History
The terminal was built in 1984 as a dedicated long-haul passenger railway station when Adelaide Railway Station was redeveloped for suburban trains only. The Adelaide Station is a terminus, so any through trains must reverse. This is easier for suburban railcars than for locomotive-hauled long-distance trains. This situation was further cemented with the conversion of the south-eastern line (Adelaide-Melbourne) to standard gauge.
In 1986, the Geographic Names Board approved the name "Keswick Terminal", and it is now officially classified as a suburb, in the City of West Torrens, with a postcode of 5035.
Since 1990 there have been no regional rail passenger services in South Australia.
Adelaide is the only city in the world where passengers can catch trains on two distinct transcontinental routes. The Adelaide Parklands Terminal serves The Ghan to Alice Springs and Darwin, and the Indian Pacific to both Sydney and Perth, as well as The Overland to Melbourne. These are all Standard gauge trains.
In 2008 an additional service, the The Southern Spirit, a luxury rail cruise option, was added. These trains are all operated by Great Southern Rail
The station was known from opening as Keswick Rail Terminal. It was renamed in June 2008 as Adelaide Parklands Terminal, following Stage One of a plan to "improve guest comfort and amenity, traffic and passenger movement, food and retail facilities, image, identity, presentation and sustainability". Tourism Minister Jane Lomax-Smith officially opened the Terminal on August 6, 2008.
The station can be accessed by car, by bus from Richmond Road, or by rail from Keswick railway station. Connection to Adelaide Suburban train services (operated by TransAdelaide), is available at the adjacent Keswick railway station, but it requires a 200 metre walk across an overpass and along a winding road. Access from Richmond Road requires a walk of about 100 metres along much of the same road. Skylink Adelaide operate a shuttle bus service between the City, the Terminal and the Airport.
Main platform with carriages from The GhanRead more about this topic: Adelaide Parklands Terminal
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