Tonsley rail line to Flinders University and Medical Centre gets 2288 extra services each year
The new Flinders Link rail line will most benefit university students and hospital staff and patients, but they won’t be the only winners when it opens at the end of the year.
SA News
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Flinders Medical Centre and the university community won’t be the only winners when an extension to the Tonsley Rail line opens later this year with 44 additional services each week announced.
The changes mean a weekend service, and more late night weekday trains.
The 650m extension of the track and overpass directly to the Flinders Medical Centre means passengers travelling to the east of South Rd will be the big winners, but to cope with demand all passengers will be given 2288 extra services a year, a new timetable reveals.
The timetable is effective immediately when the line, renamed from Tonsley to Flinders, opens at the end of this year.
The dead-end Tonsley Line from the CBD, which branches off the main Seaford Line, currently operates only on weekdays with a 20-minute peak frequency and 30 minutes at all other times until 7pm.
Transport Minister Corey Wingard said the new indicative timetable would provide 20-minute peak frequency on weekdays and 30 minutes at all other times, and includes extending the service until midnight on weeknights.
There’ll also be new services on weekends when previously there were none. They’ll be at a 30-minute frequency from approximately 7am until midnight.
“Forty-four additional services per week or 2288 per year for Adelaide is huge, it’ll greatly enhance the public transport options for those living and working in our southern suburbs,’’ Mr Wingard said.
“The Marshall Government was elected to deliver better services and that is why we’re investing in our public transport network – to deliver better and more frequent train services.
“The Marshall Government is all about getting people from A to B faster so they can spend more time with their families and doing what they love.
“For university students in particular this is fantastic news, it means it’ll be easier and faster for them to travel around Adelaide on weekends and enjoy everything our fantastic city has to offer.”
Member for Elder Carolyn Power said local motorists would also benefit as fewer cars were on the roads.
“Residents have long called for increased services to help connect them to employment, education, community resources, medical care and recreational opportunities,’’ she said.
“Extended services will help reduce road congestion and travel times while also making the area more accessible for those in, and outside, the local area.”
Member for Davenport Steve Murray said; “This is a win for southern commuters, with an increase in the number of train services during the week, and for the first time services on the weekend’’.
“This means that anyone going to the city from the south, or anyone working, visiting or studying at the Flinders precinct can get there with ease, and with more frequency.”
The Flinders Link project was first devised in 2008, but never completed until it became an election issue in 2018.
Work began in 2019, but in April this year, it was revealed the cost of the project had blown out from $86 million to $125 million.