My Ideal South Australia

This is what I would like to one day see as South Australia's heavy and light (tram) rail system. I fully acknowledge that this is a pipe dream, and that even if we were to ever have a country rail network, it would include a small number of lines, most likely one to Port Augusta (and maybe to Whyalla and Port Pirie) and Mount Gambier. Anything else would have the inevitable detractors that rear their heads whenever someone proposes a new or re-activated train line. Station placement is approximate, as is rail alignment. While I have deliberately tried to follow former rail corridors where possible, a simple reactivation of every train line we ever had simply isn't realistic. 3 separate lines to the Renmark/Barmera/Waikerie areas simply has no basis in reality (though admittedly neither do some of the stations at micro towns such as Steinfield on the Blanchetown line. Many millions of dollars would need to be spent on acquisitions alone, and this would be particularly expensive on the Milang line for instance, surrounded as it is by vineyards. That specific issue is why the Kapunda line is where it is. I initially envisioned Barossa services running to Nuriootpa, then branching off to Angaston and Kapunda via Greenock, but the cost of such massive acquisitions of the state's foremost vineyards makes that task impossible. I did see another country rail proposal for SA that had a line via Freeling, which I then turned followed as an Adelaide Metro line. Speaking of, for the avoidance of any doubt, the "Metro/Rapid Transit" routes are what I saw as being Adelaide Metro operated services, and "Regional rail" and "High-Speed rail" as South Australian Railways. I toyed with what to call the country division, initially using the LinkSA moniker, before I realised that's its own company. I then came across CountryLink, which was a publicly owned trademark in NSW, but I'd rather have our own thing, so I just brought back South Australian Railways (SAR). I introduced a policy called "No one left behind". Boiled down into its fundamentals (mostly because I changed most of it so often I can't remember the rest), it means that every single line must have a minimum of 4 services a day, along the entirety of the line. A minimum of one service each direction in the morning (departing between 6am and 10am) and one each direction at night (departing between 6pm and 10pm) every single day. this ensures that no matter where you're going, you won't be stuck there overnight. You can go from Napperby to Bowmans in the morning and return the same day, or Bowmans to Napperby. Strangely, this policy isn't however the reason that there is a couple of "mini" routes (not going directly to Adelaide). That was because I don't believe the demand is high enough to travel to and from Adelaide, but that there is demand to travel between smaller towns, such as Strathalbyn and Milang, and Balaklava and Owen. This also requires fewer rollingstock, as you can have one or two railcars permanently service these mini routes, with stabling yards at Mount Barker and Gawler. In this universe, as SAR already runs services between Adelaide and Mildura, and between Beachport and Portland, they are contracted by the Victorian Government to run services between those two towns and Melbourne. This reduces the burden on V/Line by removing the costs of the Maryborough and Warrnambool lines. These trains, although liveried as SAR, are considered to be V/Line services. As a result, SAR has a dedicated staff based in Melbourne, working the outbound AM V/Line services to Mildura and Portland, then the inbound PM services. Melbourne bound AM services and return PM services are run crew from Renmark and Mount Gambier. I have also included several tram lines, branching out across Adelaide's inner suburbs. I apologise for the inconsistent approach to the naming of stops. The Glenelg line I left as is, but the other lines use an awful mix of numbered stops and names. I eventually settled on named stops, using cross streets for the names, but some routes still have numbered stops, i.e. the Kilburn line, but I can't be bothered to change it. I personally would love to see the Hills corridor simplified. I feel like it would be easy enough to do, just extraordinarily expensive. It would involve a tunnel just south of Mitcham, extending under the houses, then just a gentle uphill curve, rejoining the line east of Bridgewater, near the Stanley Bridge Tavern in Verdun. I feel it necessary to address the issue of freight trains. While none of these lines are exclusively passenger lines, I also didn't feel like it was worth adding freight corridors either. I did imagine Treasury Wine Estates in Loxton utilising the rail corridor literally right in front of it for freight between Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne. Other freight would use these lines as necessary, particularly the simplified corridors into Melbourne (travelling from Ararat to Melbourne via a newly dual-guaged existing line via Ballarat)