The Mandurah line is a
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
way and service on the
Transperth
Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system serving the city and suburban areas of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation. Train op ...
network in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
that runs from
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
south to the state's second largest city
Mandurah
Mandurah () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 107,641 as of the 2021 Australian census, 2 ...
. The service is operated by
Transperth Train Operations
Transperth Train Operations is a division of the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia. It is responsible for operating Perth’s urban passenger rail system, as part of the Transperth network.
Perth's passenger rail network covers ...
, a division of the
Public Transport Authority. The line is long and has 12 stations. At its northern end, the line (travelling south) begins as a continuation of the
Joondalup line
The Joondalup line is a commuter rail service in Western Australia, linking the Perth central business district (CBD) with the metropolitan area's north-western suburbs. The service is operated on the Northern Suburbs Railway by Transperth Tra ...
at
Perth Underground, and (travelling north) ends as a continuation of the Joondalup line at
Elizabeth Quay
Elizabeth Quay is a mixed-use development project in the Perth#cbd, Perth central business district. Focusing on an area located on the north shore of Perth Water near the landmark Swan Bells, the precinct being developed by the project was nam ...
. The first of the line is underground, passing under the Perth central business district. The line surfaces and enters the median of the
Kwinana Freeway
The Kwinana Freeway is a freeway in and beyond the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with Mandurah to the south. It is the central section of State Route 2, which continues north as Mitchell Freeway to Cl ...
just north of the
Swan River. It continues south down the freeway's median for , before veering south-west towards
Rockingham. The final stretch of the line goes south from Rockingham to Mandurah.
Planning for a railway line to Mandurah began in the early 1990s, during the construction of the Joondalup line. The first route proposed was an extension of the
Fremantle line
The Fremantle line is a suburban railway and service in Western Australia that connects the central business district (CBD) of Perth with Fremantle.
History
The railway on which the service runs opened on 1 March 1881 as the first suburban rai ...
to Mandurah passing directly through the Rockingham town centre. The preferred route was later changed to a spur off the
Armadale line
The Armadale line is a suburban rail service in Western Australia that runs from Perth to Armadale on the South Western Railway. This service is planned to extend to the suburb of Byford over an new railway line constructed as part of the By ...
at
Kenwick via Thornlie for reasons of cost. Following a
change in state government in 2001, the route was changed again, this time to a direct route along the Kwinana Freeway south of Perth with
Rockingham station relocated to align with the more direct route. Construction began in March 2004. The underground portion of the line, between Perth and
Esplanade station, was the first section to open. It began operating on 15 October 2007. The rest of the line opened on 23 December 2007. Since opening, one new station along the line has opened, and another new station has begun construction. The line will be connected to the Armadale line via
Cockburn Central and the
Thornlie spur line.
Trains take 51 minutes to get from Perth Underground to
Mandurah station
Mandurah Station is the terminus of the Mandurah railway line and a bus station on the Transperth network, serving the satellite city of Mandurah, Western Australia.
History
The bus station opened prior to the railway station, on 17 Septe ...
. The line is the busiest on the Transperth network, with 14.4 million boardings in the 2021–22 financial year. Headways are at least every 15 minutes during the day, rising to every 5 minutes on parts during peak time.
History
Proposals and early planning
Just as detailed planning for the
Northern Suburbs Transit System
The Northern Suburbs Transit System is the name given to the project initiated and funded by the Government of Western Australia to provide high-speed passenger rail services to the northern corridor of metropolitan Perth, the capital city of Wes ...
was underway, the South West Area Transit (SWAT) Study was formed in February 1989 to examine the possibilities for extending
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
's rail services to the city's south west. A SWAT report was released in 1990 recommending a rapid transit system to
Rockingham and
Mandurah
Mandurah () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 107,641 as of the 2021 Australian census, 2 ...
. The two options the report considered were an extension of the
Fremantle line
The Fremantle line is a suburban railway and service in Western Australia that connects the central business district (CBD) of Perth with Fremantle.
History
The railway on which the service runs opened on 1 March 1881 as the first suburban rai ...
or a spur off the
Armadale line
The Armadale line is a suburban rail service in Western Australia that runs from Perth to Armadale on the South Western Railway. This service is planned to extend to the suburb of Byford over an new railway line constructed as part of the By ...
at
Kenwick. Both of these options would utilise pre-existing freight railways, although sections of the Fremantle freight railway had the problem of being only single track. With the
Armadale,
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
and
Midland lines about to be electrified in the early 1990s, the report suggested using the leftover diesel railcars to minimise initial costs.
