TransAdelaide was a publicly owned cooperation in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, and operated the city's

suburban rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

and

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

services. It took responsibilities from the State Transport Authority in July 1994.

History

TransAdelaide 3000 class railcar at Adelaide station

In June 1994, the government-owned agency State Transport Authority was dissolved (and the 1974 Act repealed) as a consequence of th
''Passenger Transport Act 1994.''
These reforms split the STA into the Passenger Transport Board, which coordinated and funded the public transport system, and TransAdelaide, which actually operated metropolitan buses, trains and trams. The formation of TransAdelaide was a prelude to competitive tendering and the introduction of private operators into the Adelaide public transport network. In April 2000, all metropolitan bus routes were transferred from TransAdelaide to private companies

Serco Serco Group plc is a British multinational corporation, multinational military, defence, Healthcare, health, Space industry, space, private prison, justice, Human migration, migration, customer service, customer services, and transport company ...

SouthLink SouthLink is an Australian bus service operator in Adelaide. It operates services as part of the Adelaide Metro network under contract to the Department for Infrastructure & Transport. It is a subsidiary of Keolis Downer. History In April 20 ...

and

Torrens Transit Torrens Transit is an Australian bus service operator in Adelaide. It operates services as part of the Adelaide Metro network under contract to the Department for Infrastructure & Transport. It is a subsidiary of Transit Systems. History In Ap ...

and a joint venture of TransAdelaide (with Southlink) known as

Transitplus Transitplus, formerly Hills Transit, was an Australian bus service operator in Adelaide. It operated services as part of the Adelaide Metro network under contract to the Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure. It was a 50/50 joint v ...

. It continued to operate rail services under the

Adelaide Metro Adelaide Metro is the public transport system of the Adelaide area, around the capital city of South Australia. It is an intermodal passenger transport, intermodal system offering an integrated network of Buses in Adelaide, bus, Glenelg tram, ...

brand. It was abolished in August 2010, with its staff and functions transferred to the newly created Office of the Rail Commissioner.

Operations

TransAdelaide operated the suburban rail services on the Noarlunga,

Gawler Gawler, established in 1839, is the oldest country town in the state of South Australia. It was named after the second Governor (British Vice-Regal representative) of the colony of South Australia, George Gawler. It is about north of the st ...

, Outer Harbor,

Belair Belair or Bélair may refer to: People *Bianca Belair, wrestler *Sanité Bélair (1781–1802), Haitian freedom fighter *Anne Liger-Belair, Belgian writer known as Anne Duguël Places Historic locations *Belair (Nashville, Tennessee), United Sta ...

, Tonsley and

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * The Grange (Toronto), Toronto, Ontario, built in 1817 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to ...

lines, in addition to maintaining the stations along the lines. The rail services were provided by a fleet of 70 3000 class diesel railcars and 30

2000 class railcar The 2000 class and 2100 class were diesel multiple units that operated on the Adelaide rail network between 1980 and 2015. They were built by Comeng in Granville, New South Wales in 1979–1980. As of 2024, six railcars have been preserved wh ...

s. TransAdelaide inherited some Redhen railcars from the State Transport Authority. The final units were retired in October 1996. It also operated Adelaide's last remaining tram service, the Glenelg Light Rail tram line from Victoria Square to the seaside suburb of Glenelg. 2000 class 4car gawler

Tram revival

For 77 years, Type H trams were the mainstay of the

Glenelg tram line The Glenelg tram line is a tram/light rail line in Adelaide. Apart from a short street-running section in Glenelg, the line has its own reservation, with minimal interference from road traffic. The service is free in the city centre and al ...

. They operated after the line was converted from a steam railway to an electrified tramway in 1929. In the 21st century, a series of investments were made to improve and extend the line, beginning in May 2003 when the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the highest ranking mem ...

announced an upgrade of the Glenelg line infrastructure and the introduction of new trams. Major work to upgrade the line took place between 5 June and 7 August 2005.

