[PRO] Ovingham Level Crossing Removal | $231m

[ChillyPhilly]

To be honest, with the amount of infill occurring in this area, Ovingham, Dudley Park and Islington should all get a makeover.

Compared to the Seaford line, the Gawler line has seriously been neglected.

I've thought this every single time I've been past these stations. They're all very under par.

Most of the Gawler line passes through "safe" electorates. There would be no votes in upgrading those stations. I assume electrification is because the diesel rolling stock is wearing out.

This is why the infrastructure pipeline should be removed from government to be prioritised and managed through an independent agency. Maybe that is what Infrastructure SA will give us over time, but so far it seems to be a Government mouthpiece.

Infrastructure SA has done sweet FA.

[Spotto]

The diesel fleet has been refurbished over the past few years including re-engining about 2 years ago for life extension. The main problem has been no spare diesel railcars to increase peak capacity on the Gawler line.

If the Gawler electrification had happened before the Jumbos were retired in 2015, then the issue of capacity would've been avoided. Jumbos would've continued operating alongside the 3000s on the diesel lines then once the Gawler line was running on electrics the Jumbos would've been surplus to needs and could've been safely scrapped with the 3000s redistributed to the Outer Harbor, Grange and Belair lines.

At least this issue should be over in about 9 months (assuming that the Gawler electrification is finished in October).

[SBD]

The diesel fleet has been refurbished over the past few years including re-engining about 2 years ago for life extension. The main problem has been no spare diesel railcars to increase peak capacity on the Gawler line.

If the Gawler electrification had happened before the Jumbos were retired in 2015, then the issue of capacity would've been avoided. Jumbos would've continued operating alongside the 3000s on the diesel lines then once the Gawler line was running on electrics the Jumbos would've been surplus to needs and could've been safely scrapped with the 3000s redistributed to the Outer Harbor, Grange and Belair lines.

At least this issue should be over in about 9 months (assuming that the Gawler electrification is finished in October).

Why were the 2000s retired? I think someone decided that because the driver's cabin is high, they shouldn't operate under the wires. That means they couldn't run on the Seaford or Tonsley (Flinders) lines, and maybe not Belair, but they couldn't do Belair except on Sunday mornings when there was no demand anyway, as they weren't powerful enough to lift a load of passengers up the hill. They could have still done Gawler and Outer Harbour.

[ChillyPhilly]

They were slow, noisy and inefficient.

The State Government did enquire about cutting off the high cab at one point.

[NTRabbit]

They were slow, noisy and inefficient.

The State Government did enquire about cutting off the high cab at one point.

Didn't one of them also catch on fire, exposing a need for safety updates to the rest of the fleet that would have been a big waste of money?

[Brucetiki]

To be honest, with the amount of infill occurring in this area, Ovingham, Dudley Park and Islington should all get a makeover.

Compared to the Seaford line, the Gawler line has seriously been neglected.

I've thought this every single time I've been past these stations. They're all very under par.

Most of the Gawler line passes through "safe" electorates. There would be no votes in upgrading those stations. I assume electrification is because the diesel rolling stock is wearing out.

This is why the infrastructure pipeline should be removed from government to be prioritised and managed through an independent agency. Maybe that is what Infrastructure SA will give us over time, but so far it seems to be a Government mouthpiece.

Ovingham, Dudley Park and (I think) Islington are all in the marginal seat of Adelaide, but with an MP that only cares about the glamour parts of the electorate (ie Medindie/Walkerville/Gilberton). Rachel Sanderson probably doesn't even realise there's a train line in her electorate!

[d3v310per]

Checked DIT's website today to see if there was any news....only this from late January:

On 18 January 2021, the State and Federal governments announced the contract award for the delivery phase of the project.

“A consortium of McConnell Dowell Constructors (Aust) Pty Ltd, Mott MacDonald Australia Pty Ltd and Arup Pty Ltd has been selected to remove the Ovingham Level Crossing and elevate Torrens Road over the Gawler Rail Line,” Minister Fletcher said.

The consortium has previously completed major infrastructure works in South Australia, as part of the Public Transport Projects Alliance, including the Oaklands Level Crossing Grade Separation project, and is currently delivering the Regency Road to Pym Street Project as part of the North-South Corridor.

The project is due for completion in 2023, weather permitting.

Media release: https://dit.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf ... m_l....pdf

[SBD]

Checked DIT's website today to see if there was any news....only this from late January:

On 18 January 2021, the State and Federal governments announced the contract award for the delivery phase of the project.

“A consortium of McConnell Dowell Constructors (Aust) Pty Ltd, Mott MacDonald Australia Pty Ltd and Arup Pty Ltd has been selected to remove the Ovingham Level Crossing and elevate Torrens Road over the Gawler Rail Line,” Minister Fletcher said.

The consortium has previously completed major infrastructure works in South Australia, as part of the Public Transport Projects Alliance, including the Oaklands Level Crossing Grade Separation project, and is currently delivering the Regency Road to Pym Street Project as part of the North-South Corridor.

The project is due for completion in 2023, weather permitting.

Media release: https://dit.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf ... m_l....pdf

The contractor's website repeats much of that and adds:

Enabling works, including site office establishment, fencing, median removals and service relocations will be undertaken from January to May 2021, with bridge construction commencing soon after.

[Pistol]

A majority of the trees have now been cleared from the reserve on the corner of Torrens Road and Exeter Terrace.

[Furyan]

Today the State Premier and Infrastructure Minister turned the first sod for the beginning of work which will see most of the crossing built off site and with a completion date of 2023.

[Spotto]

Today the State Premier and Infrastructure Minister turned the first sod for the beginning of work which will see most of the crossing built off site and with a completion date of 2023.

The increase in construction projects (not just Adelaide) using methods to pre-fabricate massive components off site to then be assembled and moved into place has been one of the best advancements in construction in the last couple of decades.

[Furyan]

The increase in construction projects (not just Adelaide) using methods to pre-fabricate massive components off site to then be assembled and moved into place has been one of the best advancements in construction in the last couple of decades.

It will be interesting to see how big the largest span will be on this project. The Darlington Upgrade Project was 195m and 3000 Tonne (2 lanes). The R2P was 84m and 1300 Tonne (3 lanes).