Bowden railway station

Bowden railway station is located on the Grange and Outer Harbor lines.[1] Situated in the inner-city Adelaide suburb of Bowden, it is 2.7 kilometres from Adelaide station. The station was rebuilt and reopened in January 2018, with the original platforms closed and demolished; the southbound platform was closed and demolished in April 2017, a section of the northbound platform was retained due to the original station's 1856 brick and stone station building being located on that platform, which now houses The Loose Caboose Café.

Bowden
The new Bowden station in December 2018.
Location	Gibson Street, Bowden
Coordinates	34°54′22″S 138°34′33″E
Owned by	Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure
Operated by	Adelaide Metro
Line(s)	Grange Line Outer Harbor
Distance	2.7 kilometres from Adelaide
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Bus routes	150 155 157
Connections	Glenelg
Construction
Structure type	Lowered Side platform
Parking	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Status	Open
Station code	16496
History
Opened	1856
Rebuilt	2018
Services
Preceding station   Adelaide Metro   Following station Adelaide Terminus Grange line Croydon toward Grange Outer Harbor line Croydon toward Outer Harbor

History

Bowden was one of the original stations on the Adelaide to Port Adelaide railway when the line opened in April 1856. In 1871, sidings were constructed at the Woodville end of the station for delivery of coal from Port Adelaide to the adjacent gas works. With increasing traffic, the single track Adelaide to Port Adelaide line was duplicated in 1881, and the sidings at Bowden were extended as the gas works grew. Two signal cabins were in operation at Bowden between 1884 and 1930, one at East Street (at the Woodville end), the second at Gibson Street (at the Adelaide end). The East Street cabin was closed when colour light signalling was introduced on the Port line in the 1930s.

The SA Gas Company sidings were closed in June 1973 and Bowden's goods yard was closed completely from September 1977 along with the Gibson Street signal cabin. The site of the gas works sidings is still visible on the north side of the line near the Chief Street underpass. With falling passenger numbers, the station has been unattended since November 1979, which is in marked contrast from the middle years of the 20th century when usage was high enough to justify staffed ticket offices on both platforms. In 2012, The Loose Caboose Café was opened in the station building on northbound platform 1.[2] In late 2016, the station was ranked as one of the better stations in the western suburbs based on 5 criteria.[3]

2017 redevelopment

As part of the Torrens Rail Junction Project, a grade separation project to lower the Outer Harbor and Grange lines below Park Terrace and the Adelaide to Port Augusta and Gawler lines, the original station was demolished and a new one built, however, the heritage station building remains.[4]

In 2017, the original city-bound platform was closed on April 11 and demolished shortly afterwards. The outbound platform was closed in September of the same year. The old 'Down' platform are in use as pedestrian walkway. The underpass was permanently closed in March. The café remains in place.

On January 15, 2018 the new Bowden station opened to the public along with the mostly completed Torrens Rail Junction.

Services by platform

Platform	Lines	Destinations	Notes
1	Grange	all stops services to Grange
	Outer Harbor	all stops services to Outer Harbor
2	Grange	all stops services to Adelaide
	Outer Harbor	all stops services to Adelaide

Transport Connections

The closest bus stop to Bowden station is Stop 6 on Port Road:[5][6]
150 City - Osborne
155 City - Westfield West Lakes
157 City - Largs Bay

Bowden station is also in close proximity to the Entertainment Centre tram station:

Glenelg Entertainment Centre - Moseley Square (peak hour only)
Glenelg Entertainment Centre - Botanic Garden

References

1. Outer Harbor & Grange timetable Adelaide Metro 23 February 2014
2. Bowden cafe The Loose Caboose accused of heritage breaches after renovation Adelaide Advertiser 30 August 2013
3. "And the worst rail stop in the west goes to …". The Advertiser. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
4. "Torrens Rail Junction Project - DPTI - Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure South Australia". www.dpti.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
5. SA, Service. "Adelaide Metro - Stop 12978". www.adelaidemetro.com.au. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
6. SA, Service. "Adelaide Metro - Stop 13006". www.adelaidemetro.com.au. Retrieved 8 January 2018.

• Rails Through Swamp and Sand – A History of the Port Adelaide Railway M. Thompson, pub. Port Dock Station Railway Museum (1988) ISBN 0-9595073-6-1

External links

Media related to Bowden railway station at Wikimedia Commons