Planning for the line was transferred to the
Department of Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
in 1991. The Department then released a report in 1992 for recommending a
light rail line from Fremantle to the south west metropolitan area. Later that year, the
Lawrence government
Carmen Mary Lawrence (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian academic and former politician who was the Premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. A member of the Labor Party, sh ...
made an in-principle commitment to building a rail line from Fremantle to Rockingham and Mandurah. It had ruled out a dedicated busway, but had not yet chosen between
heavy rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas:
Rapid transit
A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerati ...
and light rail. The SWAT Steering Committee was formed to assess various things for the line, namely the transit mode, route, cost, and the community's preference regarding the transit mode and route. The SWAT committee recommended the use of heavy rail like the rest of Perth's rail system. Premier
Carmen Lawrence
Carmen Mary Lawrence (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian academic and former politician who was the Premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. A member of the Labor Party, sh ...
made the commitment ahead of the
1993 state election to build this line as far as Rockingham by 1996, and to Mandurah by 2001.
Separately from any other planning, Westrail was asked by the
Department of Planning and Urban Development
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in 1992 or 1993 to investigate doing a direct route from Perth to Mandurah instead of via Fremantle. The direct route was to pass through the emerging regional centre of Thomsons Lake, now known as
Cockburn Central, and make the journey to the Perth central business district (CBD) quicker. The median of the
Kwinana Freeway
The Kwinana Freeway is a freeway in and beyond the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with Mandurah to the south. It is the central section of State Route 2, which continues north as Mitchell Freeway to Cl ...
south of the
Narrows Bridge was seen as being too narrow for a railway, so that route was not considered. Westrail came up with a plan for the line to run underground from the Perth CBD to the
Mount Henry Bridge
The Mount Henry Bridge carries the Kwinana Freeway and Mandurah railway line over the Canning River in Perth, approximately south of the Perth central business district. At long, it is the longest road bridge in Western Australia. It spans t ...
. At $800 million, this was considered too expensive.
After
Richard Court
Richard Fairfax Court (born 27 September 1947) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and as Australian Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Liberal Party, ...
won the election for the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
, the government put aside any immediate plans for the line, saying that it was far too expensive and too soon after the
Joondalup line
The Joondalup line is a commuter rail service in Western Australia, linking the Perth central business district (CBD) with the metropolitan area's north-western suburbs. The service is operated on the Northern Suburbs Railway by Transperth Tra ...
was built. The Court government started a new study to determine a busway would be an acceptable alternative to light rail or heavy rail, options which had already been costed at $326 million to $570 million. In August 1995, the government announced new plans for the railway to Mandurah. It was going to take a new route, branching off from the Armadale line at
Kenwick, running parallel to the
Kwinana freight railway
The Kwinana freight railway lines are a network of railways predominantly servicing the heavy industrial areas at Kwinana Beach south of Perth and to provide for the transport of freight servicing Fremantle Harbour, Kewdale Intermodal Facili ...
to
Jandakot, where it would then run south to Rockingham and Mandurah. The railway was to undergo a staged construction, with the first stage from Kenwick to Jandakot opening within 10 years at a cost of $150 million. The cost of the entire line was to be $570 million. The land for this was reserved in the
Metropolitan Region Scheme
The Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) provides the legal basis for land use planning within the Perth metropolitan region. It classifies land into broad zones and reservations and is administered by the Western Australian Planning Commission. I ...
in December 1994, and land acquisition commenced after that. The land for the railway was also reserved in the forthcoming
Peel Region Scheme,
which was gazetted on 23 October 2002.
Armadale line spur
Cabinet approved the creation of a master plan in April 1997, with its preparation starting later that year. Amongst its objectives were to establish the line's feasibility, develop concepts, confirm the final route, develop patronage estimates, decide on the number and location of stations, determine how the line will operate and integrate with other transport services, determine rolling stock and infrastructure requirements, determine the environmental impact, determine the cost, examine options for funding, and prepare enabling legislation. The master plan, called the ''South West Metropolitan Railway (SWMP) Master Plan'', was endorsed by cabinet in March 1999.
The route laid out by the master plan was as follows. The service would commence at
Perth station
Perth Station was an ESTRACK Earth station in Australia, located at the Perth International Telecommunications Centre in the suburb of Cullacabardee. It has been retired from service in December, 2015 and has been replaced by the New Norcia S ...
, running alongside the
Armadale line
The Armadale line is a suburban rail service in Western Australia that runs from Perth to Armadale on the South Western Railway. This service is planned to extend to the suburb of Byford over an new railway line constructed as part of the By ...
until Kenwick, where it would enter a tunnel and pass under the Armadale line,
Albany Highway
Albany Highway links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany, on the state's south coast. The highway travels through the southern Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions, and is designated State Route  ...
,
Roe Highway
Roe Highway is a limited-access highway and partial freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Kewdale with the city's north-eastern and south-western suburbs. The northern terminus is at Reid Highway and Great Northern Highway in Middle S ...
and the
Kwinana freight railway
The Kwinana freight railway lines are a network of railways predominantly servicing the heavy industrial areas at Kwinana Beach south of Perth and to provide for the transport of freight servicing Fremantle Harbour, Kewdale Intermodal Facili ...
. It would emerge from the tunnel and run south west, parallel to the freight railway. Along this section, the stations planned were at
Thornlie (now
Thornlie station
Thornlie Station is a railway station on the Transperth network. It is the terminus of the Thornlie spur of the Armadale Line, from Perth Station serving the suburb of Thornlie, Western Australia. Under construction is the Thornlie-Cockburn Lin ...
