Inception and
Goodwood. in 1914 The line, originally named the
Adelaide and Glenelg Railway, was built by a private company – the Adelaide, Glenelg & Suburban Railway Company – opening on 2 August 1873. The single track line was built to broad gauge, commencing at the
Angas Street corner of
King William Street and followed that thoroughfare to
South Terrace, then ran through the
South Parklands and the south-western suburbs on its own right of way to Brighton Road,
Glenelg where street running recommenced, using
Jetty Road to terminate outside the
Pier Hotel on
Moseley Square. A depot was erected in the parklands at South Terrace. It was operated by small 2-4-0 tank locomotives, hauling two-axle end loading passenger carriages and open wagons for cargo. Raised platforms were not provided, the carriages being provided with steps for ground level loading. Run round loops were installed at Glenelg and South Terrace, trains being propelled in one direction along King William Street. Special services operated to
Morphettville Racecourse after it opened in September 1873. Crossing loops were later installed at
Goodwood and
South Plympton. On 24 May 1880, the Holdfast Railway Company opened the
Holdfast Bay line from
Adelaide railway station to Glenelg. It used the tracks of the
South Australian Railways (SAR) between Adelaide and
Mile End while a depot was built at St Leonards. Whilst one line was a profitable proposition, two were not, and both lines were almost immediately in financial trouble and merged to form the Glenelg Railway Company on 11 May 1882. A connecting line was laid along Brighton Road and the South Terrace depot was closed.
Municipal Tramways Trust In 1927, ownership and operation transferred from the SAR to the
Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT). Steam trains ceased on 2 April 1929 and the line was closed to be rebuilt as a double track standard gauge, electrified at 600 V
dc and converted to tramway operation. The
Goodwood Overpass was constructed at this time, separating the new tram tracks from the conventional railway. The line was reopened on 14 December 1929 with the city terminus reverting to Victoria Square. The Holdfast Bay line closed on 15 December 1929 for conversion but this was not undertaken due to the onset of the
Great Depression. This service was a carry-over from the days of the steam railway, which had also performed this function. Another unusual feature was operation of triple sets of type H trams in peak hours, and express trams that ran non-stop over a significant portion of the route. The line was the only route to survive the closure of Adelaide's street tramway network during the 1950s, saved largely by its high proportion of
reserved track, which enables fast journey for passengers and minimal interference with road traffic. In the mid-1970s, about 3000 trips to the city were made "on an average day". The depot was relocated on 19 October 1986 from the corner of
Angas Street and Victoria Square in central Adelaide to a new facility at
Glengowrie, close to Glenelg.
Renaissance wait at the
Moseley Square terminus before the stop was reconfigured, May 2006 In the 21st century, a series of investments were made to improve and extend the line. This began in May 2003 when the South Australian Government announced an upgrade of the Glenelg line infrastructure and the introduction of new trams. Major work to upgrade the line took place between 5 June and 7 August 2005.
Concrete sleepers were installed and much of the track renewed in an intensive nine-week project. Most of the 21 tram stops were reconstructed with higher platforms to allow level access to the new low-floor trams. The overhead electrical supply was upgraded and some minor modifications were made to the type H trams and Glengowrie depot. Tram services were replaced with substitute bus services during this period. Services resumed on 8 August 2005. The terminus at Moseley Square was reconfigured in September 2005 as part of a general redevelopment of the square.