Concrete sleeper A concrete sleeper (British English) or concrete tie (American English) is a type of railway sleeper or railroad tie made out of steel reinforced concrete. History In 1877, Joseph Monier, a French gardener, suggested that concrete reinforced ...

s were installed and much of the track renewed in an intensive nine-week project. Most of the 21 tram stops were reconstructed with higher platforms to allow level access to the new low-floor trams. The overhead electrical supply was upgraded, and some minor modifications were made to the Type H trams and Glengowrie depot. Tram services were replaced with substitute bus services during this period. The terminus at Moseley Square was reconfigured in September 2005 as part of a general redevelopment of the square. An extension opened to the new City West terminus on 14 October 2007. An overpass crossing

South Road South Road and its southern section as Main South Road outside of Adelaide is a major north–south conduit connecting Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula, in South Australia. It is one of Adelaide's most important arterial and bypass roads. A ...

was announced in the 2007 South Australian Budget. The project was built in conjunction with the

Anzac Highway Anzac Highway is an main arterial road heading southwest from the city of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, to the beachside suburb of Glenelg. Originally named the Bay Road, it mostly follows the track made by the pioneer James Cham ...

Underpass. Construction by McConnell Dowell commenced in July 2009. On 8 December 2009, the overpass opened to allow trams to pass over it, however the South Road tram stop was not operational until 15 March 2010. Another new extension was opened to the

Adelaide Entertainment Centre The Adelaide Entertainment Centre (AEC) is an indoor arena located in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It is used for sporting and entertainment events. It is the principal venue for concerts, events and attractions for audiences betw ...

on 11 May 2009. Testing began in February 2010 and the extension opened on 22 March 2010.Adelaide Entertainment Centre Tram Line Opens ''Trolley Wire'' issue 321 May 2010 pages 21-23

Rail fleet

Between 1994 and 2010, TransAdelaide operated the following classes of rail vehicles. {, class="wikitable" , ----- bgcolor=#f9f9f9 ! rowspan="2" , Class ! rowspan="2" , Image ! rowspan="2" , Type ! colspan="4" , Top speed ! rowspan="2" , Number ! rowspan="2" , Routes operated ! rowspan="2" , Built , ----- bgcolor=#f9f9f9 ! mph ! km/h ! Limit
mph/h ! Limit
km/h , - ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

''Jumbos'' , 2000 class 4car gawler

Diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

, 87 , 140 , 56 , 90 , 11 ,

Noarlunga Centre Noarlunga Centre is a suburb in the City of Onkaparinga in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The suburb is mostly commercial, being dominated by the Centro Colonnades shopping centre and the small 'Inspire Noarlunga' estate t ...

, Outer Harbor, Tonsley , 1980 , - ,

2100 In contemporary history, the third millennium is the current millennium in the ''Anno Domini'' or Common Era, under the Gregorian calendar. It began on 1 January 2001 ( MMI) and will end on 31 December 3000 ( MMM), spanning the 21st to 30th ...

''Jumbos'' , 2kwood

Control car A control car, cab car (North America), control trailer, or driving trailer (UK, Ireland, Australia and India) is a non-powered rail vehicle from which a train can be operated. As dedicated vehicles or regular passenger cars, they have one or t ...

, 87 , 140 , 56 , 90 , 18 ,

, Outer Harbor, Tonsley , 1980 , - ,

3000 3000 or 3000s usually refers to: * 3000 (number), the decimal number * 3000 AD/CE, the first year of the 31st century * 3000 BC(E), a year in the 3rd millennium BC * 3000s AD/CE, a decade, century, millennium in the 4th millennium * 3000s BC(E), ...

, Diesel-electric multiple unit , 87 , 140 , 56 , 90 , 30 , All non-tram routes
, 1987- , - , 3100 , AdelaideRail 9

, Diesel-electric multiple unit , 87 , 140 , 56 , 90 , 40 , All non-tram routes
, 1988–96 , - ,

Bombardier Flexity Classic The Bombardier Flexity Classic is a model of light rail, light-rail tram manufactured by Bombardier Transportation (now merged into Alstom). Although it is marketed as the most traditionally designed member of the Bombardier Flexity, Flexity fa ...

Tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

, -- , -- , 50 , 80 , 15 , Glenelg–City–Hindmarsh , 2006 , - ,

Alstom Citadis The Alstom Citadis is a family of low-floor trams and light rail vehicles built by Alstom. , over 2,300 Citadis trams have been sold and 1,800 tramways are in revenue service throughout the world, with operations in all six inhabited continents ...

, ,

, -- , -- , -- , -- , 6
3 , Glenelg–City–Hindmarsh , 2009
2017

References

{{Reflist {{Australian rail, state=collapsed {{TramsAustralia {{Authority control Rail transport in South Australia Passenger railway companies of Australia Transport in Adelaide Public transport in South Australia Railway companies established in 1994 Railway companies disestablished in 2010 Australian companies established in 1994 Australian companies disestablished in 2010