),
Nicholson Road
Nicholson Road is a major north-south road in the southeastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting Albany Highway in Cannington with the large residential areas of Thornlie and Canning Vale, before leaving the Perth urban area a ...
(now
Nicholson Road station), and
Ranford Road
Ranford Road is a major road in the southeastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, and services a number of housing estates in Canning Vale and Southern River, as well as forming part of one of the two major routes between the port city of ...
(then named Canning Vale station; now
Ranford Road station). There was also provision for a station at
Jandakot Airport
Jandakot Airport is a general aviation (GA) airport located in Jandakot, Western Australia, about south-southwest of the "general aviation area of the Airport West precinct" at Perth Airport. Jandakot airport opened in 1963. From 1 July 1998 ...
near Karel Avenue for the future. After travelling along the freight railway, the line would enter a tunnel and emerge within the
median strip
The median strip, central reservation, roadway median, or traffic median is the reserved area that separates opposing lanes of traffic on divided roadways such as divided highways, dual carriageways, freeways, and motorways. The term also a ...
of the
Kwinana Freeway
The Kwinana Freeway is a freeway in and beyond the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with Mandurah to the south. It is the central section of State Route 2, which continues north as Mitchell Freeway to Cl ...
. Having the line run along the side of the freeway was considered, as the freeway median was initially viewed as being too narrow. This option would have resulted in greater station accessibility but take the line close to current and planned residential areas. The line would have run along the eastern side of the freeway before crossing to the western side north of
Berrigan Drive. This option was not chosen, limiting the adverse environmental impact of the freeway and railway to a narrower strip. The stations along the freeway section of the line were to be at Berrigan Drive (named South Lake station) and Beeliar Drive (then named Thomsons Lake station; now
Cockburn Central station
Cockburn Central station ( ) is a bus and railway station on the Transperth network. It is located at the juncture of the Mandurah andonce completed Thornlie lines, from Perth station inside the median strip of the Kwinana Freeway serving t ...
), with provisions for future stations at Gibbs Road/Russell Road (then named Success station; now
Aubin Grove station), Rowley Road (named Mandogalup station), and Anketell Road (named Anketell). At
Thomas Road
Thomas Road is a major west–east road in the far southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting Rockingham Road (part of Highway 1) in Kwinana's industrial area with Kwinana's urban area, before bridging Perth's agricultural fring ...
, the railway would exit the freeway via a tunnel and travel south west through Kwinana. In Kwinana, the stations planned were at Thomas Road (now
Kwinana station) and at
Leda
Leda may refer to:
Mythology
* Leda (mythology), queen of Sparta and mother of Helen of Troy in Greek mythology
Places
* Leda, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia
* Leda makeshift settlement, Bangladesh, a refugee camp ...
(now
Wellard station
Wellard railway station is a railway station in Wellard, Western Australia, Wellard, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is on the Mandurah railway line, which is part of the Transperth commuter rail network, and is located at the centre o ...
), with a future station at Challenger Avenue (named South Parmelia station).
Through Rockingham, there were several alignments considered. The
Minister for Planning commissioned the ''Rockingham City Centre Railway Access Study'' in 1996 to provide some options. The study recommended a route which travelled through the Rockingham city centre, partially in a tunnel. Cabinet endorsed this route in August 1997 after being told the estimated cost was $119 million. This was the route that the
City of Rockingham wanted as well, with the Rockingham Council saying it strongly opposed any route that bypassed the Rockingham city centre as it would be detrimental by siphoning workers out of Rockingham and into the Perth CBD. After cabinet endorsement, more detailed costing and evaluation of the endorsed route and alternative routes was done. The new cost of the favoured option was determined to be $269 million. As a result, more options were developed by a workshop, and these were refined to three options for the 1999 master plan. The first option had a cost of $143 million, and involved of track in a trench or underground and two stations: one within the Rockingham city centre, and one north of Rockingham at
Ennis Avenue
Ennis Avenue is a major road between Rockingham and its southern suburbs and is part of Australia's National Highway 1 for all of its length. It is a controlled access road and after leaving Rockingham has only four intersections (Willmott Dr ...
. The second option had a cost of $107 million, and involved of track in a trench or underground and two stations: one within the Rockingham city centre, and one north of Rockingham at
Ennis Avenue
Ennis Avenue is a major road between Rockingham and its southern suburbs and is part of Australia's National Highway 1 for all of its length. It is a controlled access road and after leaving Rockingham has only four intersections (Willmott Dr ...
. The third option bypassed the Rockingham city centre, had a cost of $31 million, involved no tunnels or trenches, and had one station at Dixon Road and provisions for a future station on Ennis Avenue south of Elanora Drive (named Cooloongup). This option also had a dedicated bus service to link the station to the city centre. In addition to the higher cost of the tunnel options, there would also have been higher transit time for those travelling though Rockingham without getting off the train there.
