It is rather a misnomer to call by that name the 'wires' in the station and out to just past Morphett Street bridge where they join the standard contact wire that is in the rest of the system. Perhaps for rigidity but almost certainly for longevity the 'wire' is more like a double rod. One of the security men told me that he had been given a piece, and that it was rounded at the top but flat on the bottom and quite thick, more like a rod than a wire. Whatever its cross-section and weight, it is visibly heavier than the standard contact wire. A pair of them two or three centimetres apart are clamped to cantilevered rods fixed to the wall of the ventilation vault opposite the platform, so that the whole assembly is rigid or with just a little 'give'. I regretted my decision to leave my camera home, not expecting to have a great deal of time to take photographs. Perhaps another member can publish a flashlight picture to please Don and others.

Perhaps for longevity (which lengthens the interval between maintenance on the wire) but is is possible the use of simple overhead (without catenary) is due to a clearance issue underneath the casino/convention centre (whatever it is) above the platforms at Adelaide?

Perhaps for longevity (which lengthens the interval between maintenance on the wire) but is is possible the use of simple overhead (without catenary) is due to a clearance issue underneath the casino/convention centre (whatever it is) above the platforms at Adelaide?

I agree with Duttonbay that it is probably a clearance issue at the platforms and under Morphett St bridge.  I suspect the reason for multiple conductors above the platform tracks is that they are required for the single and double slips in the approach to the platforms and it is easier to run the contact wires for anchorage at the inner ends of the platforms rather than provide anchor points in the confined space.  I had a chance to have a good look at the overhead through the front and rear windows of 3000's on Tuesday afternoon.  The catenary suspension starts at the Skate Park.

The state of the overhead on Tuesday was contact and catenary on down and up Seaford (former South Main) to N of Port Rd and on Down Belair to middle of Nairne Jn, catenary only on Down and Up Seaford under Port Rd to Sir Don Brad Dr and then Up only to sig 312 (halfway between Sir D B Dr and Keswick).  Return for both tracks extend to Keswick.  On Tues night the catenary was extended on Down to sig 312.

On Tuesday afernoon I travelled on 15.56 from NC to ARS.  On leaving NC the leading engine cut out but was restarted at Christie Downs. It cut out again at Clarence Pk and was not restarted again but we made it through the underpass.  This unit 3139/40 should have formed the 16.55 to NC. This failure was probably one of the reasons for the disruption on Tuesday evening.

One of the operational managers was interviewed on 891 Mornings this morning. Yesterday teatime there had been a failure in a power supply module which had caused the Noarlunga line and Belair line at Millswood signals to go red and the level crossing gates to close. This morning there was a problem with a electrification Hi-Rail which couldn't be got off the track at Mile End until about 6am.

Alex C

Never a good idea to have nearly all trains service every stop, but when the new timetable is out next year, hopefully this won't be the case.

Correct. They are not allowed to run under the wires for a number of safety reasons, which rules out using them south of the city.

I expect that the off-peak usage of the Jumbos is a necessity to moderate the wear and tear on the DEMU fleet inflicted by the intensive all-stop schedules.

Wear and tear on the Jumbos is surely less of a concern when they can start to be permanently retired if/when the EMUs enter service, something that 12 months ago everybody thought would happen this year when the Seaford Line opened with a fleet of shiny new EMUs.

What happens when the Gawler line is electrified as far as the Dry Creek depot, to allow the electric units to travel there under their own power for servicing. Would that prevent Jumbos running on the Gawler line too, which would severely limit their use?

What happens when the Gawler line is electrified as far as the Dry Creek depot, to allow the electric units to travel there under their own power for servicing. Would that prevent Jumbos running on the Gawler line too, which would severely limit their use?

I suggest that a Jumbo train will be possessed by the NRM for use in future events. A few would be sent to tourist railway companies and the rest would simply be sent to the scrapheap, particularly at CMA Wingfield!

What happens when the Gawler line is electrified as far as the Dry Creek depot, to allow the electric units to travel there under their own power for servicing. Would that prevent Jumbos running on the Gawler line too, which would severely limit their use?

