This new line diverted trains from Adelaide to Semaphore and Outer Harbor away from the congested rail yards at Port Dock station and to avoid heavy traffic along St Vincents Street in the centre of Port Adelaide.

It has been unstaffed since the ticket office closed in 1980, and there is a small interchange for local buses adjacent to the station.

Until July 2008, the dual gauge tracks were used by freight trains from Dry Creek and the Rosewater loop which passed through Ethelton to access industrial facilities on the Lefevre Peninsula and the container terminal at Pelican Point.

All freight services through the station ceased when the new Mary Mackillop Bridge opened.

[3][4] Media related to Ethelton railway station at Wikimedia Commons