Running south from Rockingham along the eastern side of
Ennis Avenue
Ennis Avenue is a major road between Rockingham and its southern suburbs and is part of Australia's National Highway 1 for all of its length. It is a controlled access road and after leaving Rockingham has only four intersections (Willmott Dr ...
, the double tracked section of the line was planned to end at
Safety Bay Road
Safety Bay Road is an east-west metropolitan road located in the City of Rockingham, about south of Perth, Western Australia. The road starts in Rockingham's coastal suburbs and heads south from Peron, Western Australia, Peron past Lake Richmo ...
, at Waikiki station (now
Warnbro station
Warnbro railway station is a commuter railway station in Warnbro, Western Australia, Warnbro, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is on the Mandurah line, which is part of the Transperth commuter rail network, and is located immediately s ...
. South from there, the line was to run single tracked to
Mandurah station
Mandurah Station is the terminus of the Mandurah railway line and a bus station on the Transperth network, serving the satellite city of Mandurah, Western Australia.
History
The bus station opened prior to the railway station, on 17 Septe ...
, including crossing Stakehill Road, Paganoni Road, and a road in
Lakelands at the line's only
level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...
s. Future station provisions were to be at Stakehill Road (named Stakehill station), Paganoni Road (named Karnup station),
Lakelands, and Gordon Road.
Additionally, the master plan found that works were required along the Perth to Kenwick portion for the operation of the Mandurah line. These proposed works included an additional platform at Perth station, a rebuild of
Victoria Park station, closure of
Lathlain station, a rebuild of
Carlisle station
Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...
, closure of
Welshpool station, a rebuild of
Beckenham station, and the removal of most level crossings. The master plan stipulated that the Mandurah line run as a
through service A through service is a concept of passenger transport that involves a vehicle travelling between lines, networks or operators on a regularly specified schedule, on which the passenger can remain on board without alighting. It may be in form of eithe ...
with the
Joondalup line
The Joondalup line is a commuter rail service in Western Australia, linking the Perth central business district (CBD) with the metropolitan area's north-western suburbs. The service is operated on the Northern Suburbs Railway by Transperth Tra ...
, a role which the
Armadale line
The Armadale line is a suburban rail service in Western Australia that runs from Perth to Armadale on the South Western Railway. This service is planned to extend to the suburb of Byford over an new railway line constructed as part of the By ...
was fulfilling at the time. Among the advantages were that it would result in fewer trains needing to turn around at Perth station and the associated infrastructure requirements that arose from that. 104 railcars would have had to be purchased, which would be stored at a depot at Rockingham and at
Nowergup on the Joondalup line.
In April 2000, an expanded version of the SWMR Master Plan was released by the government.
The ''Railway (Northern and Southern Urban Extensions) Act'', which enabled the construction of the Mandurah line via Kenwick, passed the Western Australian Parliament in November 1999.
In December 2000, the government announced that the railway between Warnbro and Mandurah would be double tracked. Under the previous single track design, maximum train frequency south of Warnbro was restricted to two trains per hour. The additional cost was $20 million.
Direct route
However, following a change in
State Government
A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...
in 2001, a bill was passed that saw the route altered to start at
Perth station
Perth Station was an ESTRACK Earth station in Australia, located at the Perth International Telecommunications Centre in the suburb of Cullacabardee. It has been retired from service in December, 2015 and has been replaced by the New Norcia S ...
, travel through a tunnel, traverse the Kwinana Freeway, and then continue along its initial route after Jandakot.
[Perth to Mandurah Railway, Australia]
''Railway Technology'' This second route was much more direct, and allowed through services with the
Joondalup line
The Joondalup line is a commuter rail service in Western Australia, linking the Perth central business district (CBD) with the metropolitan area's north-western suburbs. The service is operated on the Northern Suburbs Railway by Transperth Tra ...
; however it was more costly. The new route had a 20% faster journey time from Mandurah station to Perth, and a 40% faster journey time from Thomsons Lake to Perth. It also had higher projected patronage, with 24,950 passengers per day projected, as opposed to 19,100 for the route via Kenwick. The new route also meant that there is a higher maximum capacity for each line, as there are no tracks with multiple lines limiting maximum capacity. It also provided an opportunity for a new station at the south end of the Perth CBD, closer to the offices on
St Georges Terrace.
The route included the following stations:
*
William Street (Perth) station
*
Esplanade (Elizabeth Quay) station
*
Canning Bridge station
Canning Bridge railway station is a railway station on the Transperth network. It is located on the Mandurah line, four kilometres from Perth station inside the median strip of the Kwinana Freeway located adjacent to the suburb of Como.
Hist ...
*
Leach Highway (Bull Creek) station
*
South Street (Murdoch) station
*
Thomsons Lake (Cockburn Central) station
*
Thomas Road (Kwinana) station
*
Leda (Wellard) station
*
Rockingham station
*
Waikiki (Warnbro) station
*
Mandurah station
Mandurah Station is the terminus of the Mandurah railway line and a bus station on the Transperth network, serving the satellite city of Mandurah, Western Australia.
