The Tonsley railway line was constructed as a branch line of the Seaford line between 1965 and 1966 to serve the new Chrysler plant at Clovelly Park. Construction of the plant had commenced in 1963, and the assembly line was opened in October 1964. Upon opening the Tonsley line serviced three stations - Mitchell Park, Clovelly Park, and Tonsley.
Re-sleepering and electrification
From 27 February 2012, the line between Woodlands Park and Tonsley was closed for construction. During this time the line was duplicated between Tonsley Junction and Mitchell Park station, the track re-sleepered with dual gaugesleepers to allow for the line to be converted to standard gauge at a future date, and the entire line electrified. The closure was extended until September 2013, for electrification of the line along with the Noarlunga Centre line. In late 2013, a plan was announced to convert the line to a double-track railway. This was to be funded through joint State and Federal initiatives, but the incoming Federal government announced it would be changing their focus to roads, and cut funding. Accordingly, the future of the line was unclear, with $18 million spent on the project. It eventually reopened on 5 May 2014, more than two years after closure.
Flinders extension
In July 2008, a feasibility study was commissioned by the government to extend the line to Flinders Medical Centre. On the 13 May 2016, as part of the 2016 Liberal election campaign, a funding pledge of $43 million was announced for the plan. The extension, referred to as the Flinders Link Project, would extend the line by 650 metres and replace the Tonsley station terminus on Sturt Road with a new terminus station adjacent to Flinders Medical Centre. An elevated single track with a pedestrian and bike path begins just north of the original Tonsley station site to cross Sturt Road, Laffer's Triangle and Main South Road, before terminating at Flinders station. Clovelly Park station is also being rebuilt and renamed to Tonsley as part of the extension project. The original Tonsley station was closed after the final service on 28 June 2019, allowing construction of the rail overpass on the station site; services currently terminate at Clovelly Park station until the extension is complete. Built concurrently with the adjacent Darlington Upgrade for the Southern Expressway, major works commenced in July 2019 with expected completion in 2020.
Line guide
Former stations
– opened 1966, closed 2019.
Services
Services operate between 6.30 AM and 7.30 PM on weekdays only. Services were only extended to operate during weekday off-peak periods in 2004. Stations between Adelaide and Woodlands Park are also serviced by the Seaford line, and stations between Adelaide and Goodwood are also serviced by the Belair line. Prior to 2014, most trains were operated by3000 class railcars augmented at times by 2000 class railcars. Following the electrification of the line, the latter were no longer authorised to operate on the line and they were retired from service in 2015. The line is fully operated by A-Cityelectric multiple units.
