About SideTracked Caches
This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It is not designed to take you to a magical place with a breath taking view. It's a distraction for the weary traveller, but anyone else can go and find it too. More Information can be found at the SideTracked Website
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port Adelaide railway station is a commuter railway station located on the Outer Harbor line. It serves the port-side region of Port Adelaide. It originally opened as Commercial Road, the current name of Port Adelaide was given in 1981. Situated in the north-western Adelaide suburb of Alberton, it is 11.7 kilometres from Adelaide station.
History
The line from Adelaide to Port Adelaide was the second railway in South Australia (after the Goolwa-Port Elliot railway began in 1854) and opened in 1856. The original line from Adelaide ran directly to Port Dock station, the site now occupied by the National Railway Museum. Various lines then continued through the Port Adelaide's streets to the wharves and, from 1878, along St Vincent Street to the seaside town of Semaphore.
Congestion at Port Dock railway station and the delays involved in operating trains along busy streets in the centre of the Port resulted in construction of a viaduct and a new bridge across the Port River in 1916. This diverted through trains to Semaphore and Outer Harbor via a new station named Commercial Road, the current station. Port Adelaide Commercial Road was quite a substantial building, with long platforms, an overall roof and a signal cabin. This quickly took over from Port Dock as the town's principal railway station.
As rail traffic decreased through the 1960s and 70s, facilities at Commercial Road station were gradually reduced. In the early 1970s the roof was removed, platforms shortened and the street level station buildings reconstructed. The ticket office closed in January 1979 and the station has been unstaffed since then. With the closure of Port Dock station in 1981, Commercial Road station was subsequently renamed Port Adelaide. In November 2009, the station and viaduct closed for refurbishment, reopening on 9 May 2010. Currently, Port Adelaide station's two elevated platforms are on a viaduct that carries the railway across Commercial Road. The station is unstaffed and has no buildings or other facilities except basic passenger shelters on each platform.
The tracks through Port Adelaide station were dual gauge from 1982, both 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) broad gauge and 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge. This allowed freight traffic from Dry Creek via the Rosewater loop to access industrial facilities on the Lefevre Peninsula and the container terminal at Pelican Point. In August 2008, freight traffic was diverted to operate via the Mary MacKillop Bridge downstream of the Port Adelaide harbour. The disused standard gauge rails have been removed, however the dual gauge sleepers remain in place to allow for the entire Outer Harbor line to be gauge converted in the future.
Services by platform
Transport links
| Bus Transfers: Stop 38 Commercial Rd - South West Side (Stop Code: 11665) |
| Route No. |
Destination & Route Details |
| 118 |
Port Dock Interchange via Tapleys Hill Rd & Trimmer Pde |
| 150 |
Osborne via Fletcher Rd, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Port Rd & Victoria Rd |
| 150B |
Largs Bay via Port Rd, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Fletcher Rd
(terminates at stop 48 Fletcher Rd, Largs Bay) |
| 150P |
Port Dock Interchange via Port Rd and Queen Elizabeth Hospital
(terminates at Port Dock Interchange) |
| 230 |
Port Dock Interchange via Addison Rd, Arndale, Days Rd & Jeffcott St |
| 232 |
Port Dock Interchange via Newcastle St, Arndale, Regency Rd, Harrison Rd & Jeffcott St |
| 652 |
St Michael's College Primary Campus via Largs Bay, Semaphore, West Lakes Shore, Tennyson, Grange and Fulham Gardens
(School service, operates school days only. Servicing Nazareth Catholic College, St Michael's College Secondary Campus and St Michael's College Primary Campus.) |
| 653 |
St Michael's College Secondary Campus & Nazareth Catholic College via Largs North, Seaton, Henley Beach and Fulham Gardens
(School service, operates school days only. Servicing St Michael's College Secondary Campus, St Michael's College Primary Campus and Nazareth Catholic College.) |
| 254 |
Port Dock Interchange via Grand Junction Rd, Hanson Rd, Arndale & Hawker St
(254X does not stop between North Adelaide & Arndale) |
| N254 |
Semaphore via Arndale and Hawker St
(operates Saturday PM - Sunday AM) |
| 361 |
Port Dock Interchange via Grand Junction Rd, Nelson Rd, Helen Tce & Smart Rd |
| Bus Transfers: Stop 38 Commercial Rd - North East Side (Stop Code: 11655) |
| Route No. |
Destination & Route Details |
| 118 |
City via Old Port Rd, Tapleys Hill Rd, Trimmer Pde, Crittenden Rd, Grange Rd & Port Rd |
| 150 |
City via Victoria Rd, Fletcher Rd, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Port Rd |
| 230 |
City via Addison Rd, Arndale, Days Rd & Jeffcott St |
| 232 |
City via Newcastle St, Arndale, Regency Rd, Harrison Rd & Jeffcott St |
| 664 |
Alberton via Semaphore, Largs Bay, Largs North, Taperoo, North Haven, Outer Harbor, Osborne and Port Adelaide
(School service, operates school days only. Servicing Nazareth Catholic College.) |
| 254 |
City via Grand Junction Rd, Hanson Rd, Arndale & Hawker St
(254X does not stop between Arndale & North Adelaide) |
| N254 |
City via Arndale and Hawker St
(operates Saturday PM - Sunday AM) |
| 361 |
Tea Tree Plaza Interchange via Grand Junction Rd, Nelson Rd, Helen Tce & Smart Rd |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Event Description
Location: Pt Adelaide Macca's
Date: 10/08/2026 (SideTracked Day)
Time: 7:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Come and celebrate SideTracked Day at the Pt Adelaide Macca's (time for a change from Adelaide, which has been the location for the last few years)
Food is optional, but it is yummy