History
The bus station opened prior to the railway station, on 17 Septe ...
South Lake station was along the new alignment but was relegated to being built in the future. Leda station was budgeted for but was planned on opening later than the other stations. Thornlie, Nicholson Road, and Canning Vale stations were removed from the plan as they were along the Kwinana freight railway alignment.
This decision also led to the relocation of the
Rockingham station from the city centre to the outer edge to offset the additional costs of the Perth section. The original route included tunnels to bring the railway into the Rockingham CBD. As a trade-off for relocating Rockingham station to the outer edge, the State Government promised a
light rail link to the Rockingham CBD. This was later revised to a
Central Area Transit style bus service partly within a dedicated busway. As part of the work, the
Narrows
A narrows or narrow (used interchangeably but usually in the plural form), is a restricted land or water passage. Most commonly a narrows is a strait, though it can also be a water gap.
A narrows may form where a stream passes through a tilted ...
and
Mount Henry Bridge
The Mount Henry Bridge carries the Kwinana Freeway and Mandurah railway line over the Canning River in Perth, approximately south of the Perth central business district. At long, it is the longest road bridge in Western Australia. It spans t ...
s were rebuilt.
Detailed planning and construction
The design and construction of the project was split up into eight packages. They are as follows:
All of these packages were managed by
New MetroRail
New MetroRail was a division of the Public Transport Authority in Western Australia. It was responsible for managing extensions to Perth's railway network. The project doubled Perth's rail network, which is operated by Transperth, and was comp ...
except for Package E, which was managed by
Main Roads Western Australia
Main Roads Western Australia (formerly the Main Roads Department) is a statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia that is responsible for implementing the state's policies on road access and main roads. It operates under the ' ...
. New MetroRail was a division of the
Western Australian Government Railways Commission
The Western Australian Government Railways Commission was formed on 18 December 2000 to take over the non-freight operations of Westrail, following the freight operations being sold to Australian Western Railroad. It was the owner of the non-me ...
(later the
Public Transport Authority), set up in March 2003 as a rebrand of the Perth Urban Rail Development Project. This division managed the construction of the Mandurah line, as well as an extension to the Joondalup line and upgrades along the Armadale line.
The first contracts were awarded in April 2002: the contract for designing Package B was awarded to Woodhead International Architects for $2.1 million, and the contract for designing Package C was awarded to Jones Coulter Young Pty Ltd for $2.5 million.
Woodhead recruited MPS Architects to do part of the design work for Package B, and Jones Coulter Young recruited Taylor Robinson Architects to do part of the design work for Mandurah and Warnbro stations. The $9.7 million design contract for Package A was awarded to Maunsell SKM Joint Venture in September 2002, and the $3.1 million design contract for Package D was awarded to Woodhead International Architects and MPS Architects in October 2002.
Woodhead designed Bull Creek and Canning Bridge stations, and MPS designed Murdoch station.
The ''Railway (Jandakot to Perth) Act'' passed parliament on 27 November 2002, and received
royal assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...
on 5 December 2002, enabling the construction of the railway between Perth and Jandakot to begin.
Expressions of interest for the construction of Package F closed on 16 April 2003. The five proponents that applied were City Connect (joint venture between Clough,
McConnell Dowell
McConnell Dowell is a major infrastructure construction company founded in New Zealand in 1961. In 2003 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Aveng, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa.
History
McConnell Dowell was ...
and
Obayashi Obayashi may refer to:
*Obayashi Corporation, one of five major Japanese construction companies
* Obayashi (surname), a Japanese surname
*Obayashi Station
is a passenger railway station located in the city of Takarazuka Hyōgo Prefecture, ...
);
Bilfinger Berger
Bilfinger SE (previously named Bilfinger Berger AG) is a German company specialized in civil and industrial construction, engineering and services based in Mannheim, Germany.
History
Bilfinger dates back to 1880 when August Bernatz founded Be ...
–
Baulderstone Hornibrook
Baulderstone, formerly Baulderstone Hornibrook, was an Australian construction company.
History MR Hornibrook
In 1926, Manuel Hornibrook founded a construction company in Brisbane. Amongst its notable projects were the Story Bridge and William Jo ...
;
Leighton–
Kumagai Gumi
is a Japanese construction company founded in Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The company still has registered headquarters in Fukui, but the actual head office is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
History
Santaro Kumagai, the company's founder, beg ...
Team;
Multiplex
Multiplex may refer to:
* Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make
* Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain
* Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company
* Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measu ...
–
John Holland–Tyco Group; and Henry Walker Eltin–
Bouygues
Bouygues S.A. () is a French industrial group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on the Euronext, Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip (stock market), blue chip in the C ...
.
City Connect and Leighton–Kumagai Gumi Team were shortlisted on 29 May 2003. The
request for proposals began on 16 June 2003, and the detailed submissions from each consortia were due on 18 September 2003.
In July 2003, the
Environmental Protection Authority submitted a Public Environmental Review to the
Minister for Environment
An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...
