The Willunga railway line was a railway line on the South Australian Railways network.

History

The line opened on 20 January 1915 by Sir Henry Galway who was the Governor of South Australia at that time. It ran through the southern

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 ...

suburbs from

Adelaide railway station Adelaide railway station is the central Terminal station, terminus of the Adelaide Metro railway system. All lines approach the station from the west, and it is a terminal station with no through lines, with most of the traffic on the metropol ...

to Willunga, over long (longer than the current Gawler line). It had 16 stopping places between Adelaide and Willunga. It closed beyond Hallett Cove in 1969. In September 1972, a track-removal train dismantled the track between Hallett Cove and Willunga. The

Seaford railway line The Seaford line is a commuter railway line in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the city's second longest metropolitan railway line at . History Before the extension of the line to Noarlunga Centre railway station, Noarlunga Centr ...

continues from Hallett Cove along a different alignment before rejoining the route of the old line between Seaford Road and Griffiths Drive. The original corridor remains as the long Coast to Vines Rail Trail. There is some evidence of

railway track Railway track ( and UIC terminology) or railroad track (), also known as permanent way () or "P way" ( and Indian English), is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers ( railroad ties in American ...

remaining on this trail, notably near the

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 ...

crossing at Hackham, the top of the Seaford Hill and a small section of track in a paddock adjacent to

Victor Harbor Road Victor Harbor Road (and its southern sections Adelaide Road, Hindmarsh Road and Torrens Street through Victor Harbor) is a major road in South Australia that runs south from Main South Road at Old Noarlunga on the southern fringes of suburban ...

, McLaren Vale. Occasionally, rails surface through the bitumen at Field Street, McLaren Vale. Most station infrastructure was demolished except for a buried goods platform at Morphett Vale, and the passenger platform and building at Willunga. At the time of its opening, there was a proposal to extend it to Second Valley to connect with coastal steam shipping to

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

for holidays, with the route already approved as far as Normanville and Yankalilla. This extension was never built.

References

{{Closed_Railway_lines_of_Adelaide Closed railway lines in South Australia Railway lines opened in 1918 Railway lines closed in 1969