Bowden railway station

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Bowden
The new Bowden station in December 2018.
Location	Gibson Street, Bowden
Coordinates	34°54′22″S 138°34′33″E / 34.9061°S 138.5757°E / -34.9061; 138.5757Coordinates: 34°54′22″S 138°34′33″E / 34.9061°S 138.5757°E / -34.9061; 138.5757
Owned by	Department for Infrastructure & Transport
Operated by	Adelaide Metro
Line(s)	Grange, Outer Harbor
Distance	2.7 km from Adelaide
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Bus routes	150 155 157
Connections	Glenelg
Construction
Structure type	Lowered
Parking	No
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	16496
History
Opened	1856
Rebuilt	2018
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 Café.

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 Café 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.

Services by platform[]

Transport Connections[]

The closest bus stop to Bowden station is Stop 6 on Port Road:^[5][6]
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[]

• 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

External links[]

Media related to Bowden railway station at Wikimedia Commons