,
Judy Edwards
Judith Mary Edwards (born 10 April 1955) in Beverley, Western Australia is an Australian politician. She was the ALP member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from May 1990 to September 2008, representing the electorate of Mayland ...
. She approved the environmental review on 14 November 2003.
Expressions of interest for the construction of the three station packages, packages B, C and D, opened in September 2003, and closed on 30 October.
In December 2003, Cabinet decided to award the construction contract for Package E to Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd, and the construction contract for Package F to Leighton-Kumagai Gumi Team. The completion date of the entire line to Mandurah was also brought forward to December 2006. Leighton Contractors had been selected as the preferred proponent for Package E, and Leighton-Kumagai Gumi Team had been selected as the preferred proponent for Package F in October 2003.
![6 car train on narrows](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/6_car_train_on_narrows.JPG)
The contract for the design and construction of Package E was signed on 14 January 2004. This package consisted of all the roadworks along the Kwinana Freeway. This included the construction of a new bridge between the two existing
Narrows Bridges, for the southbound tracks. The northbound tracks were built on the existing northbound road bridge, which had to be strengthened to withstand the weight of a train. The
Mount Henry Bridge
The Mount Henry Bridge carries the Kwinana Freeway and Mandurah railway line over the Canning River in Perth, approximately south of the Perth central business district. At long, it is the longest road bridge in Western Australia. It spans t ...
had to have a new bridge for northbound road traffic built next to the existing bridge. The existing bridge was strengthened, for railway tracks to go across it. Existing bridges along the Kwinana Freeway had to have various modifications, including pier strengthening and protection. The freeway had to undergo minor realignment in parts so that the railway could fit. The layout of onramps and offramps at
Leach Highway
Leach Highway is a east-west arterial highway in the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, primarily linking Kewdale and Perth Airport with the city of Fremantle.
It is allocated State Route 7 and is a dual carriageway for its enti ...
and
South Street had to be changed, as that was where Bull Creek and Murdoch stations were to be built respectively.
Package E also included the construction of the railway formation layer along the Kwinana Freeway, construction of drainage along that section, construction of concrete barriers between the freeway and the railway, and construction of noise walls along some stretches. It also included the moving of the bus bridge that goes from
Canning Highway
Canning Highway is an arterial road in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner Perth suburb of Victoria Park in the north-east, to the port city of Fremantle in the south-west.
The road is mostly a four-lane divided carriageway, with a ge ...
to the freeway northbound west, as the bridge was in the way of the railway. Initially, this bridge was going to be demolished and rebuilt, but it was determined that moving the bridge was viable and more economical.
![Wellington Street construction](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Wellington_Street_construction.jpg)
The contract for the design and construction of Package F was awarded to Leighton–Kumagai Gumi on 14 February 2004. The main part of this package was the tunnelling under the Perth central business district and the construction of Perth Underground and Esplanade stations. The tunnelling consisted of two long bored tunnels between Perth rail yard (the track west of Perth station) and Esplanade station, and of
cut-and-cover
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...
tunnel south of Esplanade station. The two stations were also cut-and-cover. Smaller parts of Package F included changes to the traction power supply sections around Perth station, changes to the layout of the Perth rail yard, alterations and strengthening of the
Horseshoe Bridge
The Horseshoe Bridge in Perth, Western Australia is a traffic bridge that connects the Perth CBD to Northbridge, carrying William Street. It was constructed in 1904 to pass over the Fremantle railway line, with the horseshoe shape designed to f ...
, construction of a pedestrian tunnel under
Wellington Street to link Perth underground to the existing Perth station, and landscaping and changes to the road layout around the southern tunnel portal. Construction on Package F began in March 2004, making this package the first one to begin construction. The tunnel was the first railway tunnel to be built in Perth since 1895 when the
Swan View Tunnel
The Swan View Tunnel is a former railway tunnel located on the southern side of the Jane Brook valley in the outer Perth suburb of Swan View in the John Forrest National Park on the edge of the Darling Scarp. After its closure as a railway tunn ...
was built in the present-day
John Forrest National Park
John Forrest National Park is a national park in the Darling Scarp, east of Perth, Western Australia. Proclaimed as a national park in November 1900, it was the first national park in Western Australia and the second in Australia after Royal Nat ...
. This was the most challenging portion of the Mandurah line project, with it being heavily criticised in the press.
The tunnel boring machine, manufactured by
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
is a Japanese multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predecessor of Mitsubishi Mo ...
,
was lifted into position in the Esplanade station box on 14 August 2005. It was named "the Sandgroper", a nickname for Western Australians, and had a mass of and a length of . Following a slight delay due to technical issues during commissioning, the TBM started boring the eastern tunnel on 25 October 2005.
On 7 February 2006, the TBM broke through to William Street station, north of The Esplanade. The first tunnel was complete when the TBM broke though to the northern tunnel portal on 4 June 2006. The machine was transported back to Esplanade station to do the second tunnel. It broke through to William Street station on 31 August 2006, and broke through the northern tunnel portal on 24 October 2006.
