Gawler Central railway station is the terminus railway station on the Gawler railway line which is located in the South Australian town of Gawler. It is located 42.2km by railway from the Adelaide Railway Station. The station was opened in May 1911 and was originally named Willaston. It was renamed North Gawler in September 1911. On 12 February 1984 the name was changed to Gawler Central.
In the early 1920s the South Australian Railways decided to extend suburban service to all stations with a 25 mile radius (by rail) of the Adelaide Railway Station. The only exception was North Gawler which is located (by the old measure) 26 miles, 14 chains from Adelaide. North Gawler (now called Gawler Central) has been the terminus of most North Line suburban services ever since.
While Gawler Central is the terminus of the metropolitan passenger service, the track continues east then north into the Barossa Valley. It is used daily by a Penrice Soda Products train carrying limestone from their quarry at Penrice (near Angaston) to their soda ash factory at Osborne.
Gawler Central is also unique as the most northernmost railway station on the Adelaide Metro Rail System, however this will change if plans to extend passenger services north to Lyndoch, Nurioopta and Angaston in the Barossa Valley reach fruition.
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