Railways in Perth

Railways in Perth
Railways in Perth
	File:Transperth Trains.svg
	A series trains at Perth station in January 2005
Overview
Owner	Public Transport Authority
Locale	Perth
Transit type	Commuter rail
Number of lines	6
Number of stations	70 (3 underground)
Annual ridership	63.5 million (June 2014)
Operation
Operator(s)	Transperth
Technical
System length	173.1 km (107.6 mi)
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
System map
System map

Transperth Trains is a division of Public Transport Authority of Western Australia. It is responsible for operating Perth’s urban passenger rail system, as part of the Transperth network. Annual patronage in 2013/14 was 63.5 million.^[1]

History

The Fremantle to Guildford line commenced operating as a steam-powered service in March 1881, followed by the Perth to Armadale line in May 1889, and the Perth to Joondalup line (now Clarkson) in 1993 and the Perth to Mandurah line in December 2007. The Fremantle line service ceased in September 1979 but was reinstated in July 1983.^[2] Diesel trains were used on the rail network until the three lines then in service, the Armadale, Fremantle and Midland, were electrified in the early 1990s.

The first service with the A-series train was introduced in September 1991, with regular services beginning on the Armadale line on 7 October 1991. The Midland and Fremantle lines commenced service with the then-new A-series trains in December 1991.

The conversion from diesel to electric trains was accompanied by many upgrades to the rail network, such as upgrades to stations and tracks, and the cost of the undertaking was estimated at around $109 million.

Northern Suburbs Transit System

The Northern Suburbs Transit System was the name given to the project to provide high-speed passenger rail services to the northern corridor of metropolitan Perth. To service the expanding northern suburbs, Joondalup line was built in the median of the Mitchell Freeway in the early 1990s, after several years of planning.^[3] The line was later extended to Currambine in 1993.

Mandurah Line

Legislation for the construction of the Mandurah Line was passed in December 1999.^[4] The original proposed route branched from the Armadale line at Kenwick, and then ran alongside the freight lines until Jandakot where it would run in the middle of the Kwinana Freeway. However, a bill passed in November 2002 after a change of state government saw that the route would start at Perth, traverse the Kwinana Freeway, and then continue along its initial route after Jandakot.^[5]

Construction of the line started in February 2004 and it opened on 23 December 2007.^[6]

Thornlie Spur

Because the Government did not begin its review of the Mandurah Line masterplan until after construction had begun, the tunnel under the Roe Highway had already been constructed. To make use of the new tunnel, the government decided to convert this section into a small spur line to Thornlie.

It was decided that Armadale trains would alternate with Thornlie trains, with the Thornlie trains stopping at all stations and Armadale trains only stopping at Oats Street and Cannington stations. Thornlie station opened on 7 August 2005.

New MetroRail

Template:Transperth railway network map

In 2003, the government launched the New MetroRail program as the official name of the upgrades to the rail network. This program included the following projects:

Extension of the Joondalup line to Clarkson and the construction of a new Currambine station.
Construction of Nowergup railway depot.
Purchasing 93 B-series carriages to service the Clarkson and Mandurah lines. These railcars would be configured as 31 three-car sets.
Construction of the Thornlie line and Armadale spur line.
Rebuilding Armadale stations, Bassendean and Gosnells stations in 2004/05.
New Greenwood station built in 2005 between Warwick and Whitfords to relieve the pressure on these stations.
Upgrade of West Leederville station, including a third platform, to help serve crowds from Subiaco Oval.

Future expansion

In the 2009–10 state budget funding was allocated for extending the Joondalup line north to Butler, with construction scheduled to start in 2010.^[7] In addition, the Airport Masterplan calls for a spur line from the Midland Line to connect to Perth Airport. The line would deviate between Bayswater and Ashfield stations, run through the suburb of Redcliffe.

While this link has been the subject of studies and plans since at least 2008^[8] and appeared in the PTA 2010^[9] report it has disappeared entirely from the 2011 report.^[10]

A link to Ellenbrook had been promised by Colin Barnett prior to the 2008 elections however this had evaporated by 2011.^[11]

Former Premier Alan Carpenter had announced a study on the feasibility of a high-speed rail service running from Perth to the south city of Bunbury as a replacement of the current Australind train service. The study stated a new line could be built just after Cockburn Central station on the Mandurah line, then following the Kwinana Freeway south to the new Perth-Bunbury Highway and following the highway until it reaches Bunbury.

In 2011, the Public Transport Authority announced that the Joondalup line would be extended to Butler. Butler opened on 21st September 2014.^[12]

Current system

Route

Transperth runs five train lines with one spur line. These lines are:

Armadale/Thornlie line – goes in a south-east direction to Armadale. The Australind continues along the same track to Bunbury. A spur line to Thornlie station opened on 8 August 2005.
Fremantle line – goes in a westerly direction towards Fremantle. Major stations include Subiaco and Claremont.
Joondalup line – goes in a northern direction, on the Mitchell Freeway central reservation, before moving eastward near Eddystone Avenue through to Joondalup, then returning to the Mitchell Freeway reserve and continuing towards Clarkson. The line then continues currently as a two single track split up at Nowergup depot, then merge back and continues to Butler. When trains on the Joondalup line arrive at Perth station, they continue through to the Mandurah line. Future expansion plans provide for the extension of the line to Yanchep.
Mandurah line – goes in a southward direction, on the Kwinana Freeway central reservation until Kwinana, then curving south-west towards Rockingham and then south to Mandurah. When trains on the Mandurah line arrive at Perth station, they continue through to the Joondalup line.
Midland line – goes east towards Midland. Transwa services diverge and continue to Kalgoorlie (the Prospector) and to Merredin (the Avonlink).