With the TBM designed specifically for Perth's sandy soils, it had to be scrapped following the project as no-one wanted to buy it.
On 23 May 2004, the contract for the construction of Package A was awarded to RailLink Joint Venture: a joint venture between
John Holland,
Macmahon Contractors, and
Multiplex Constructions,
after being named the preferred tenderer in late 2003.
As only parts of this package were fully designed by MSKM and New MetroRail during the design contract, the construction contract also included a design component. This package included bulk earthworks for stations between Mandurah and Cockburn Central; civil works, drainage, and track structure between Mandurah and the Narrows Bridge; the
traction power network
A traction network or traction power network is an electricity grid for the supply of electrified rail networks. The installation of a separate traction network generally is done only if the railway in question uses alternating current (AC) with ...
from Mandurah to north of the Narrows Bridge, including overhead wires, feeder stations at Jandakot and
Karnup, and track sectioning cabins; roadworks between Mandurah and Glen Iris, including rail, road, and pedestrian bridges; signals and communication for the entire line;
Mandurah railcar depot
Mandurah () is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, situated approximately south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's second most populous city, with a population of 107,641 as of the 2021 census.
Mandurah's ...
; and connecting the signalling, power and communications systems to the rest of the network at Perth Yard.
In May 2004, construction began on Package E, with works commencing on the Mount Henry Bridge. The new bridge opened to traffic on 22 January 2006.
In November 2004, the contract for Package D was awarded to John Holland. In March 2005, the contract for Package B was awarded to Doric Brierty Joint Venture, a joint venture between Doric Constructions and Brierty Contractors. The Doric Brierty Joint Venture was again awarded a contract in June 2005, for Package C
which was for Rockingham and Warnbro stations; the contract for Package C
which was for the construction of Mandurah station, was awarded to J.M. & E.D. Moore. The construction of the stations from Canning Bridge to Mandurah started from mid- to late-2005.
In April 2005, Planning and Infrastructure Minister
Alannah MacTiernan
Alannah Joan Geraldine Cecilia MacTiernan (born 10 January 1953) is an Australian politician. Since 1988, she has served in politics at a federal, state, and local level, including as a minister in the Western Australian state governments of Ge ...
announced that the line's scheduled opening date had been delayed to April 2007. The contingency sum was increased by $45.193 as well, due to two station contracts being above estimates from 2002 and new safety standards for earthing and insulation. In April 2006, MacTiernan announced that the line's opening date had been delayed to July 2007, with Package E being behind schedule. The contingency sum was increased by $49.801 million, bringing the project's total cost to $1.613 billion.
Track laying commenced, starting from a track laying depot in
Hillman
Hillman was a British automobile marque created by the Hillman-Coatalen Company, founded in 1907, renamed the Hillman Motor Car Company in 1910. The company was based in Ryton-on-Dunsmore, near Coventry, England. Before 1907 the company had b ...
, on 16 March 2006.
For the most part, a track laying machine was used, which could lay about of track per day.
Track laying between Mandurah and the Narrows Bridge was completed in December 2006.
In June 2006, the government reached a $21.8 million settlement with the RailLink Joint Venture, as RailLink's construction was delayed through no fault of their own.
In January 2007, Mandurah, Kwinana, Wellard, and Cockburn Central stations were complete. Rockingham and Warnbro stations were completed on 9 March 2007. Canning Bridge, Bull Creek, and Murdoch stations reached practical completion in June 2007.
In April 2007, Planning and Infrastructure Minister
Alannah MacTiernan
Alannah Joan Geraldine Cecilia MacTiernan (born 10 January 1953) is an Australian politician. Since 1988, she has served in politics at a federal, state, and local level, including as a minister in the Western Australian state governments of Ge ...
revealed the line was delayed, with opening likely in October 2007.
The first test train ran on the line, between Perth Yard and Esplanade station, in August 2007. In September 2007, the overhead wiring system was energised between Perth Yard and south of Esplanade station. This section reached practical completion in September 2007, with the site being handed over to the Public Transport Authority on 10 September 2007.
From 7 to 14 October 2007, a planned shutdown of the whole
Fremantle line
The Fremantle line is a suburban railway and service in Western Australia that connects the central business district (CBD) of Perth with Fremantle.
History
The railway on which the service runs opened on 1 March 1881 as the first suburban rai ...
and partial closure of the
Joondalup line
The Joondalup line is a commuter rail service in Western Australia, linking the Perth central business district (CBD) with the metropolitan area's north-western suburbs. The service is operated on the Northern Suburbs Railway by Transperth Tra ...
between Perth and
Leederville stations was undertaken to allow workers to connect the Mandurah line to the Joondalup line. On 15 October 2007,
Perth Underground and
Esplanade
An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...
stations opened. On this day, the railway also carried its first passengers with the extension of Joondalup line services to Esplanade station.
On 9 November 2007, the first train crossed the Narrows Bridge to
Rockingham station, testing the new railway line at around 07:30 with a driver and a group of engineers. After the line testing completed, driver training was undertaken.
