Adelaide Metro

 

 

 

 

State Strategic Plan Target

T3.6 Use of public transport: increase the use of public transport to 10% of metropolitan weekday passenger vehicle kilometers travelled by 2018.

In this year’s State Budget we’ve announced the biggest single investment ever by a State Government in Adelaide’s public transport system. It delivers initiatives to transform Adelaide’s network into a vibrant, state-of-the-art system providing faster, cleaner, more frequent and efficient services for train, tram and bus commuters. And it delivers a program of works to meet our ambitious State Strategic Plan target and make Adelaide a more sustainable city.

The transformation begins now with immediate investment to recognise the record number of people using public transport.

The highly-successful tramline extension will be extended coast-to-coast providing a service running from Glenelg through the city, to West Lakes and to Semaphore through Port Adelaide.

The tramline will extend further along North Terrace onto Port Road, where it will travel to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre before joining the Outer Harbor line.

In an Australian first, we will purchase 15 new dual-voltage trams and enable light and heavy rail to operate side by side on the existing track. The light-rail network will transport commuters and tourists alike from Glenelg, through the city to historic Port Adelaide and, along a new light-rail connection, to Semaphore.

A new connection will also be established from Woodville, via a branch line to AAMI Stadium and the West Lakes retail area.

Our city largely operates on five long-distance dedicated corridors - from the City north to Gawler, south to Noarlunga Centre, west to Outer Harbor, to the Adelaide Hills on the Belair line and to the North East via the O-Bahn.

In a world coming to terms with climate change and rising fuel prices, these corridors must be our priority.

This budget provides for electrified rail on the main corridors to Noarlunga, Outer Harbor and Gawler and the subsequent purchase of 50 new electric trains will breathe life into tired rail corridors while providing significant environmental benefits.

We will be providing an extra 20 buses a year for the next four years on top of our replacement program, providing for immediate additional services around peak times.

With almost 300 additional buses over the next decade, we will deliver bus feeder services linking local areas to dedicated rail corridors and high-frequency bus corridors.

The ever popular O-Bahn will also be upgraded with planned station redevelopments at key interchanges and a review of how buses get from the Hackney exit into the city. We’ll also introduce a new state of the art ticketing system to complete the revitalisation.

We’re taking action now for the future.

Premier Mike Rann.

bus

• More people are using the Adelaide Metro bus network than ever before - and recent service changes have moved services to where the most people need them.
  
  
• This year’s State Budget adds immediate capacity to our network by funding an extra 20 buses each year over the next four years.
  
  
• These buses will be used in priority areas and will provide for an additional 900,000 boardings in a full year. The 80 buses will create up to 9 million boardings by mid 2012. Another 208 buses will be purchased after that.
  
  
• Bus services are measured in the amount of kilometres that a bus is in service and this total funding package is a 77 per cent increase of kilometres.
  
  
• We all know the O-Bahn is a vital part of our transport network - it is unique and highly successful.
  
  
• Planning is about to begin on “gated-interchanges” - where tickets are validated before the bus arrives. This will save valuable time by making boarding times easier and quicker.
  
  
• It is also important to get buses in from the Hackney exit faster and a study will look at priority bus lanes into the city entrance to add a time saving.
  
  
• This work will also look at bus priority ideas in the suburbs with intersection upgrades along key routes.
  
  

train

• Last year’s State Budget funded the re-sleepering of the Noarlunga line - it was the vital first step to electrifying the train network.
  
  
• Electric trains are faster, quieter and better for the environment. Most importantly, they reduce local air pollution and make nearby areas a better place to live.
  
  
• The planned work on the Noarlunga line will now include electrification with the first trains running by 2012.
  
  
• The Outer Harbor line already has concrete sleepers so that line will be electrified while the Gawler line is being re-sleepered.
  
  
• All rail gauge will be standardised and the Gawler line will then be electrified.
  
  
• Our new rail network will use 50 new electric railcars and 58 of the 70 existing 3000-class railcars which can be converted to electric operation after they are refurbished.
  
  
• The other 12 refurbished cars will be used on the re-sleepered Belair line, which isn’t planned for electrification at this time.
  