Extension to City West & Premier
Mike Rann open the City West Extension on 14 October 2007 tram stop is typical of stops on the city centre extension The South Australian Government announced a 1.2 kilometre extension from
Victoria Square along
King William Street to
Adelaide railway station and the western city campus of the
University of South Australia in April 2005. In 2006,
TransAdelaide began to replace the
Type H cars with 11 Flexity Classic trams built in
Bautzen, Germany by
Bombardier Transportation. The first of the new cars was delivered to the
Glengowrie depot in November 2005 and entered revenue service on 9 January 2006. A further order of four in 2008 brought the total to 15, numbered 101–115. Construction work on the extension commenced in early 2007. A new Victoria Square stop opened on 6 August 2007. The stop moved from the centre of the square to the western side. Testing of the extension began in September 2007. The extension opened on 14 October 2007. Initially, a shuttle service running between Victoria Square and City West tram stop was provided. Normal services continued to run between Victoria Square and Glenelg. A new timetable began on 15 October 2007 with through services from Glenelg to City West and a free shuttle service between South Terrace and City West.
South Road overpass An overpass crossing
South Road was announced in the 2007 South Australian Budget. The project was built in conjunction with the
Anzac Highway Underpass. Construction by
McConnell Dowell commenced in July 2009. On 8 December 2009, the overpass opened to allow trams to pass over it, however the South Road tram stop was not operational until 15 March 2010.
Extension to Adelaide Entertainment Centre stop A$100 million extension to the
Adelaide Entertainment Centre was announced in the 2008 South Australian Budget. Planning commenced soon after and the state cabinet approved the extension in November 2008. In 2009, six surplus
Citadis 302 trams were purchased from
Metro Ligero. Construction work began on 11 May 2009. Testing began in February 2010 and the extension opened on 22 March 2010.
Extension to East End After a lobbying campaign from businesses and institutions located in the area, a $50 million project to construct a one-kilometre branch along the eastern section of North Terrace was announced in the 2016 South Australian Budget. The extension enabled the creation of shuttle service between the old
Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Services operate every ten minutes. An expansion of the project was also announced in December 2016. This saw a 100-metre northern spur line constructed from North Terrace on King William Road. The intention was to avoid modifying the North Terrace-King William Road intersection twice - once for the East End extension, then again if future northernbound expansion goes ahead - by combining all the work into a single program. Three new trams were ordered. The changes resulted in an extra $20 million being added to the budget for the project. The eastern branch includes three new stops on North Terrace to service the
South Australian Museum,
University of Adelaide and
Ayers House, while the northern branch will include a single stop on King William Road to service
Elder Park and the Riverbank precinct. A tender to design and construct the project was called in December 2016. Preliminary works commenced in July 2017, with major works commencing in October, and are expected to be completed by early 2018. In August 2017, it was revealed that the planned rail junction at the North Terrace-King William Road intersection would be altered, disallowing trams to turn left onto King William Road from North Terrace. Further controversy arose in late 2017 when it was revealed that trams would also not be able to turn right onto North Terrace from King William Street, disallowing future services from Glenelg to continue directly to East End and beyond. In 2017, three surplus
Citadis 302 trams were purchased from
Metro Ligero. Originally expected to be completed in early 2018, electrical faults pushed the opening date back to July 2018, while signalling faults uncovered during testing weeks before the scheduled opening date of 29 July further delayed the project. In addition, the company responsible for construction entered voluntary administration in August 2018. The extension was opened on 13 October 2018, with services running Glenelg to Royal Adelaide Hospital, with limited peak services continuing to Entertainment Centre, and Entertainment Centre to Botanic Gardens. A route running from Glenelg to Festival Plaza runs only on weekends and Adelaide Oval event days.
Tram Grade Separation Projects In July 2024, it was announced that Glenelg tram services would be temporarily suspended between Glenelg and South Terrace for 6 months in 2025 to remove the level crossings at Morphett Road, Cross Road, and
Marion Road, as well as upgrading the
South Road overpass to support construction of the North-South Motorway. For the duration of the closure, the turnback and main tracks in the Park Lands between South Terrace and Greenhill Road were repurposed into a temporary stabling facility, allowing services in the CBD to continue operating without access to the main depot at Glengowrie. The Glenelg tram line was closed beyond South Terrace on 2 August 2025 and reopened on 26 January 2026; the South Road tram stop remained closed for construction until reopening on 1 March. ==Routes==