Wikipedia

Bowden railway station

Bowden railway station is located on the Adelaide suburban railway line leading to the Grange, Outer Harbor and Port Dock lines, commonly known as the Port line.[1][2] Situated in the inner Adelaide suburb of Bowden, it is 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) from Adelaide station. Originally opened in 1856, it was extensively rebuilt as part of a flying junction in 2017 and reopened in 2018.

Bowden
Newly built Bowden station platforms in December 2018, looking south-east towards Adelaide's city centre
General information
LocationGibson Street, Bowden
Coordinates34°54′22″S 138°34′33″E / 34.9061°S 138.5757°E / -34.9061; 138.5757
Owned byDepartment for Infrastructure & Transport
Operated byAdelaide Metro
Line(s)Grange Outer Harbor Port Dock
Distance2.5 km (1.6 mi) 2.7 km by rail from Adelaide railway station
Platforms2
Tracks2
ConnectionsBuses in Adelaide Bus
Trams in Adelaide Tram
Construction
Structure typeLowered
ParkingNo
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes → level boarding
Other information
Station code16496 (to City)
18442 (to Outer Harbor, Port Dock & Grange)
WebsiteAdelaide Metro
History
Opened1856
Rebuilt2018
Services
Preceding station Adelaide Metro Following station
Adelaide
Terminus
 Grange line Croydon
towards Grange
Outer Harbor line Croydon
towards Outer Harbor
Port Dock line Croydon
towards Port Dock

History

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Bowden was one of the original stations on the Adelaide to Port Adelaide railway when the line opened in April 1856. Heitage-listed, it is one of the oldest in Australia.[3] In 1871, sidings were constructed at the Woodville end of the station for delivery of coal from Port Adelaide to the adjacent gasworks. With increasing traffic, the single track Adelaide to Port Adelaide line was duplicated in 1881, and the sidings at Bowden were extended as the gasworks expanded. Two signal cabins were in operation at Bowden between 1884 and 1930: one at East Street (at the Woodville end), the second at Gibson Street (at the Adelaide end). The East Street cabin was closed when colour-light signalling was introduced on the Port line in the 1930s.

The SA Gas Company sidings were closed in 1973 and Bowden's goods yard was closed completely from 1977 along with the Gibson Street signal cabin. The site of the gasworks sidings is still visible on the north side of the line near the Chief Street underpass. With falling passenger numbers, the station was unattended after 1979 – in marked contrast to the middle years of the 20th century, when patronage justified staffed ticket offices on both platforms. In 2016, the station was ranked as one of the better stations in the western suburbs based on five criteria.[4]

Redevelopment

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Bowden station was significantly redeveloped as a part of the Torrens Rail Junction Project, which lowered the station's tracks as part of grade separation for a flying junction to enable the Outer Harbor and Grange lines to pass under the Adelaide-Port Augusta line and Gawler line. The original south-side (outbound) platform was closed in April 2017 and demolished shortly afterwards, retaining a section of the platform and the original station's 1856 brick and stone station building located on it. The north-side (city-bound) platform was closed in September, along with the entire Outer Harbor and Grange lines, to facilitate construction of the rail junction.

The Loose Caboose café, which had opened in 2012 in the otherwise unused station building on the south-side platform, continued to operate; the platform is now in use as a pedestrian walkway.[5][3]

The new Bowden station was opened in January 2018 together with the Outer Harbor and Grange lines.[6]

Services by platform

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Platform Lines Destinations
1 Grange all stops services to Grange
Outer Harbor limited stops services to Outer Harbor
Port Dock all stops services to Port Dock
2 Grange all stops services to Adelaide
Outer Harbor limited stops services to Adelaide
Port Dock all stops services to Adelaide

Transport Connections

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The closest bus stop to Bowden station is Stop 6 on Port Road:[7][8]
150 City – Osborne
155 City – Westfield West Lakes
157 City – Largs Bay

Bowden station is also in close proximity to the Entertainment Centre tram station:

Glenelg Entertainment Centre – Moseley Square (peak hour only)
Glenelg Entertainment Centre – Botanic Garden

References

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  1. ^ Outer Harbor & Grange timetable Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Adelaide Metro 23 February 2014
  2. ^ Port Dock Railway Line - Adelaide Metro website, 17 June 2024
  3. ^ a b Bowden cafe The Loose Caboose accused of heritage breaches after renovation Adelaide Advertiser 30 August 2013
  4. ^ "And the worst rail stop in the west goes to …". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Torrens Rail Junction Project – DPTI – Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure South Australia". dpti.sa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  6. ^ Dickers, Jessica (15 January 2018). "Trains tested on new underpass in SA". Infrastructure Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  7. ^ SA, Service. "Adelaide Metro – Stop 12978". www.adelaidemetro.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  8. ^ SA, Service. "Adelaide Metro – Stop 13006". www.adelaidemetro.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  • 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
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  Media related to Bowden railway station at Wikimedia Commons

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