The Bridgewater railway line was the name given to the "South line", the westernmost component of the Adelaide–Melbourne railway line, built in 1883 through the Adelaide Hills. The term was applied in connection with South Australian Railways suburban passenger services from the capital city, Adelaide, terminating at Bridgewater railway station. In 1987, poor patronage led to the services being curtailed 15.7 km to Belair and the line was consequently renamed the Belair line.

Services

Initially, services on the Bridgewater line were provided by trains hauled by locomotives – in the first half of the 20th century usually F class – and (from 1924) Brill railcars, then Red Hen railcars from 1956 to 1980 and 2000 class railcars in the final 7 years. Services ran from Adelaide with trains along the line terminating either at Belair or Bridgewater. On special occasions after 1987, such as the Oakbank Easter Racing Carnival held every Easter weekend at Oakbank, trains ran further east to terminate at Balhannah. However, this service ceased prior to the standard gauge conversion because of the expense of operating the line. Much of the line is steep, with an abundance of curves of 10 chain radius which, when combined with 1 in 45 (2 per cent) uncompensated grades, amounts to an equivalent grade of 1 in 37. Services from Adelaide to Bridgewater usually took an average of one hour (stopping all stations), and about 50 minutes (express). Only one train every two hours operated during off-peak and weekends (most terminating at Belair) and no more than two trains per hour in either direction during peak-hours. This was because the line was single track (which is still the case today) with crossing loops located at Belair, Long Gully, Mount Lofty, Aldgate and Bridgewater.

Closure and legacy

When the more direct South Eastern Freeway opened in the late 1960s, patronage to Bridgewater declined heavily as the steep winding rail corridor alignment meant rail journey times were significantly longer than that of motor vehicles. In 1985, the State Transport Authority sought to have the service withdrawn. The line had 12 services on weekdays, nine on Saturdays and five on Sundays. On 26 July 1987, passenger services to Bridgewater were withdrawn, attributed to high cost of operation and low passenger numbers. All stations beyond Belair were closed, and all suburban trains now terminate at Belair. In 1995, the Adelaide-Wolseley railway line was converted from broad gauge (1600mm) to standard gauge (1435 mm), ruling out any restoration of Adelaide commuter trains to Bridgewater and beyond. While restoration of passenger services beyond Belair had considerable public support, there are currently no plans for Adelaide Metro to convert the Belair line to standard gauge. Between Goodwood and Belair, the former double track route became two parallel single lines, one broad gauge for suburban services (owned by the state government), the other standard gauge for interstate and freight services (owned by the federal government). Along with this conversion, stations on the Belair line at Mile End Goods, Millswood (reopened in 2014), Hawthorn and Clapham closed; the other Belair line stations each had one platform closed.

Line guide

(Note: dates are those that are indicated in each individual article)