Gawler railway station

Not to be confused with Gawler Central railway station.

Gawler
Southbound view of the station building and platform, October 2012
General information
LocationTwentythird Street, Gawler South
Coordinates34°36′30″S 138°44′23″E / 34.60833°S 138.73972°E / -34.60833; 138.73972
Owned byDepartment for Infrastructure & Transport
Operated byAdelaide Metro; originally South Australian Railways
Line(s)Gawler
Distance39.8 km from Adelaide
Platforms3
Tracks3
ConnectionsBuses in Adelaide Bus Buses in Adelaide Regional Bus
Construction
Structure typeGround
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station code16517 (to City)
18559 (to Gawler Central)
WebsiteAdelaide Metro
History
Opened1857
Rebuilt1872 & 2012
Services
Preceding station Adelaide Metro Following station
Gawler Racecourse
towards Adelaide
 Gawler line Gawler Oval
towards Gawler Central
Preceding station Aurizon Following station
Gawler Racecourse
towards Adelaide
 Roseworthy-Peterborough railway line Roseworthy
towards Peterborough

Gawler railway station is located on the Gawler line.[1] Situated in the South Australian town of Gawler, it is 39.8 kilometres (24.7 mi) from Adelaide station.

History

Gawler station, looking south, about 1880

Gawler station opened in 1857 as the terminus of the Gawler line. It was built on pastoral land owned by the local parliamentary member of the period. The original platform building was replaced in 1879.[2][3] Subsequently, a horse-drawn tram serviced Gawler's main street (Murray Street), almost a kilometre away. The tramway handled both passengers and goods, with several goods sidings, and a connection to the main line to facilitate the delivery of locomotives built by James Martin & Co. The railway was extended to Roseworthy and Kapunda in 1860 then to Morgan in 1878.

With the opening of the Barossa Valley line in 1911, Gawler became a junction station, and North Gawler station (now named Gawler Central) was built which eventually led to closure of the tramway. Further branches from both railway lines meant Gawler Station was quite busy. Neither line is now used beyond the metropolitan transit, and the current station contains a kiosk and three platforms. South of the station, lie stabling sidings for Adelaide Metro's rolling stock. The station marks the end of the double track section from Adelaide, with the line becoming single track just north of the station.

The Gawler Lions Club has adopted the station for restoration work. It now houses an art gallery, displaying local artists, and is open on weekends. The club also successfully lobbied for a steam engine built by James Martin & Sons, previously located on Thomas Terrace between the Gawler Oval and Gawler Central stations. The locomotive is also in the process of being restored.[4] An upgrade of the station was completed in March 2012: the heritage train shed was dismantled for restoration off-site, both platforms were upgraded, and a new toilet was installed.[5]

Adelaide Metro 4000 class electric train departing Gawler station in 2024.

Railway electrification to Gawler began in 2018 and was completed in June 2022 following delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 state election.[6]

Platforms and Services

Gawler has one side platform and one island platform, and is serviced by Adelaide Metro. It is a designated high-frequency station, with trains scheduled every 15 minutes on weekdays, between 7:30am and 6:30pm.[7]

Platform Destination/s Notes
1 Gawler Central/Adelaide Mostly used for terminating services from Adelaide, no passenger services during weekends
2 Gawler Central/Adelaide Mostly used in peak hours during weekdays, also some terminating services from Adelaide, no passenger services during weekends
3 Gawler Central/Adelaide Mostly used for services to Adelaide and Gawler Central, all passenger services use this platform during weekends
Bus Transfers: Stop 146 Gawler railway station
Route No. Destination & Route Details
491 Willaston and Hewett loop, via Murray St, Osprey Pde and Gawler Town Centre[8]
492 Gawler East loop, via Gawler Town Centre[9]
Route 429A is anti-clockwise and 429C is clockwise
493 Evanston loop, via Evanston Park, Tambelin Station and Gawler Town Centre[10]
810 Gawler to Angaston[11]
Service is operated by LinkSA
811 Evanston and Gawler to Angaston via Lyndoch and Williamstown[12]
Service is operated by LinkSA

The station building has appeared in a number of films and television shows, including The Shiralee and McLeod's Daughters.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Gawler Central timetable Archived 10 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine Adelaide Metro 4 February 2013
  2. ^ Bassett Town & the Railway Archived 30 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine Town of Gawler
  3. ^ "Place ID 6072". Australian Heritage Database. Australian Government.
  4. ^ Projects Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Gawler Lions Club
  5. ^ Stations Upgrade Program Archived 17 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure
  6. ^ "Gawler Railway Electrification Project". Gawler Council. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Gawler Central Timetable" (PDF). Adelaide Metro. 6 November 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  8. ^ Route 491 Adelaide Metro
  9. ^ Route 492 Adelaide Metro
  10. ^ Route 492 Adelaide Metro
  11. ^ Angaston to Gawler Routes LinkSA
  12. ^ Angaston to Gawler Routes LinkSA