Woodville railway station, Adelaide

Woodville
South-east bound view from Platform 3, January 2008
General information
Location	Woodville Road, Woodville
Coordinates	34°52′37″S 138°32′16″E
Owned by	Department for Infrastructure & Transport
Operated by	Adelaide Metro
Line(s)	Grange Outer Harbor Port Dock
Distance	7.5 km from Adelaide
Platforms	4 (1 disused)
Tracks	3
Bus routes	100, 300 (Woodville Road) 230, 232, J8 (Torrens Road) 150, 155, 157 (Port Road)
Connections	Bus
Construction
Structure type	1 island platform 1 side platform
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	16571 (to City) 18452 (to Outer Harbor, Port Dock & Grange)
Website	Adelaide Metro
History
Opened	1856
Services
Preceding station Adelaide Metro Following station Woodville Park towards Adelaide Grange line Albert Park towards Grange Outer Harbor line St Clair towards Outer Harbor Port Dock line St Clair towards Port Dock

Woodville station
km closed to Adelaide 6.8 Woodville Park Woodville Road Woodville Cabin 1986 3 2 1 7.4 Woodville 7.8 Holdens 1992 to Finsbury Stores 1979 to Port Dock & Outer Harbor Grange line

Woodville railway station is the junction station for the Grange, Outer Harbor and Port Dock lines with the lines diverging immediately north of the station. Situated in the western Adelaide suburb of Woodville, it is 7.5 kilometres from Adelaide station. It has auto pedestrian gates and lights. Platform 3 had a small kiosk, built around 2006, that sells refreshments and tickets, but has not been opened since 2009.

History

Northbound view in October 2005

Track layout at Woodville station showing former Holdens station.

Track layout at Woodville station in 2005

Woodville station was one of the original stations on the Adelaide to Port Adelaide railway, which opened in April 1856. The only other intermediate stations on the new line were at Bowden and Alberton. In the early days, Adelaide to Port Adelaide was a single-track railway and a passing loop was provided at Woodville. As traffic on the line increased, the single track was duplicated throughout in 1881.

The 1920s and 1930s saw significant development of heavy industry in Woodville and the neighbouring areas. For example, Holdens Motor Body Builders (later General Motors Holden) built a factory in the fork between the Grange and Outer Harbor lines. Sidings were laid to service the factory and Holdens station opened in 1928 a short way along the Grange line. Cars were dispatched by rail from Holdens' sidings.

The Woodville signal cabin became obsolete after a resignalling project in the late 1980s and has been relocated to the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide. In late 2016, the station was ranked as one of the best stations in the western suburbs based on 5 criteria.

Grange Railway

Main article: Grange railway line

The railway line between Woodville and Grange opened in September 1882. It was a private railway, constructed by the Grange Railway and Investment Company. The early railway was not a financial success and was bought out by the South Australian Railways in 1893.

Branch lines

In World War II several munitions and armaments factories were opened, which resulted in construction of two new industrial branch lines in the Woodville area. The Finsbury line was opened in September 1940 and departed from the main line at Woodville. It headed in a northerly direction and serviced a wartime munitions works at Cheltenham Park and a Government Supply Depot at Finsbury. The line continued through Pennington to join the Dry Creek-Port Adelaide railway at Gillman Junction. The layout at Woodville station was altered in 1942 when a new platform face was constructed on the north-east side of today's Platform 3 to serve Finsbury trains. The original 1856 station building on the Port Adelaide-bound platform was demolished and a new signal cabin was provided adjacent to the Woodville Road level crossing.

This industrial line had limited passenger services, designed mainly to cater for workers at factories in the vicinity. After the end of World War II there were no off-peak trains, or weekend services after Saturday lunchtime. The Finsbury line closed on 17 August 1979 and later dismantled and redeveloped. The Islamic Arabic Centre & Al-Khalil Mosque on Torrens Road, Woodville North stands where the extensive Woodville North station platform used to stand until the 1980s.

Services by platform

For many years, the Grange line was operated by a shuttle service train at weekends and in the evenings. This terminated at Platform 1 and made connections with Outer Harbor line trains to and from Adelaide. However, since about 1996, all Grange trains have operated through to Adelaide.

Platform	Lines	Destinations	Notes
1	Grange	All stops services to Grange
2	Outer Harbor	All stops services to Outer Harbor	Some peak hour services terminate at Osborne Most trains bound for Outer Harbor do not stop at Cheltenham
	Port Dock	All stops services to Port Dock
3	Grange	All stops services to Adelaide
	Outer Harbor	All stops services to Adelaide	Most services run express from Woodville to Adelaide
	Port Dock	All stops services to Adelaide

Transport links

Bus Transfers: Stop 222 (Woodville Road)
Route No.	Destination & Route Details
100	Glen Osmond
101	Flinders University
300	Circle Line

Bus Transfers: Stop 21 (Port Road)
Route No.	Destination & Route Details
J7	Adelaide Airport via Findon Road
150	Osborne via Port Road
155	West Lakes via West Lakes Boulevard
157	Largs Bay via West Lakes

References

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

External links

• Media related to Woodville railway station, Adelaide at Wikimedia Commons