Rail bridge should be lit up ahead of its centenary, council tells ARTC
An iconic Murray Bridge landmark is virtually invisible at night. Robert Thiele wants that to change – and he has already won over the city’s council.
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Murray Bridge’s rail bridge is about to turn 100.
Let’s light it up.
That’s the idea being pursued by local resident Robert Thiele, and supported by the Murray Bridge council, in the lead-up to the centenary on November 13, 2025.
The structure has become an emblem of the city, used in the logos of countless local organisations and as a popular backdrop for tourists’ photos.
But at night it becomes almost invisible.
Mr Thiele wants that to change.
Illuminating the bridge at night would have “significant benefits”, he said in a letter to the council – it could:
- attract tourists
- enhance the beauty of the riverfront
- promote events, festivals or sporting events
“Technological advancements such as … the use of LEDs and solar … should mean such a project is, hopefully, achievable and affordable,” he said.
“(It) would undoubtedly be a valuable tourism drawcard and would also enhance community spirit across our region.”
Councillor Airlie Keen, who brought Mr Thiele’s suggestion to a council meeting last week, said she was on board.
“I think there’s support for it in the community,” she said.
“From a council perspective, our logo was taken to look like an M from the shape of the beams – that would look stunning (lit up).”
When asked to vote for the idea last Monday night, councillors’ hands went up as quick as a shot.
But will the two government ministers responsible for the bridge – Catherine King at a federal level, or Tom Koutsantonis at a state level – feel the same way?
And what about the Australian Rail Track Corporation, which owns it?
After all, this isn’t the first time the idea has been put forward.
Last time, the rail track corporation said no
Safety concerns for train drivers were apparently the reason the ARTC shot down a plan to light the rail bridge back in 2017.
The railway operator had initially supported the idea, so the council called for expressions of interest in designing a lighting system and allocated $250,000 to the project.
The job was about to go out to a tender in April 2017 when ARTC had a change of heart, according to the council.
The council briefly pivoted to trying to light up the road bridge, but the state Department for Planning, Transport and Infrastructure put a miles-long list of conditions on the project and that was the end of that.
The bridge was able to be temporarily lit for New Year’s Eve in 2021, but it was a one-night-only deal.
The last time doing up the bridge was discussed was in October of last year, when the council wrote to the state department to ask whether anything special was being planned for the 100th anniversary.
Cr Keen hoped the authorities would be responsive to the latest approach.
“Part of the task is flushing out what the barriers are and how we can overcome them,” she said.
“Then we can get an accurate costing.
“Then we know what we’re dealing with and how we can progress it.”
Train driver safety was paramount, Mr Thiele agreed, but there were ways of ensuring the lights would not shine in people’s eyes.
You could install a sensor somewhere along the track that would switch them off whenever a train approached.
It has been there for 99 years – but will it stay forever?
Premier John Gunn officially opened Murray Bridge’s rail bridge on November 13, 1925.
Previously, trains on the main Adelaide to Melbourne line had shared the only bridge over the River Murray with motorists, horse riders and pedestrians.
There were also weight problems: trains were getting longer and heavier, and bigger locomotives were needed to pull them.
About 3000 people reportedly showed up to watch the premier’s train become the first one to cross the new bridge, described at the time as the “strongest in Australia”.
It cost £214,000 to build, or about $20.8 million in today’s currency.
Construction took almost two years.
Murray Bridge News has not been able to confirm for certain whether it was on purpose that the longer of the three spans was placed at the eastern end of the bridge, rather than in the middle.
However, the deepest part of the river channel is on that side of the river, bottoming out at about 15 metres, according to navigational charts.
But will the current bridge remain forever?
A proposal to increase height limits along the Adelaide to Melbourne train line, to allow for double-stacking of shipping containers, was put to Infrastructure Australia in 2021.
Running taller trains on the line would increase its freight capacity by 48 per cent.
But seven Adelaide Hills tunnels would have to be modified to enable it – and so would the heritage-listed bridge at Murray Bridge.
The ARTC was due to report back to Infrastructure Australia with an analysis of potential options by 2026.
Murray Bridge News will seek comment from the rail network operator.
