News & Discussion: Station Upgrades

[jk1237]

I rode past Keswick interstate train station today and noticed it is no longer Keswick Terminal. The new name everywhere is now "Adelaide Parklands Terminal". I must admit for only a small upgrade it looks much much better, and its almost finished.

[crawf]

Why on earth did they change the name?, there was nothing wrong with 'Keswick Rail Terminal' and is much better compared to 'Adelaide Parklands Terminal'.

[rubberman]

Why not put the "Marj" hospital at Keswick, and the interstate rail terminal where the 'Marj' is supposed to go?

I am not sure that having a hospital right in the CBD is a good idea. Wherever it is in the CBD there are going to be traffic access issues. If the Marj were at Keswick, it has a number of potential access points from North, South and West at least. Not to mention being on a major rail line. (The present Marj site is a long walk to the Adel Rly Stn.

If you put the interstate terminal in where the Marj is proposed to be, it is much more conveniently placed than the present rather out of the way station.

[Düsseldorfer]

Why not put the "Marj" hospital at Keswick, and the interstate rail terminal where the 'Marj' is supposed to go?

I am not sure that having a hospital right in the CBD is a good idea. Wherever it is in the CBD there are going to be traffic access issues. If the Marj were at Keswick, it has a number of potential access points from North, South and West at least. Not to mention being on a major rail line. (The present Marj site is a long walk to the Adel Rly Stn.

If you put the interstate terminal in where the Marj is proposed to be, it is much more conveniently placed than the present rather out of the way station.

Yep i love that idea of putting the marj at Keswick. A new Railway station could ether be built right on North or West Tce, grade separated above the roads rather then hidden underground, with a huge transparent glass canopy (like Berlin Railway Station) something that would symbolize a re-birth of Railway in South Australia (cost would be huge but surely worth it in the long run). while the old station becomes a railway history museum and just one of the stations of a future underground city loop.

[monotonehell]

Why not put the "Marj" hospital at Keswick, and the interstate rail terminal where the 'Marj' is supposed to go?

I am not sure that having a hospital right in the CBD is a good idea. Wherever it is in the CBD there are going to be traffic access issues. If the Marj were at Keswick, it has a number of potential access points from North, South and West at least. Not to mention being on a major rail line. (The present Marj site is a long walk to the Adel Rly Stn.

If you put the interstate terminal in where the Marj is proposed to be, it is much more conveniently placed than the present rather out of the way station.

Reasonable idea, but I'd just like to point out that the current Marj plans include its own train station connected by a pedestrian bridge. So that point of difference is moot. The only problem I can see with a hospital out at Keswick is the same reason putting the terminal out there has - it's the middle of nowhere. At least the RAH and the Marj locations offer close by restaurants parks etc.

I think any location for the hospital should be close to a park, and so on. It's important for patients to be able to escape once in a while.

[rhino]

Why on earth did they change the name?, there was nothing wrong with 'Keswick Rail Terminal' and is much better compared to 'Adelaide Parklands Terminal'.

I think the name change is a good idea. It makes it obvious that the station is Adelaide's terminus and gives you an idea of where it might be. Keswick Rail Terminal means nothing, and gives the impression that it's in the middle of nowhere even before you get there. I'm not a fan of change for change's sake, but I do believe this change is a step in the right direction. As I've said before, there's nothing wrong with the location that can't be fixed. A proper transport interchange is very possible on that site. A descent connection to Adelaide Metro's Keswick Station, and having AdMet trains stop there, would be the obvious first move.

[bm7500]

Pics anyone?

[Norman]

Here are some photos I took recently around the station, I will be taking better ones when I travel on the Overland in July.











In words: Nothing short of disgraceful. The new waiting area (which is now completed) is nice though, but the outside areas... disgraceful.

[UrbanSG]

Thanks for the pics Norman.

Whoever chose that outside colour scheme should get kick up the a*se! That is like a bad trip back to the 70's. Dates the building even more than the previous colours. The internal renders look half decent though hopefully it turned out better inside as stated.

[rhino]

The new colour scheme looks better in real life than it does in the photos. I'm just waiting for it to get covered in graffitti now, followed, of course, by graffitti paint-outs with a slightly different shade of the colour.

[Will409]

I travelled on the Overland to and from Melbourne last year and I can safely say that the waiting room at Keswick is very much like the renders shown although it was still being worked on when I was there. Nothing can beat the fact that it is in a crap location though. All because AN wanted to build a new terminal on land they owned rather then pay rent via the then STA to the State Government.

[rubberman]

Monotone,

I guess I agree that it would be good to have parks, gardens and restaurants nearby any hospital.

However, if I were in an ambulance in an emergency, would I prefer to be trying to inch my way down North Terrace most times of the day or down the roads feeding Keswick? Especially as with that site if redeveloped there could be more access and parking made available.

Also, my impression was that the marj would not be for the convalescent (who would appreciate local parks, restaurants etc), but for the heart attack and road crash victims who need to be got there in a hurry.

That lack of fast all hours access is what makes almost any city location a killer.

I was aware that there would be a station at the Marj - but I would be very surprised if all routes stopped there - more like a shuttle from ARS to Marj RS I thought. However, I may well be wrong there. However, a similar shuttle would also be needed if the interstate pass trains stopped at the Marj site.

[Wayno]

However, if I were in an ambulance in an emergency, would I prefer to be trying to inch my way down North Terrace most times of the day or down the roads feeding Keswick? Especially as with that site if redeveloped there could be more access and parking made available.

How does the RAH cope with this situation? I completely agree with your concern by the way.

[monotonehell]

However, if I were in an ambulance in an emergency, would I prefer to be trying to inch my way down North Terrace most times of the day or down the roads feeding Keswick? Especially as with that site if redeveloped there could be more access and parking made available.

How does the RAH cope with this situation? I completely agree with your concern by the way.

Just as an aside, I was on KWS today during a busy congested car afternoon, and an ambulance needed access down KWS. The tram reservation made a great shortcut for it.

[Ho Really]

However, if I were in an ambulance in an emergency, would I prefer to be trying to inch my way down North Terrace most times of the day or down the roads feeding Keswick? Especially as with that site if redeveloped there could be more access and parking made available.

How does the RAH cope with this situation? I completely agree with your concern by the way.

Just as an aside, I was on KWS today during a busy congested car afternoon, and an ambulance needed access down KWS. The tram reservation made a great shortcut for it.

Good idea until you hit a tram.

Cheers