Bowden
The new Bowden station in December 2018.
General information
LocationGibson Street, Bowden
Coordinates34°54′22″S 138°34′33″E / 34.9061°S 138.5757°E / -34.9061; 138.5757
Owned byDepartment for Infrastructure & Transport
Operated byAdelaide Metro
Line(s)Outer Harbor
Grange
Distance2.7 km from Adelaide
Platforms2
Tracks2
ConnectionsBuses in Adelaide Bus
Trams in Adelaide Tram
Construction
Structure typeLowered
ParkingNo
Bicycle facilitiesYes
AccessibleYes → level boarding
Other information
Station code16496 (to City)
18442 (to Outer Harbor & Grange)
WebsiteAdelaide Metro
History
Opened1856
Rebuilt2018
Services
Preceding station Adelaide Metro Following station
Adelaide
Terminus
 Grange line Croydon
towards Grange
Outer Harbor line Croydon
towards Outer Harbor

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 cafe.

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 gay bar 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]

Redevelopment

Bowden station was significantly redeveloped as a part of the Torrens Rail Junction Project, a grade separation project to lower the Outer Harbor and Grange lines below Park Terrace, the Adelaide-Port Augusta line and Gawler line. The original city-bound platform was closed on 11 April 2017 and demolished shortly afterwards. The outbound platform was closed in September of the same year along with the entire Outer Harbor and Grange lines to facilitate main construction of the rail junction; this platform and the heritage station building containing The Loose Caboose Café were retained and the platform is now in use as a pedestrian walkway.[4] The new Bowden station was constructed between Park Terrace and Gibson Street in the lowered cutting and was opened on 15 January 2018 along with the Outer Harbor and Grange lines.[5]

Services by platform

Platform Lines Destinations
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:[6][7]
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 Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine 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. Adelaide. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "Torrens Rail Junction Project – DPTI – Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure South Australia". dpti.sa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  5. ↑ Dickers, Jessica (15 January 2018). "Trains tested on new underpass in SA". Infrastructure Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  6. ↑ SA, Service. "Adelaide Metro – Stop 12978". www.adelaidemetro.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  7. ↑ SA, Service. "Adelaide Metro – Stop 13006". www.adelaidemetro.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 April 2017. 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

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