  
• By 2018, when all the new trains are in service, the 30 older 2000-class trains from the early 1980s will be retired.
  
  
• There will be an increase in service to provide a 15-minute weekday rail service to all rail stations with a frequency of less than 10 minutes to key stops during the peak.
  
  
• More services will be provided to extend the morning and afternoon peak giving people more commuter options and flexibility to get to work.

 

tram

• The tramline extension to City West has been an amazing success - it proves that trams are a very popular form of public transport.
  
  
• Trams are also great for urban renewal - they bring life to under-developed areas.
  
  
• The tram service will be extended to provide a “coast-to-coast” service and will run from Glenelg to Semaphore via the city.
  
  
• Over the next three years, we will see the tramline extended down Port Road to the Entertainment Centre and a park-and-ride facility before it connects to the Outer Harbor line.
  
  
• New dual-voltage trams will operate alongside electric trains and will use the existing Outer Harbor rail and then travel to AAMI Stadium and West Lakes on a new track built from the Grange line. Another extension will be built from Semaphore, linking back through the heart of Port Adelaide from Rosewater.
  
  
• Four additional Flexity Classic trams will be added for the initial Entertainment Centre service and 15 new dual-voltage trams will be purchased for use on the coast-to-coast service from Glenelg to Semaphore.
  
  
• We will also put more services on the existing network by calling for expressions of interest to provide extra trams for the successful city extension.

opportunities

• These exciting projects will provide a great public transport system that’s faster, cleaner and more efficient.
  
  
• The State Budget provides money to buy a land corridor between Seaford and Aldinga providing an opportunity for a future extension.
  
  
• The Federal Government has committed $3m on a study into the future of the Hills Freight Rail line, which runs alongside the Belair passenger line through the Adelaide Hills.
  
  
• No decision will be made on electrifying the Belair line until that work is completed.
  
  
• New Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has also committed $3m to plan ways to help urban congestion in Adelaide.
  
  
• This money will be used to look at a range of infrastructure projects that may be funded in the future by the Commonwealth.

 

 

 

 

 

q + a

What type of electrification system will be used in Adelaide?
We will be using the same standard system as that being used in Perth, Brisbane and regional Queensland.

Why electric instead of diesel?
Electrified train networks provide faster services, as well as having lower train purchase prices and lower operational and maintenance costs.

What are the environmental benefits of using electric instead of diesel?
Electric trains reduce local air pollution. They also produce marginally less Greenhouse Gas per kilometre.

What are the risks of electrocution to the public with an electrified network?
Electrified train networks are safe. Electrocution could only occur in extreme circumstances, such as trespassers climbing onto vehicles or jumping off structures.

Why do we need to wait until 2012?
There is a massive amount of work involved in changing the system. The re-sleepering is the first step, poles and wires need to be installed and signalling and other infrastructure also needs to be modified.

Lead times for buying trains are also more than two years.

Furthermore, the ElectraNet substation for Adelaide city’s future power supply is planning to come on line at the end of 2011.

Why is the Belair line not being electrified?
The Belair rail line is a very important part of the train network and we are committed to its continued use. However, electrification of the Belair line requires further engineering and operational analysis. There are two tunnels and the interstate rail line is very close. The Federal Government has also just started a study into the future of that line.

It is worth noting the Belair line will have much better services anyway. The re-sleepered track will make the journey faster and there will be more railcars available once the new electric trains are available.

Why not take the trams all the way down Port Road?
The Outer Harbor rail line already has all the level crossings to bring trains into the city very quickly. It is also hard to justify creating another rail corridor so close by. The tram will run down Port Road to the Entertainment Centre to provide extra stops, and the park-and-ride facility.

What are the new trams?
The latest technology involves dual-voltage trams that are able to run on train tracks for greater flexibility and provide the benefits of both trains and standard trams. They can operate up to 100 km/hr on dedicated rail corridors, compared to only 70 km/hr for the trams and can operate alongside other passenger trains and freight trains as well as on street systems.

Won’t the construction of the tramline along Port Road cause road capacity problems?
The tram line will be designed to minimise the impact on traffic capacity.

fast facts

Download complete overview
NEW CONNECTIONS - (1.1MB PDF)