The station opened circa 1910.[citation needed] The platforms were constructed of earth-filled concrete each side of the dual tracks, which were both broad gauge until 1995. There were timber framed, iron clad open passenger shelters on each platform. The two outbound Unley Park and Hawthorn stations had similar shelters. A ticket office was provided on the Up (western) platform until being demolished in 1985, and the original shelters were removed in March 1988 and replaced with the bus stop type shelters seen at some stations on the TransAdelaide network.
Millswood station closed on 28 April 1995, simultaneously with stations at Clapham and Hawthorn despite criticism from nearby residents, with the conversion of the Adelaide-Wolseley line to standard gauge under the One Nation programme.[2] A number of reasons were quoted as justification for the closures, including poor patronage,[3] the excessive number of stations between Goodwood and Lynton and their proximity to each other, and the impracticability of a single-line working with so many stations and so few crossing points. The western platform was later demolished in 2007.[citation needed]
Reopening
In August 2013, moves were made towards the reopening of Millswood station, with the Transport Department launching an investigation into the proposal.[4] In the leadup to the 2014 State Election, the Labor State Government promised to reopen the station for a 12-month trial from 1 July 2014 if it was returned.[5] Upgrade works at the station subsequently commenced in July 2014 at a cost of $500,000,[6] but the initial draft timetable for the station only included every second peak-hour train not stopping at the reopened platform.[7] The station reopened on 12 October 2014 for a 12-month trial.[8] The trial was deemed successful, and the station was reopened permanently.[9]
^"Adelaide's Millswood Station reopens after almost 20 years", Railway Digest, December 2014, page 18
^Former Minister of Transport Frank Blevins stated there had been consideration since 1966 to close the station because of poor patronage. In December 1994, Millswood had on average 123 passenger boardings per day. Source:Question Time, Legislative Council, 12 April 1995, p. 1933