Once the overhead is installed & energized on the Gawler line towards Dry Creek, it will prevent Jumbos being used anywhere on the Adelaide rail system.
By the time this part of the electrification project happens, hopefully there will be enough new EMUs delivered to allow most/all Seaford & Tonsley trains to be electrically operated.
There will then be enough DEMUs to allow all Grange, Outer Harbor and Gawler trains to run with 3000-class units & all Jumbos will be retired.


In the short term, once the wires are energized on the Seaford & Belair lines through Adelaide Yard and into platforms 1 to 4, there will need to be some procedures in place to prevent a train formed of jumbos being accidentally signalled onto the south side of the yard (and under the wires) at Nairne Junction.
Especially at times of disruption when normal routes and platform allocations get modified on short notice.
As the signallers will not always know whether a train on their computer screen is 2000 or 3000-class, how will this be achieved?  By relying on the driver remembering "I'm driving a Jumbo, I can't cross over there!", and stopping his train?
Since the rail authorities don't trust their drivers to stop at red signals, and implemented the "pass all yellows at 40kph" rule, I'm not sure they would take this risk.
Same thing applies to an EMU arriving off the South Suburban (Belair) line getting signalled into Platform 5 (non electrified).  Will they rely on the driver remembering and not running out of wire?  An opportunity for a new type of peak-hour debacle waiting to happen?

The issue of Jumbos and EMUs going where they shouldn't will be easily sorted out by adherence to a strict regime of platforms being selected according to where the train has originated from, with Seaford/Tonsley always on platforms 1-3, Belair always on 4-5, OH/Grange on 6-7 and trains from the north (other than EMU depot transfers) on 8-9 with supervisor approval being required to set a platform for an incoming train off plan. With the EMUs only serving Seaford/Tonsley there would always be a one track 'buffer zone' between where they are (1-3) and where they shouldn't be (5-9), and the reverse applies for the Jumbos.

Such a plan would also ease some of the current ad-hoc working of Adelaide Station, which should never need to be disorganised when they have nine platforms for four routes (some of which have short spurs coming off further down). This is how major terminals overseas manage to run many more trains than we do and reduce the occurrence of disruption on one route causing a chain reaction across other lines, by keeping the different routes separate instead of intermeshed.

As a backup, drivers of EMUs and Jumbos will have to check the theatre indicator on the signals adjacent to SAHMRI and stop if the signallers have given them a platform they can't use. Perfect example of why route signalling is right.

I suggest that a Jumbo train will be possessed by the NRM for use in future events. A few would be sent to tourist railway companies and the rest would simply be sent to the scrapheap, particularly at CMA Wingfield!

From what is known by most one set is going be saved by the History Trust of South Australia the rest scrapped, however where they decide to place it is up to them though. The NRM is on the list, but then so too would be Steamranger. However having said that the NRM is simply a drive it in and leave it there job at hardly any cost at all. To get one to Steamranger by truck would be a costly exercise. The NRM will not own it though so it will not be possessed by them, it would be on a loan to them like a lot of other exhibits that are there now.

Yep I can definitely confirm the last train to depart Adelaide on weekdays is the 8:00pm train and the trains on the Noarlunga down track were temporarily halted as a fallen tree branch made itself home on the track at Clarence Park a couple of hours ago.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/commuter-fury-rising-at-problems-facing-reopened-noarlunga-line-after-being-shut-for-a-year/story-fni6uo1m-1226788187814

This quote is very bizarre ""There is no express service from Noarlunga and the new trains - on the days I have got them - don't leave on time and stop every other stop."

The new trains? there's no new trains running atm - really weird that this person thinks they are getting on different types of trains.

People who used the peak express trains on the Noarlunga line would probably have been using almost exclusively Jumbos in the past, so they have indeed already received newer trains. The DEMUs here are of such high standard after a good mid-life refresh over the last few years that the next switch over to EMUs will feel like a minor adjustment compared to the Jumbo-DEMU leap.

