Thanks for that link 2001, it's a great photo.

Some historical information about the tunnels during wartime - http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=280

Latest progress.

Walls on down side decline now appear fully shotcreted.

No pour of floor yet. Rails dragged in for about half of decline.

The "engineers" were having a late afternoon inspection today.  Hope all is well.

footing for what appears to be signal gantry in preparation at up end of Millswood loop.

Regards
Ian

No pour of floor yet. Rails dragged in for about half of decline.

Long time lurker, first time poster

Does anyone know how the rails in the underpass will be laid? Obviously the floor will be concrete, but will the rails be imbedded in the concrete similar to the Cross Road level crossing, or will the slab be laid, with the rails then placed on top?

Cheers

Long time lurker, first time poster

Does anyone know how the rails in the underpass will be laid? Obviously the floor will be concrete, but will the rails be imbedded in the concrete similar to the Cross Road level crossing, or will the slab be laid, with the rails then placed on top?

Cheers

I would going on what has been said, think that it might be a concrete slab base as was used under the Anzac Highway Bridge this would hold the rails into a set position under the overbridge over the top and not allow the rails to move sideways. Just a guess though it might be fully sleepered.

Justapax

You wouldn't assess a new light rail route based on using old Bib and Bub A type sets so why judge the viability of a future Belair service on the diabolical "Flexitys"?

That "tram" patronage has grown in Adelaide is a tribute to the concept not the vehicles.

I am sure the same arguments you raised were aired when conversion of the Bay route was proposed in the 1920s.

A half decent LRV would have a considerably shorter trip time than a DMU and probably faster than an EMU. In that the Hills suburbs tend to collect those with "Green" aspirations the locals would welcome an efficient non polluting LRV system. It has worked overseas even in auto biased USA, why not here?

The trip would be shortened by joining the existing tram route at Goodwood allowing access to the centre of the city.
That the trams are slow down King William Street is a result of inadequate traffic light override for trams not the trams.

Regards
Ian

Greenhill road to the Railway station via tram takes 20 minutes. Even the new trams rock and roll and max out at around 60kmh. The belair rail line is much too long for trams and trip times would have to massively increase. The DMU's will regularly hit 90 on parts of the Belair line, and hold a much better average speed than the trams can manage. Why spend significant investment to provide slower and poorer service?

If you want trams, stick them out to prospect. Easy line, runs past the new oval additions, reduces traffic into the city, reduces need for car parking in the city, and provides easy transport between north adelaide and the central CBD which will be very popular with north adelaide traders, and nightlife...

Greenhill road to the Railway station via tram takes 20 minutes. Even the new trams rock and roll and max out at around 60kmh. The belair rail line is much too long for trams and trip times would have to massively increase. The DMU's will regularly hit 90 on parts of the Belair line, and hold a much better average speed than the trams can manage. Why spend significant investment to provide slower and poorer service?

If you want trams, stick them out to prospect. Easy line, runs past the new oval additions, reduces traffic into the city, reduces need for car parking in the city, and provides easy transport between north adelaide and the central CBD which will be very popular with north adelaide traders, and nightlife...

sr1180.

You have made an opinion but obviously have not read the sequence of posts.

Trams up KW street take a long time because there is no traffic light priority. It is not difficult to achieve and would take 10 minutes off the journey. Most pax would not travel through to the railway station but would disembark closer to their destinations, their overall travel time would be much less.

Again, get your head out of your rrs, I mean the Flexity abortion. LRVs do not have to be that bad.

By all means run the trams to other places, I would not support Prospect because Prospect road is too narrow. Try Norwood Parade and O'Çonnell Street only.

As for DEMUs at 90 khp, I suggest that is only in the section Goodwood to Mile End, the rest of the trip is much more pedestrian.

Regards
Ian

Long time lurker, first time poster

Does anyone know how the rails in the underpass will be laid? Obviously the floor will be concrete, but will the rails be imbedded in the concrete similar to the Cross Road level crossing, or will the slab be laid, with the rails then placed on top?

Cheers

Pulling the rails in before the pour must be telling us something!
Though the rails did have rubber chairs already placed on them so how that works I am not sure.

Ian

Why spend significant investment to provide slower and poorer service?

The situation now is that, given the choice, commuters will choose the service they perceive as being superior.

When I lived almost next to the Unley Park station, and across the road from a bus stop (200 route) I had the choice: train to North Terrace - 9 minutes and one stop - or bus to Pirie Street - 20 minutes with lots of stops, even longer in peak.   I would invariably choose the bus because it went where I wanted to go, rather than dropping me on the edge of the CBD.

I suspect this is the case of commuters from the Belair triangle to the city: the bus wins hands down because it goes where people want to go.

Any extension of the light rail system requires more suitable vehicles than we already have.     If you look at what is used overseas, north America in particular, you will see vehicles much more suited to longer distance travel and capable of a good turn of speed.    That is what is required here.

You must look beyond our shores at what is possible.

Some historical information about the tunnels during wartime - http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=280

Thanks for this article - when I lived in Panorama many years ago I used to walk the dog near the entrance to that tunnel, I had no idea that it had seen so much use for so many different things.  Apparently (as someone said earlier) it still has commercial uses for mushroom growers.

I'm not sure about the light rail idea; many of the old locals who live around Port Melbourne and St Kilda still lament the introduction of light rail to that area.  It's swings and roundabouts because the frequency is greatly increased but capacity of the vehicles diminishes.  I would be more inclined to leave it as a heavy rail service in case there's ever an extension to Mt Barker in the future.

Is there much progress on the underpass concreting?  Winter is a great time for a big pour.

I would be more inclined to leave it as a heavy rail service in case there's ever an extension to Mt Barker in the future.

Honestly, I don't think this is worth waiting for, for sooooo many reasons.

