News & Discussion: Station Upgrades

[Norman]

Thanks Will. Looks A LOT better than what it was before. I doubt a lot will be done on the other platform, but this shelter is pretty good. I also like the new signs and icons around the place. I suspect the lighting quality of this one will be to the same standard as Oaklands.

[Will409]

I suspect that the DOWN platform will be worked on at a later stage because the lighting has been upgraded and as a result, have the raised light foundations which the UP platform had before it was rebuilt. Not only that but the enunicators up my way have been alerting passengers to "rail maintenance" at Parafield.

[rhino]

What are those seats like to sit on? They look like they'd be icy cold in winter and as hot as cooktops in summer.

[Will409]

They aren't too bad although you do feel them sag a bit if you sit in the middle of them. They are good if you are planning of waiting there for say 5 minutes or so which most people tend to do.

[William]

In the investigations regarding the regional rail service in South Australia, we also discovered that the sell off of the passenger rail was based on misconception and untruths brought about by the Australian National railways at the time.

In a documentation released in 2007 in a newsletter by Chris Hall from Bluebird rail states that “The AN Board was not happy about the positive Performance of the passenger business. The Board’s aim was to get rid of the business at any cost and for political reasons it was considered that the electorate would oppose the sale of a profitable government Owned business. The aim therefore was to make the passenger business appear unfavorable and to be Making a substantial loss. When an advertising campaign was launched over a Christmas period, Chris was called in to explain why the Business was being advertised. The Board made it clear that there was not to be did any advertising of the AN Passenger trains.”

With further investigation compiled from another report we had uncovered that - AN were running full passenger trains to Whyalla and Broken Hill, and when asked why the services were being cut, their response was “there simply isn’t enough demand for these services – we need 160 passengers a trip to break even” in a radio interview, the reporter asked “if the trains are full, how many carriages are you operating” their answer was “2 – each seat 60 passengers”. People were being turned away as the trains were full, but AN refused to add extra cars to make the trains pay their way, as a way of getting out of the passenger business.

[Will409]

I was told of one Bluebird driver who in the 1980s said "if I had the chance, I would drive these things off a cliff". This is from one of my other railfan mates who used to travel on the regional rail services a lot back in the day.

[Somebody]

I think people need to understand that Keswick (or APT ) is a terminal for very long distance interstate trains, not local commuter or interurban services. People don't take the train into Keswick to go into the CBD to Rundle Mall and the train back home again.

Also remember that not a massive number of trains per week uses it - a couple a day at the most, some days only one.

The existing terminal still seems dumpy post-renovations, but I doubt that the large cost of providing a facility would warrant it. Most passengersBD. would not be going to the CBD itself (probably just tourists going to hotels) therefore it would not make a significant difference to it being out of the C

It could potentially be similar to the East Perth Terminal integrated with a TA station. How often do people complain the the Indian Pacific doesn't go right into the CBD there?

[Somebody]

What a waste of money.

We could had taken half of the train services out of the adelaide railway station and converted them to trams, then freed up heaps of room to provide an upgrade of the platforms and tracks for country services. Thats where the money should had went IMO.

Umm, why would Great Southern Railway / SERCO (who owns Keswick Terminal) be interested in funding upgrades to TransAdelaide's suburban railway lines in Adelaide?

[mattblack]

Umm, why would Great Southern Railway / SERCO (who owns Keswick Terminal) be interested in funding upgrades to TransAdelaide's suburban railway lines in Adelaide?

[/quote]

Maybe thier looking at relocating 'The Marge' to the soon to be defunct barracks site and this could make Kesick a major interchange?

[Wayno]

Umm, why would Great Southern Railway / SERCO (who owns Keswick Terminal) be interested in funding upgrades to TransAdelaide's suburban railway lines in Adelaide?

Maybe thier looking at relocating 'The Marge' to the soon to be defunct barracks site and this could make Kesick a major interchange?

That would be sooo cool!

[cruel_world00]

Umm, why would Great Southern Railway / SERCO (who owns Keswick Terminal) be interested in funding upgrades to TransAdelaide's suburban railway lines in Adelaide?

Maybe thier looking at relocating 'The Marge' to the soon to be defunct barracks site and this could make Kesick a major interchange?

That would be sooo cool!

I drove past the Keswick barracks the other day and holy mack...there is so much room here. I don't understand why this site hasn't been pushed as the location for The Marj. Seriously.

[jk1237]

a pedestrian footbridge linking the southern end of the interstate platform to the suburban Keswick Station, and then allowing all people with a GSR ticket free travel from Keswick to North Tce is what I think they should do. Currently the Indian Pacific stops in Adelaide for about 2 hours I think. Some gold class people pay $25+ for a coach tour of the CBD, while the rest sit at Keswick Stn doing nothing, while waiting for the IP to depart. May as well let them take a 5 min suburban train ride into the heart of the city, so they can see our city.

[Wayno]

I drove past the Keswick barracks the other day and holy mack...there is so much room here. I don't understand why this site hasn't been pushed as the location for The Marj. Seriously.

agree, unfortunately i'm sure some of the barracks buildings are heritage listed - with all the usual associated problems...

[monotonehell]

I drove past the Keswick barracks the other day and holy mack...there is so much room here. I don't understand why this site hasn't been pushed as the location for The Marj. Seriously.

agree, unfortunately i'm sure some of the barracks buildings are heritage listed - with all the usual associated problems...

*rubs tips of fingers together*
Keswick real estate worth MUCH more than railyards. (Can't sell railyards for commercial purposes - parklands)

[fishinajar]

I drove past the Keswick barracks the other day and holy mack...there is so much room here. I don't understand why this site hasn't been pushed as the location for The Marj. Seriously.

agree, unfortunately i'm sure some of the barracks buildings are heritage listed - with all the usual associated problems...

What evidence is there that the ADF will be dropping this site?

All being well I'd love to see the hospital move here instead of the north-west junction.What else would be a viable option for the Keswick site if all the old [heritage] buildings are to be kept? There would be plenty of room for new hospital facilities to fit in and around the [retrofitted] heritage buildings.

Otherwise it would make a kicking residential site with some main road/ ground floor commercial tenancies I suppose, I'd still prefer to see the hospital at this site though.