And to think that exactly twelve months ago people were frothing at the mouth over what was expected to be the last opportunity to ride the Jumbos anywhere, with new EMUs to start delivery in January for mid-year testing and entering service in September. Oh, how wrong they were!

Also from that article as well and I quote, my bolding by the way.

"The trains are always running late because of delays and I definitely think they rushed the service back so they could look good to have trains running during the Ashes (Test at Adelaide Oval)''.


Errr that is what the local people and commuters wanted was it not, they could not wait a bit longer to have it all finished, oh no it had to be opened yesterday for them. So they can really blame no one but them greedy selves can they, all the government did was bow to commuter complaints on line and elsewhere. Classic case of wanting to keep your cake and eat it to here!

People who used the peak express trains on the Noarlunga line would probably have been using almost exclusively Jumbos in the past, so they have indeed already received newer trains. The DEMUs here are of such high standard after a good mid-life refresh over the last few years that the next switch over to EMUs will feel like a minor adjustment compared to the Jumbo-DEMU leap.

And to think that exactly twelve months ago people were frothing at the mouth over what was expected to be the last opportunity to ride the Jumbos anywhere, with new EMUs to start delivery in January for mid-year testing and entering service in September. Oh, how wrong they were!

I don't know about that from personal experience it was like half jumbo and half poxbox for peak services. 5:10 express to Noarlunga was always jumbo and the 5:43 express to Noarlunga was always poxbox

The 5:02, 5:25, and 5:46 Tonsley trains were all 3000s on the old timetable, as were the 5:43, and 5:55 trains to Noarlunga. The 5:10, 5:14, 5:18, and 5:47 trains leaving Adelaide were Jumbos. The 5:26 was usually a jumbo, but occasionally a 3000 class.

On my morning commute I noticed that the catenary is now installed all the way on both up and down Seaford lines. Contact conductor still not installed from half way between Emerson and Clarence Park. Also noted that return wire is fully installed but only one earth bond (down line) is installed between ARS and SASSMEE entrance.

Also from that article as well and I quote, my bolding by the way.

"The trains are always running late because of delays and I definitely think they rushed the service back so they could look good to have trains running during the Ashes (Test at Adelaide Oval)''.


Errr that is what the local people and commuters wanted was it not, they could not wait a bit longer to have it all finished, oh no it had to be opened yesterday for them. So they can really blame no one but them greedy selves can they, all the government did was bow to commuter complaints on line and elsewhere. Classic case of wanting to keep your cake and eat it to here!

You don't have to look that far to find people demanding that it be re-opened yesterday.  Going back several pages on this thread there were quite a few people complaining voraciously - not that I blame them, it was closed for an inordinately long time.  However given the whole system has been pretty much renewed and re-laid in its entirety since the Outer Harbour upgrade 11 years ago it's unlikely that such a shut-down will be necessary in the future (you would hope!).

Now the shut-down is now well and truly over it might be appropriate to think about a new thread devoted to bedding in the new electric service?

You don't have to look that far to find people demanding that it be re-opened yesterday.  Going back several pages on this thread there were quite a few people complaining voraciously - not that I blame them, it was closed for an inordinately long time.  However given the whole system has been pretty much renewed and re-laid in its entirety since the Outer Harbour upgrade 11 years ago it's unlikely that such a shut-down will be necessary in the future (you would hope!).

Now the shut-down is now well and truly over it might be appropriate to think about a new thread devoted to bedding in the new electric service?

Not quite!

Media Release Friday, 20 December 2013

Adelaide Metro customers are advised that to accelerate rail revitalisation works both the Belair and Noarlunga lines will be temporarily closed during two extended weekends during the Christmas-New Year period.

The Belair and Noarlunga lines will be closed:
From 9.00pm on Friday, 27 December to 4.00am Tuesday, 31 December 2013.
From 9.00pm on Thursday, 2 January to 5.00pm Tuesday, 7 January 2014.
Substitute buses will be available throughout these temporary closures.

The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) has scheduled this work during this period as patronage is traditionally low.

Signs will be placed at affected stations and Adelaide Metro InfoTeams will be on site during the closure to assist customers.