Your comment that light rail increases frequency but diminishes capacity is interesting, as one of the reasons given for Adelaide's lack of fervor for public transport is it's lack of frequency. Less people use it because it's not frequent enough, and because less people are using it, service gets cut back even more - this has historically been the case here in Adelaide. I would not be lamenting the lack of capacity, as you may find that half those people in that heavy railcar would prefer to be on it 15 minutes later anyway .....

Brownhill Creek Diversion still under construction and obviously subject to flooding. Serious pumps there.
[bigimg]http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y501/62440/IMG_0984_zps3b995a7b.jpg[/bigimg]

At the Seaford end, the rails are in for the transition from concrete slab to ballast, hence the slope in the slab
[bigimg]http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y501/62440/IMG_0990_zps5901aec9.jpg[/bigimg]

Tracks are to final line and level and concrete will be poured under the bases. The fittings appear to be Pandrol Vipa with resilient pads to minimise vibration from trains to nearby houses.
[bigimg]http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y501/62440/IMG_0992_zps80f805ce.jpg[/bigimg]

There was work happening on the ARTC, the ballast was heavily soiled. Not sure what they were trying to do.
[bigimg]http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y501/62440/IMG_0993_zps8f6d7b46.jpg[/bigimg]

Millswood loop trackwork appears complete, presumably some signals to go in.
[bigimg]http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y501/62440/IMG_0994_zpsc64c0ffe.jpg[/bigimg]

Reo in for Vic Road LX bridge section, presumably the level crossing will be bitumen allowing the road to reopen.
[bigimg]http://i1278.photobucket.com/albums/y501/62440/IMG_0982_zpsc2b0d087.jpg[/bigimg]

So track laying in the underpass has already begun thats some good progress being made better than I thought

Supposedly 24 hour concrete pouring this weekend in underpass section.

Also heard Mitsubishi spur line work commencing approx 1st August.

rail won't be embedded. fixed using a pandrol  VIPA, using top down construction. VIPA were used on the port bridges but fixed by drilling many holes after the slab was poured.

So track laying in the underpass has already begun thats some good progress being made better than I thought

An album of photos showing the progress since March in the construction of the southern dive can be found at http//s884.photobucket.com/user/eckyT/library/Rail%20Revitalisation/Goodwood%20Jn%20Underpass

Two photos from the album showing details of track construction last week at Fairfax Ave:

1. Rails with attached chairs supported by vertical bolts through the gauge spacer bars




2. Fixing studs and tiebars now hanging from chairs, ready for concrete pour


AlexC

From the Thiess project website

• 550m underpass including CFA piled wall section and revetment wall section
• Program constrained by maximum 6 month passenger railway shutdown
• Ballasted track – approx. 3.6km of single track
• 550m dual track slab
• 2 new bridge structures
• Brownhill Creek diversion culvert works
• Implementation of and adherence to national Rail Safety Training Awareness system (Pegasus)
• Urban design and landscaping works

So it appears that the track will be concreted in someway. As the photos and some members suggest.

rail won't be embedded. fixed using a pandrol  VIPA, using top down construction. VIPA were used on the port bridges but fixed by drilling many holes after the slab was poured.

This gentleman gives every indication of knowing what he is talking about.

The track will be on slab, it will not be concreted in.

Will the slab have provisions for SG like all the sleepers each side of it?

I realise SG is not on the agenda atm, just asking the question anyway...

...and just to add, I realise from the previous quote re the Commercial Rd bridge was drilled after, just asking if the SG provision will already be in place or if that happens the slab will be re drilled (presumably it will have that capability).

* P.S. I would have just added this to my last post though it seems I can't edit from a phone (tried for a while, then gave up... then eventually came back to post this lol)

Will the slab have provisions for SG like all the sleepers each side of it?

I realise SG is not on the agenda atm, just asking the question anyway...

Had a Captain Cook last night down at the SASSME Park Ped Crossing and the Pandrol VIPA system is standard with no guage convertable function. I did not see any sign of alternative mounting studs or set-in threaded sockets for SG so I would say that there is no specific arrangement for conversion except for probably that the reinforcing bars are strategically placed to allow drilling of holes for such anchors. It is probably the cheapest option as there would be no need for custom parts that have no other use than for converting from 5'3" to SG. 5'3" is a guage that has been used very rarely anywhere in the world and there is not the need for someone to go through the expensive design and trial process for something that would probably only be used this once.

According this construction works of the Goodwood underpass will be complete by early August which gives AdMet/DPTI about a month to finish whatever electrification/signalling work needs to be done and to test the track from Adelaide to Oaklands

http://www.infrastructure.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/102225/GJU_Notification_-Sunday_works_30_June_and_works_week_commencing_1_July_2013_.pdf

Pouring of southern dive slab started yesterday, with about 35m completed.  Large crane in use on Cromer Parade during this week lifting track construction supplies into lower part of southern dive.

Photos below show the final rebar assemblage and the concreting.


1. Final gauge bars and second layer of mesh fabricated in situ from rebar rod.


2. Pouring at 1.40pm


3. Pouring completed for day at 4pm


4. Detail of slab and track


AlexC

rail won't be embedded. fixed using a pandrol  VIPA, using top down construction. VIPA were used on the port bridges but fixed by drilling many holes after the slab was poured.

They are not drilling holes for the Pandrol VIPA at Millswood southern entrance to the subway. I was at Cromer St this afternoon and saw more concrete being pumped in.
I thought the resilient pad would be laid onto the concrete but they tried to spread the concrete underneath the pads. One wonders how many and big the air pockets underneath are, if any. The two vertical bolts merely tension to a diagonal plate under 2 or 3 layers of reo. They dont even touch the underlying concrete bed.

What will the speed limit be for the underpass once its ready?