Belair line

The Belair line is a suburban rail commuter route in greater Adelaide, South Australia, that runs from the Adelaide railway station to Belair in the Adelaide Hills via the Adelaide-Wolseley line using diesel 3000/3100 class railcars. This part of the Adelaide–Wolseley line comprised two broad-gauge tracks until the Adelaide–Wolseley line was converted to standard gauge in 1995. Now two separate single-track lines run in parallel from Adelaide to Belair: the Belair commuter line – still broad gauge – and the line to Wolseley thence interstate – standard gauge – line. The latter carries freight except for four long-distance passenger trains per week.

History

The first part of the Adelaide-Wolseley line – from Adelaide to Belair and Bridgewater – opened in 1883. In 1919, a new alignment was built around Sleeps Hill as part of the duplication of the line. This involved a double-track tunnel being built to replace two tunnels and two viaducts. The new alignment was also shorter. In 1928, the line was duplicated from Eden Hills to Blackwood and on to Belair.

State Transport Authority passenger services ceased beyond Belair in 1987. In 1995, the track used by Adelaide-bound services was converted to standard gauge as part of the Adelaide to Melbourne standardisation project. The broad-gauge passenger services south of Goodwood were thus restricted to one track, with crossing loops located at Mitcham, Sleeps Hill, Eden Hills and Blackwood. At the same time, the stations at Millswood, Hawthorn and Clapham were closed to speed up services. Millswood was reopened in 2014.

Re-sleepering and electrification

In 2008, the Government of South Australia announced a plan to rebuild the Belair line. The line closed on 26 April 2009, when buses replaced trains. Both track bed and track were renewed. Dual-gauge sleepers were laid to allow for the line to be converted to standard gauge in future – this is not planned in the immediate future due to extra engineering work and complications with the standard gauge line. The line reopened on 23 August 2009.

since 2025Template:Dated maintenance category (articles), the standard-gauge track is owned by the Australian Rail Track Corporation and continues beyond Belair as the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line. The track is used by freight trains operated by One Rail Australia, Pacific National and SCT Logistics, and by the twice-weekly Overland passenger service to Melbourne operated by Journey Beyond.

The Adelaide end of the Belair line was closed from 1 January 2013 to 14 July 2013 to allow electrification of the line from Adelaide to Goodwood (built concurrently with electrification of the adjacent Seaford line) and construction of a grade separation at Goodwood Junction. Relatively little work was performed on the Belair line itself. In 2021 the new operator of the line, Keolis Downer, enforced a limit on the number of bicycles carried in railcars, which affected patronage of the Mitcham Hills mountain bike circuit.

Route

File:Belair Line diagram.png

Route diagram of the Belair Line

All services are now operated by Adelaide Metro's 3000 class railcars. Until June 2007, some services on weekends were operated by a 2000 class railcar modified to incorporate increased bike capacity. In 2005, trains ran the route every 30 minutes on weekdays (hourly after 7pm) and every 60 minutes on weekends and public holidays. From 2006, because of the line becoming single, this was downgraded to every 36/24 minutes on weekdays. In 2018 trains depart at least twice every hour on weekdays, with as little as 10 minutes' waiting time during rush hour.Template:Update inline

Line guide

colspan=7 style=background:#Template:Rcr|Belair Line
Name	Distance from Adelaide	Year opened	Serving suburbs	Connections
Template:Rwsa	0.0 km	1856	Adelaide	Template:Ric Bus Template:Ric Tram
Template:Rwsa	2.0 km	1898	Mile End
Template:Rwsa	4.0 km	2014	Keswick, Wayville
Template:Rwsa	5.0 km	1883	Forestville, Goodwood
Template:Rwsa	5.9 km	c. Template:Trim	Millswood
Template:Rwsa	7.0 km	c. Template:Trim	Hawthorn, Unley Park, Westborne Park	Template:Ric Bus
Template:Rwsa	8.5 km	1883	Lower Mitcham	Template:Ric Bus
Template:Rwsa	9.3 km	1914	Lower Mitcham, Torrens Park	Template:Ric Bus
Template:Rwsa	10.7 km	1946	Clapham, Lynton
Template:Rwsa	14.2 km	1912	Eden Hills
Template:Rwsa	17.2 km	1883	Blackwood
Blackwood	18.1 km	1883	Blackwood	Template:Ric Bus Interchange
Template:Rwsa	19.3 km	1921	Blackwood, Glenalta
Template:Rwsa	20.2 km	c. Template:Trim	Belair	Template:Ric Bus
Template:Rwsa	21.5 km	1883	Belair	Template:Ric Bus

Former stations

• Template:Rwsa – opened 1910s, relocated 1917, closed 1995.
• Template:Rwsa – opened 1910s, closed 1995.
• Template:Rwsa – opened 1913, closed 2013.
• Template:Rwsa – closed 1994.
• Template:Rwsa – opened 2005 for seasonal use, closed 2013.
• Template:Rwsa – opened 1909, closed 1946.

Gallery

• Mitcham station
  Mitcham station
• Two Red Hen railcars working a Belair–Adelaide local train during the late 1980s, approaching Lynton
  Two Red Hen railcars working a Belair–Adelaide local train during the late 1980s, approaching Lynton
• Eden Hills station
  Eden Hills station
• Blackwood station in 2007; bus interchange is on the left
  Blackwood station in 2007; bus interchange is on the left
• Belair station, where services to Bridgewater once departed
  Belair station, where services to Bridgewater once departed
• Pacific National freight train passing through Belair
  Pacific National freight train passing through Belair

External links

• Belair to City – Adelaide Metro website