Customers should note that rail services on the Noarlunga and Belair lines will operate outside the extended weekend closures including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve.

http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/Announcements/Service-updates/Temporary-extended-weekend-closures-for-Belair-and-Noarlunga-lines

Also Tonsley line is scheduled for reopening in February.

Alex C

Okay, thanks for that - only just announced on Friday?  I'm surprised they didn't call it for a few weeks instead, they are very long 'weekends'.  We have no trains at all through most parts of the western suburbs here in Melbourne from the 28th through to just before Australia Day but if you saw the amount of work they're trying to get done in that time-frame you'd understand why.  

Obviously premature to call the Noarlunga closures completely over but at least the complete shut-down is a thing of the past.

You don't have to look that far to find people demanding that it be re-opened yesterday.  Going back several pages on this thread there were quite a few people complaining voraciously - not that I blame them, it was closed for an inordinately long time.  However given the whole system has been pretty much renewed and re-laid in its entirety since the Outer Harbour upgrade 11 years ago it's unlikely that such a shut-down will be necessary in the future (you would hope!).

Now the shut-down is now well and truly over it might be appropriate to think about a new thread devoted to bedding in the new electric service?

What I should have said was it might have been better to have it closed a little bit longer and fully completed and open for business using the diesel railcars till full electric service started. Alright you get them going on about using substitute buses in hot weather and demanding the trains be bought back, so they bring the trains back and then someone pipes up that it was rushed! You can't win can you.

Personally I would have left it closed a little longer and got all the work completed or as near to it as you could get, some minor work could be done after it was opened. Things like the underpass at Marion should have been done before they did anything, not left to the last minute to complete. Same goes for the new showgrounds station as well. Get it all done and finished then do the trackwork and overhead.

On my morning commute I noticed that the catenary is now installed all the way on both up and down Seaford lines. Contact conductor still not installed from half way between Emerson and Clarence Park. Also noted that return wire is fully installed but only one earth bond (down line) is installed between ARS and SASSMEE entrance.

They were certainly busy over the weekend.  When I looked ay 2pm on Saturday the up return was being clamped to the the insulators and the down return was still on sheaves in the Wayville/Goodwood/Underpass area.

I guess the one earth is all that's needed with the steel gantry structures.  The rest of the line with predominantly concrete masts requires the pair of earth wires.

The overhead goes under the Keswick Stn footbridge, just!

Alex C

The overhead wiring at the Oaklands station does seem unusually high compared to the rest of the line did they even get the clearance height correct?

I also noticed overhead wiring through the underpass as I was heading into the city this morning looks good.

Two recent observations : the pedestrian crossing at Young Street, South Brighton has not been reinstated. Level crossing  @ Wheatland Street, Seacliff, has, for motorists,  'high voltage' warning signs with this bonus signage ......





Presumably thus chosen as there is boat ramp very close by. Watch those masts, you maritime morons.

The overhead wiring at the Oaklands station does seem unusually high compared to the rest of the line did they even get the clearance height correct?

The level crossing is on an Overdimensional Load Route. This would mean that extra clearance would be necessary with the possibility that the overhead could be de-energised for a bit extra clearance for those even larger loads. This is also an impediment for overpasses at this level crossing and also Brighton Rd.

Road routes can always be closed or diverted somewhere else. That kind of thing can be handled using announce and defend, or even announce and ignore as in the case of the sham request for public input on the Marion station urinal/tunnel.

I would be more concerned about the higher wires increasing the chance of a pantograph getting entangled and pulling the kit down at the Morphett Road crossing than with the occasional tall load having to go a couple of kilometres further to use South Road.

Two recent observations : the pedestrian crossing at Young Street, South Brighton has not been reinstated. Level crossing  @ Wheatland Street, Seacliff, has, for motorists,  'high voltage' warning signs with this bonus signage ......

Presumably thus chosen as there is boat ramp very close by. Watch those masts, you maritime morons.

Um, spot the problem with the sign. (Compared to the International Standard that you posted.)