Noarlunga Centre Interchange
Encyclopedia
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
.
Noarlunga Centre is 30.2 km (18.8 mi) by rail from Adelaide Railway Station
Adelaide Railway Station
Adelaide Railway Station is the central terminus of the Adelaide Metro railway system. It is at on the north side of North Terrace, west of Parliament House. The Adelaide Casino is in part of the building that is no longer required for the station....
, and is a major transportation hub for Adelaide’s southern metropolitan area. The station has a bus interchange directly alongside and is adjacent to a large commuter Park-and-Ride facility.
Noarlunga Centre
Noarlunga Centre, South Australia
Noarlunga Centre is a suburb in the City of Onkaparinga in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The suburb is purely commercial, being dominated by the Centro Colonnades shopping centre. Thus there are no private residents. The suburb is bordered by Beach Road to the north, Dyson Road...
is an important regional centre for shopping, recreation and various government services. The headquarters of the City of Onkaparinga
City of Onkaparinga
The City of Onkaparinga is a local government area located on the southern fringe of Adelaide, South Australia. It is named after the Onkaparinga River, whose name comes from Ngangkiparinga, a Kaurna word meaning "The Women's River"...
are located here and other facilities within easy reach of the rail and bus stations include Centro Colonnades
Centro Colonnades
Centro Colonnades is one of the largest shopping centres in Adelaide, South Australia. The shopping centre is located in the City of Onkaparinga, in the suburb of Noarlunga Centre...
, a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
, a TAFE college
Technical and Further Education
In Australia, training and further education or TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational tertiary education courses, mostly qualifying courses under the National Training System/Australian Qualifications Framework/Australian Quality Training Framework...
, cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
s, and a swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
. Combined with its role as a transport interchange, these make Noarlunga Centre one of the busiest stations on the Adelaide suburban rail system
Railways in Adelaide
The rail network in Adelaide, South Australia, consists of five lines and 81 stations, totalling 125.9 km. It is operated by Adelaide Metro, and is part of the city-wide Adelaide Metro]public transport system. Apart from the Glenelg Tram, Adelaide's railway system is serviced entirely by...
.
Noarlunga Centre is one of the few railway stations on the TransAdelaide
TransAdelaide
TransAdelaide was a publicly owned corporation which provided suburban train and tram services in Adelaide, South Australia, under contract to the Government of South Australia....
network with a staffed ticket office. It has also been designated a Safer Station with enhanced lighting, CCTV surveillance and security help phones provided.
Rail and bus services
All rail services are provided by Adelaide MetroAdelaide Metro
Adelaide Metro is the public transport system of the South Australian capital of Adelaide and the brand name of the Public Transport Division of the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. It is an intermodal system with services provided by bus, tram or commuter rail throughout the...
using diesel railcar
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
s. There are no freight train
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...
s to Noarlunga Centre.
Trains to and from Adelaide operate every 30 minutes at off-peak times on Monday to Friday, and through the day on Saturday and Sunday. Before 11am and after 2pm on weekdays, the frequency is increased to one train every 15 minutes. In the evening, services run every hour.
In peak hours, there are ten trains departing to Adelaide between 7am and 9am. Ten services leave Adelaide for Noarlunga Centre between 4pm and 6pm. Two trains in each direction are non-stop expresses, used by the significant number of city workers who either park their vehicle or transfer from buses at Noarlunga Centre.
Local buses from Noarlunga Centre Interchange use the Adelaide Metro
Adelaide Metro
Adelaide Metro is the public transport system of the South Australian capital of Adelaide and the brand name of the Public Transport Division of the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure. It is an intermodal system with services provided by bus, tram or commuter rail throughout the...
integrated ticketing
Integrated ticketing
Integrated ticketing allows a person to make a journey that involves transfers within or between different transport modes with a single ticket that is valid for the complete journey, modes being buses, trains, subways, ferries, etc...
system and are scheduled to connect with trains to and from Adelaide. Buses from Noarlunga Centre provide links to many of the southern suburbs and beaches, such as Port Noarlunga
Port Noarlunga, South Australia
Port Noarlunga is a suburb in the City of Onkaparinga, South Australia. It is a small sea-side suburb, population 2,549, about 30 km to the south of Adelaide and was originally created as a sea port. This area is now popular as a holiday destination or for permanent residents wishing to...
, Seaford
Seaford, South Australia
Seaford is a metropolitan suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It lies within the City of Onkaparinga.-History:Seaford, a coastal suburb to the near south of Port Noarlunga, was set out on Sections 334 and 340, Hundred of Noarlunga, in 1954 by the Wakefield Land Company Pty Ltd...
