Its original purpose was to allow goods and minerals from South Australia's mid-north (and from 1878, the Murray River at Morgan) to reach the Port without needing to travel via Adelaide.

The works included converting the Rosewater Loop to dual gauge, and a section of the Outer Harbor line from the Rosewater junction to Largs North railway station where the dual gauge would branch off on a new alignment to service sidings on the western side of the Port River.

Following conversion of the Adelaide to Melbourne corridor to standard gauge in 1995, a south-to-west triangle was constructed at Dry Creek.

This link allows trains from Melbourne and the Islington Freight Terminal to travel directly to Port Adelaide without reversing in Dry Creek yard.

[5] One of these, the Mary MacKillop Bridge, diverted trains away from the Rosewater Loop and suburban rail network in Port Adelaide.

Apart from a short stretch at the western end, the Dry Creek to Port Adelaide line travels through either industrial areas or undeveloped swampland.

This meant there has never been much significant passenger traffic on the line, apart from a few trains in the morning and another couple in the afternoon for workers commuting to various industrial premises.

All passenger trains were withdrawn one year later and Rosewater and Grand Junction Road stations closed after services ceased on 29 May 1988.

The section between Dry Creek and Gillman Junction is particularly busy, with the ARTC opening a crossing loop at Wingfield in 2009 to help ease delays.

From here the line follows the western side of the Port River through Birkenhead and Osborne to the new container facility and grain terminal at Pelican Point and wharves at Outer Harbor.

After branching at Glanville, the route followed the southern side of Semaphore Road where it joined the current route to Pelican Point just north of the Mary MacKillop Bridge; this section was known as the Birkenhead Loop and was closed and lifted in 2008 with the completion of the Mary MacKillop Bridge.

[13] The curve of track adjacent to Glanville station is now residential housing and the corridor along Semaphore Road is now a shared-use path.

The length of the Rosewater Loop and former Gillman rail yard is currently being converted into a greenway with work scheduled to begin mid-late 2023.