THE reinstatement of a passenger train to the Barossa now seems more unlikely than ever after the State Government, on Monday, announced it was abandoning its expressions of interest process for the long-disused rail corridor.

The State Government received five submissions after announcing, in August, last year, it was seeking expressions of interest (EOI) for the use of the Barossa rail corridor.

However, transport, infrastructure and local government minister Stephan Knoll said none of the proposals, which included passenger and tourist rail services, warranted further development.

Instead, the rail corridor would continue to be owned and preserved by the government.

“The State Government has undertaken a comprehensive process to call for and assess proposals for the use of the Barossa rail corridor,” Mr Knoll said.

“Of five submissions received, none presented a sufficiently well-formed concept which stacked-up in the long-term.

“All submissions lacked the required detail and failed to meet the mandatory evaluation criteria, and did not provide sufficient persuasive evidence of the outcomes and benefits of their proposals  which would warrant further development.

“Included were proposals for passenger and tourist rail services, but none of these were viable without imposing significant costs on South Australian taxpayers.”

The corridor, which runs from Gawler Central station to Penrice Quarry near Angaston, has laid dormant since 2014 when Penrice Soda Products’ regular freight service ceased.

The last passenger train service operated in 1969.

“The reason this passenger service was discontinued and has not been reinstated since is because it just doesn’t stack-up and the cost to run it is too prohibitive,” Mr Knoll said.

“The use of this corridor will remain a long-term consideration for the State Government, which is why we will continue to own and preserve the rail corridor, but it is certainly not a priority.”

Barossa Council Mayor Bim Lange said he was hopeful of continued discussions with the State Government around some of council’s ideas for the corridor.

As part of a consortium with local business, Barossa Council submitted an EOI proposing a tourist train from Gawler to Tanunda, a driverless bus between Tanunda and Nuriootpa, as well as space for horse riding.

“In my opinion (the rail corridor) is a transport corridor and we should utilise it for whatever means of transport will further enhance the benefits for not only our locals, but the region and tourism,” Mr Lange said.

“Whatever form, there has to be some sort of transport connection.”

Meanwhile the upgrade to Kroemer’s Crossing, in Tanunda, which includes the removal of existing rail infrastructure, is continuing as planned.