, Moana
Moana, South Australia
Moana is a coastal suburb in the south of Adelaide, South Australia.It lies within the City of Onkaparinga local government area, and neighbours the suburbs Seaford, Maslin Beach, and Seaford Rise.-Beach front:...
, Aldinga Beach
Aldinga Beach, South Australia
Aldinga Beach is a metropolitan suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It lies within the City of Onkaparinga and has the postcode 5173. As of 2006, Aldinga has a population of 5,981.-History:Aldinga Beach Post Office opened on 1 March 1960.-References:...
, and Sellicks Beach
Sellicks Beach, South Australia
Sellicks Beach is a town in South Australia, close to Aldinga, and representing the southernmost extent of the Adelaide urban conurbation. At the 2006 census, Sellicks Beach had a population of 1,622....
. Current details are available from Adelaide Metro.
Bus services are currently operated by SouthLink
SouthLink
SouthLink is a private public transport company that provides a bus service to outer southern and outer northern Adelaide, Australia. Australian Transit Enterprises , a joint venture between Hornibrook Bus Lines and Grenda Corporation, is SouthLink's parent company, and is also provides bus...
under contract to the S.A. Government’s Office of Public Transport.
Rail operations
In recent years a third platform face has been constructed alongside the western track, and the TransAdelaide ticket office has been relocated onto the platform level. The project was completed in March 2004, since when most trains have used this western track giving passengers safer and more direct access to connecting buses.
There are no storage facilities for trains at Noarlunga Centre. However a number of the extra railcars needed for peak-hour services on the line are stabled overnight in secure sidings at Port Stanvac, around 4 km (2½ miles) north and just beyond Lonsdale station.
All signalling at Noarlunga Centre is controlled remotely from TransAdelaide’s computerised train control centre at Adelaide station.
History
Prior to the railway line being extended in the mid-1970s, most local trains from Adelaide had terminated at either MarinoMarino railway station, Adelaide
Marino railway station is a railway station on the Noarlunga railway line, which is located in the southern Adelaide suburb of Marino. It is located 18.3 km by railway from the Adelaide Railway Station. The small station building is similar to the ones at Ascot Park and Seacliff...
, or at Hallett Cove, a station on the closed line to Willunga.
The South Australian Railways and its successor, the State Transport Authority
State Transport Authority (South Australia)
The State Transport Authority was the government agency which controlled public transport within the State of South Australia between 1974 and 1994....
(STA), extended the railway southwards in stages from Hallett Cove to cater for increasing residential development in the southern area. Opening dates for passenger services were:-
- To Hallett Cove Beach on 30 June 1974.
- To Christie Downs on 25 January 1976. This was a temporary terminus just north of Beach Road and adjacent to Hyacinth Crescent, Christie Downs. It was a different location to today’s Christie Downs station, which opened later, in November 1981.
- To Noarlunga Centre station on 2 April 1978.
Seaford/Aldinga Extension
Seaford, South Australia
Seaford is a metropolitan suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It lies within the City of Onkaparinga.-History:Seaford, a coastal suburb to the near south of Port Noarlunga, was set out on Sections 334 and 340, Hundred of Noarlunga, in 1954 by the Wakefield Land Company Pty Ltd...
and Aldinga
Aldinga, South Australia
.Aldinga -History:Matthew Flinders explored the area in 1802, during his circumnavigation of Australia. Aldinga was a flourishing settlement during the 1860s, when it served as a port for the Fleurieu Peninsula....
, south of Noarlunga Centre. In recent years there have been several proposals to extend the rail line southwards from Noarlunga Interchange to serve the Seaford district. A corridor of land has been reserved, in which new building and development is not allowed.
Most recently, in January 2006 (just prior to a state election in March 2006) the South Australian Minister for Infrastructure announced a new study into the feasibility of extending the line 5.5 km to Seaford. The line would cross the Onkaparinga River via a new bridge, with stations at Seaford Meadows
Seaford Meadows, South Australia
Seaford Meadows is a metropolitan suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It lies within the City of Onkaparinga and has postcode 5169.-HistoryReferences:...
and Seaford.
In the 2008/9 State Budget, money was set aside to purchase a corridor that continues further to Aldinga.
The Seaford/Aldinga Extension is a key project in South Australia's Strategic Plan, which aims to double the use of public transport to 10 percent of weekday travel by 2018. The A$100 million project was eventually approved by the state government, and construction was commenced in early 2010.
