day route from Woodville to Grange by the Grange Railway and Investment Company. Unlike the Adelaide to Port Adelaide route from which it branched, which was built and operated by the South Australian Government, the Grange line was operated by this private company to encourage sales at its beachside real estate development project. The new line started at a bay platform at Woodville. Although there was a connection to the main line there, differing couplers prevented Grange line trains from continuing to Adelaide.
The railway company, with its rolling stock of two locomotives and four carriages, was not a financial success and was forced to operate on a shoestring budget soon after the start. Following its collapse, the South Australian Railways (SAR) took over operation in 1891, using a Rowan steam tram in place of the more conventional locomotive and carriages. The state government finally directed the SAR to buy the company's assets in 1894, when it was also extended, as the Henley Beach railway line, from Grange southwards to Henley Beach along Military Road. Following modifications to the track layout at Woodville station in 1909, it became possible for trains from the Henley Beach and Grange branch lines to travel beyond Woodville to Adelaide.
In addition to the extension south to Henley Beach built in 1894, three other extensions were undertaken over the history of the line:
The terminus at Grange was relocated in 1986 to the eastern side of Military Road to eliminate a level crossing. Between 1894 and 1957, the station was a stop on the Henley Beach line, a extension of the Grange line which closed in 1957.
Until 1996, Grange line services previously operated as a shuttle from Woodville station at night and on weekends, connecting with Outer Harbor line services.
The South Australian Government previously considered either electrifying the Outer Harbor line or converting it to light rail. A light rail conversion would have necessitated the conversion or closure of the Grange line.
A 2016 report evaluating potential light rail projects in Adelaide outlined four options for the Grange line:
These proposals were abandoned following the 2018 South Australian state election, when the incoming Marshall Government announced its intention to concentrate transit development within the city centre only.
From 2 to 23 January 2017, both the Outer Harbor and Grange lines were closed to allow for construction of an overpass at South Road. During this closure, track between Woodville station and Port Road was replaced, and Albert Park station was rebuilt.
Both lines were closed again â along with part of the Gawler line â for four months in 2017 for works related to the Torrens Rail Junction Project.
The entire line was again closed on 24 September 2017 and reopened on 15 January 2018.
The line runs from Woodville railway station to the seaside suburb of Grange; the service extends, additionally, from Adelaide railway station. Grange trains follow the alignment of the Outer Harbor and Port Dock lines as far as Woodville station, where it diverges south-west and crosses Port Road. The line then travels through Albert Park and bisects the Royal Adelaide Golf Club links between Seaton Park and East Grange stations. Apart from of double track at the Woodville end, the line is single track throughout, with no passing loops. All stations on the line are unattended and have only basic passenger waiting facilities. The line, of broad gauge, is long.
All services have been operated by 3000 class railcars since 2014. Between Adelaide and Woodville, services operate in tandem with Outer Harbor line trains. Weekday peak services run every 20âÂÂ30 minutes, weekday off-peak services every 30 minutes, and hourly on weekends.
The line goes diagonally across the golf links of the Royal Adelaide Golf Club. When the club hosted the South Australian Open, services were cut back to Seaton Park for about two weeks so as not to interrupt the golf competition. Rail replacement buses were used to transport passengers for the remainder of the route. The tournaments ended in 2007.