The original Adelaide station handled all passenger, freight and livestock traffic at the North Terrace site.

Livestock was unloaded adjacent to the markets and abattoirs, which were opposite the Newmarket Hotel, on the corner of West Terrace.

This diverged from the Port line at a junction in the north parklands, and was extended to Kapunda in 1860, and Burra by 1870, both important copper mining towns in the early days of the colony.

To cope with increasing traffic, interlocked signals and points were installed in 1875, and the Port line was upgraded to double track in 1881.

Most of this expansion was complete by the early years of the 20th century and the resulting increase in traffic caused troublesome congestion in the vicinity of Adelaide station.

This allowed the area immediately around Adelaide station to concentrate on passenger and parcels traffic, and the old goods shed was then converted into a platform for Glenelg line trains.

Worn-out infrastructure, under-powered steam locomotives, undersized rolling stock and outdated operating systems were all modernised and upgraded along essentially American lines.

Of particular note was the enormous domed Marble Hall, which served as a grand and dignified main waiting room, and is now incorporated into the Adelaide Casino.

The new station had 13 platforms, each covered by an individual canopy to alleviate the problems of smoke and fumes previously endured with an overall roof.

The federal government owned Australian National (AN) took over ownership and operation of all country lines outside the Adelaide metropolitan area.

The Adelaide Station and Environs Redevelopment (ASER) project involved:[3] The remaining platforms became partially underground and a special extraction system was needed to remove the exhaust fumes from the diesel railcars.

[6] In January 2013, the station closed for a month-long shutdown in connection with the rail electrification of the Seaford railway line.

In conjunction with the new northern entrance, the architectural features of the building would be restored and enhanced, the North Terrace frontage upgraded, and new food and retail tenancies added.

[11] Between August 2023 and January 2024, the pedestrian airbridge running over the concourse — constructed in the 1980s to provide a valet service between Adelaide Casino and the InterContinental, and obsolete since 2021 — was removed.