Gawler Heritage Cafe owner Marie San Gabriel only heard about rail upgrade delays through the PA

A Gawler Cafe owner reliant on foot traffic through the train station says she only heard about the Gawler line closures over the loudspeaker.

Business owner Marie San Gabriel has grave concerns for her cafe in the Gawler Railway Station once trains cease from boxing day. Picture: Supplied

A Gawler business owner says her “dream” cafe is at risk of closure due to the prolonged closure and cost blowout of a railway line upgrade.

Marie San Gabriel said her Gawler Heritage Cafe, which is inside the Gawler Railway Station, heavily relies on foot traffic from railway commuters to stay alive.

However passengers are set to spend months more on buses following the State Government’s announcement earlier this month the Gawler line will remain closed from January until April next year due to the Gawler Rail Electrification Project.

Ms San Gabriel said she received no official notice that trains would be disrupted on the line until late next year and was worried for the future of her business.

She said she only heard that the trains would be stopping for extended interim periods through the voiceover on the PA at the station, as well as through her customers.

Ms San Gabriel said business had been challenging.

“I haven’t been eligible for Jobkeeper and I have one employee who I recently had to tell not to come in until January, because it’s been so quiet,” she said.

Business owner Marie San Gabriel has grave concerns for her cafe in the Gawler Railway Station once trains cease from boxing day. Picture: Supplied

Ms San Gabriel said that the cafe was doing well up until October, when train services became less regular.

However, she remained hopeful people from the substitute bus service would come to the cafe, as well as workers on the electrification project.

On December 6 the State Government announced that the budget for the Gawler Line electrification project had blown out by $100 million.

The full Gawler line is projected to be fully operating by late 2021 with the government attributing the rise in costs and need for substitute buses to the poor planning of the former government.

Originally full closure of the line was expected from Boxing Day to the end of January and then again during the April school holidays.

For Ms San Gabriel, who bought the business in April, closures throughout COVID “were a tough period, but now it’s the trains stopping that’s the concern”.

Brett Fitzpatrick, who has lived across from the Gawler Railway station for 12 years and been a regular patron of The Gawler Heritage Cafe said he was worried it could be the end of the business.

“Maybe she should be entitled to some compensation or have had more notice,” Mr Fitzpatrick said.

The Department for Infrastructure and Transport did not respond to a request for comment.