Full steam ahead on railway upgrades
South Australia’s beloved SteamRanger heritage railway has secured $8.9 million in state government funding for much needed remediation works.
The historical tourism attraction, which provides 70,000 passenger journeys each year, runs from Mount Barker to Victor Harbor and includes the popular Cockle Train experience.
Recent bridge engineering reports conducted on the nine SteamRanger bridges recommended short and medium-term remediation works be carried out on the State Heritage listed Currency Creek, Watson Gap and Hindmarsh River bridges as well as Tookayerta Creek and Finniss River bridges.
The Department for Environment and Water (DEW) provided a grant payment of $450,000 for urgent short-term remediation works on the Currency Creek and Watson Gap bridges, which are due to be completed by 31 May 2023.
Funding of $8.45 million for additional critical medium-term repairs to the five bridges was approved as part of the state government’s 2022-23 Mid-Year Budget Review.
These works will be completed over the next two years and will be managed by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport.
The railway sits on Crown land and is operated under licence by The Australian Railway Historical Society South Australia Incorporated (ARHSSA, trading as SteamRanger). The service is supported by a dedicated team of volunteers.