All of the above services except the Transwa Prospector and Transwa Avonlink run on 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge tracks. The Prospector and Avonlink run on 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge tracks and takes the same route as the Midland line services. Consequently the track between East Perth and Midland is dual gauge.

Stations

Transperth serves the following railway stations:

style="background:#Template:Transperth color;"| Armadale/Thornlie Line

style="background:#Template:Transperth color;"| Fremantle Line

style="background:#Template:Transperth color;"| Joondalup Line

style="background:#Template:Transperth color;"| Mandurah Line

style="background:#Template:Transperth color;"| Midland Line

20 stations

17 stations

13 stations

11 stations

15 stations

Template:Armadale-Thornlie Line

Template:Fremantle Line

Legend

				54.5	Yanchep
				46.7	Eglinton
				43.0	Alkimos
				40.7	Butler
					Nowergup depot
				33.2	Clarkson
				29.2	Currambine
				26.2	Joondalup
				22.9	Edgewater
				19.8	Whitfords
				17.7	Greenwood
				14.5	Warwick
				8.8	Stirling
				5.6	Glendalough
				2.4	Leederville
					Perth
				0.0	Perth Underground
				0.6	Elizabeth Quay
					Mandurah line

Legend

					Yanchep line
					Perth
				0.0	Perth Underground
				0.6	Elizabeth Quay

					Swan River
				7.2	Canning Bridge
					Canning River
				11.7	Bull Creek
				13.9	Murdoch
					Thornlie line
				20.5	Cockburn Central
				23.8	Aubin Grove
				32.9	Kwinana
				37.1	Wellard
				43.2	Rockingham
				47.5	Warnbro
					Karnup (planned)
				64.5	Lakelands
					Mandurah depot
				70.8	Mandurah

Template:Midland Line

Stations in italics are under planning or under construction. They are not included in the total number of stations as specified in this table.

– station has a connecting bus service

– special event station

– Free Transit Zone

– station has a CircleRoute connection

– station has a Transwa connection

– station has an Indian Pacific connection

Patronage

Transperth Trains patronage
Year	Patronage	±%
2003–04	31,114,975	—
2004–05	32,652,117	+4.9%
2005–06	34,132,593	+4.5%
2006–07	35,757,833	+4.8%
2007–08	42,636,075	+19.2%
2008–09	54,749,770	+28.4%
2009–10	56,408,742	+3.0%
2010–11	58,867,780	+4.4%
2011–12	63,029,878	+7.1%
2012–13	65,689,337	+4.2%
2013–14	63,491,683	−3.3%
Source: The Public Transport Authority of Western Australia

Below is the annual patronage of each railway line as of the 2013–2014 financial year. Figures are provided as total boardings, which includes all fare-paying boardings and free travel on stations within the free transit zones as well as transfers between stations. The figures for rail replacement and special events services are included in the total but not allocated to any railway line.^[1]

Transperth Trains annual patronage (2013–2014)^[1]
Railway line/services	Patronage	%
Mandurah	20,663,690	33%	33
Joondalup	16,897,361	27%	27
Armadale/Thornlie	9,176,434	14%	14
Fremantle	8,284,716	13%	13
Midland	6,646,213	10%	10
Rail replacement/special services	1,823,269	3%	3
Total annual patronage		100%	63,491,683

Fleet

Current fleet

43 two-car first-generation A-series EMU sets/86 carriages
5 two-car second-generation A-series EMU sets/10 carriages
66 three-car B-series EMU sets/198 carriages being delivered

A-series EMU

A-series at Claisebrook in September 2006

B-Series at McIver in February 2010

ADK/ADB diesel multiple unit at Midland in December 1986

B and A series trains at Claisebrook Depot in July 2005

The A-series electric electric multiple-unit sets are two-car trains with a driver’s cab at each end. They were built by ABB and Walkers in Maryborough, Queensland.

The A-series sets were built for the electrification of Perth’s suburban railway system in the early 1990s and the Joondalup line, which was being constructed in the same period. The first was delivered on 1 September 1990. The original order for 43 first-generation trains were followed by an additional order for 5 second-generation trains due to the Joondalup line exceeding passenger estimates. Delivered in 1998, the second-generation trains differ in having LED screens and other upgrades to security and accessibility. A-series sets can be coupled together to form four or six carriage sets.

Specifications

Builder: ABB/ADTranz and Walkers
Gauge: 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)
Top speed: 110 km/h
Passengers: 156
Fleet numbers: 1–48

B-series EMU

Introduced in October 2004, the B-series are the newest electric trains to operate in Perth. They were built by Bombardier Transportation and Downer Rail in Maryborough, Queensland, and operate on the Joondalup and Mandurah lines.

Each sets consists of three carriages. The powered 'A' and 'B' cars each have a driver’s cab, while the central 'T' car is entirely devoted to passengers, and supplies power from overhead lines to the powered cars. The B-series trains operate as three, six and nine carriage sets. They have a top speed of 130 km/h.

On 19 September 2006 the Premier of Western Australia, Alan Carpenter, announced that the Public Transport Authority will purchase another 15 new 3-car sets from the EDI Rail-Bombardier Transportation joint venture. The first three B-series railcar sets were introduced on 28 June 2009 and have allowed some of the A-series trains to be transferred to the Midland-Fremantle line. As more sets become available, they will allow the remaining two-car A-series trains currently being used on the Perth-Clarkson line to increase total capacity for the Armadale-Perth and Midland-Fremantle services, with an overall increase of 3,900 passengers, or more than 30%. By January 2016 66 sets will be in service.