![Mandurah railway station opening plaque](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Mandurah_railway_station_opening_plaque.jpg)
The line was officially opened on 23 December 2007, with the first train carrying 1,500 passengers, including 1,000 members of the public selected by ballot.
The line replaced bus services that previously travelled along the freeway to the city, which now terminate at Mandurah line stations. The exception is
Canning Highway
Canning Highway is an arterial road in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner Perth suburb of Victoria Park in the north-east, to the port city of Fremantle in the south-west.
The road is mostly a four-lane divided carriageway, with a ge ...
services, which stop at
Canning Bridge station
Canning Bridge railway station is a railway station on the Transperth network. It is located on the Mandurah line, four kilometres from Perth station inside the median strip of the Kwinana Freeway located adjacent to the suburb of Como.
Hist ...
before continuing to the city.
Post-opening
Since opening, there have been proposals for stations to be built at South Perth,
Aubin Grove,
Karnup and
Lakelands. Of those stations, Aubin Grove was opened in 2017, and Lakelands station started construction in 2021.
After the opening of the Mandurah line, the government committed to building a station by 2010 at Richardson Street in
South Perth.
The station would serve major attractions such as
Perth Zoo
Perth Zoo is a zoological park in South Perth, Western Australia. The zoo first opened in 1898 and by 2011 housed 1258 animals of 164 species and an extensive botanical collection.
It is a full institutional member of the Zoo and Aquarium Ass ...
and crowds heading to the South Perth foreshore to watch the
City of Perth Skyworks. After a change in government in September 2008, South Perth station was delayed to opening in 2013.
The station was not in the 2009 state budget, and has not been built since.
In August 2012, the government announced plans for the construction of Aubin Grove station, at Russell Road between Cockburn Central station and Kwinana station. The station was planned to cost $80 million. A tender for the construction of the station was released in July 2014. In February 2015, CAMPS, which is a joint venture between Coniglio Ainsworth Architects and M. P. S. Architects, was selected to design the station. In late-2015,
Georgiou was awarded the construction contract. Construction began in March 2016, and on 23 April 2017, the station was opened. The project had a final cost of $125 million, of which $72 million was for the station.
Ahead of the
2017 state election, both major parties promised to build a $520 million extension of the
Thornlie line
The Armadale line is a suburban rail service in Western Australia that runs from Perth to Armadale on the South Western Railway. This service is planned to extend to the suburb of Byford over an new railway line constructed as part of the By ...
to link up with the Mandurah line at Cockburn. The line was planned to follow the previously planned alignment of the Mandurah line, along the Kwinana freight railway, and have stations at
Ranford Road
Ranford Road is a major road in the southeastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, and services a number of housing estates in Canning Vale and Southern River, as well as forming part of one of the two major routes between the port city of ...
and
Nicholson Road
Nicholson Road is a major north-south road in the southeastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, connecting Albany Highway in Cannington with the large residential areas of Thornlie and Canning Vale, before leaving the Perth urban area a ...
, before entering the Kwinana Freeway and terminating at a new platform at Cockburn Central station. One of the publicised advantages of the line was that it would make getting to
Perth Stadium
Perth Stadium, currently known as Optus Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in A ...
quicker for people south of Cockburn Central, as the stadium, which was under construction at the time, is along the Armadale/Thornlie line. The Labor Party also promised to built a station at
Karnup, between Mandurah and Warnbro, as part of their proposed
Metronet Metronet may refer to:
*Metronet (British infrastructure company), who maintained London Underground infrastructure between 2003 and 2008.
*Metronet (Western Australia), government agency formed in 2017, responsible for managing extensions to Perth ...
program of public transport expansion.
The Labor Party won the election. Early works began in late 2019, with full constructing beginning in 2020. The extension is .
As part of a major realignment of railway tracks at the Cockburn Central railway station, the Mandurah line was closed between Elizabeth Quay and Aubin Grove from 26 December 2021 to 14 January 2022,
in what Metronet said was the longest ever shutdown on Perth's public transport network. In this time, the existing tracks were moved to the edge of the rail corridor to make room for the new Thornlie line tracks that will run between the Mandurah line tracks.
The Labor Party also promised ahead of the 2017 election to build a station at
Karnup, between Mandurah and Warnbro. In March 2019, Prime Minister
Scott Morrison
Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...
promised $10 million in federal funding for a station at
Lakelands, between Mandurah and Karnup. That was later increased to 80% of the $80 million construction cost, which prompted the state government in November 2019 to delay construction of Karnup station in favour of constructing Lakelands station. Requests from the state government for the federal government to fund Karnup station instead were refused. ADCO Constructions was selected as the preferred proponent in December 2021, with the company being awarded the contract in January 2020.
Works for Lakelands station began in August 2021.
Description
The railway has a gauge of ; the same as the rest of the Transperth network. It is designed for a maximum train speed of , however trains do not go above in regular operation. During hot weather, the tracks can distort. As a result, train speeds are reduced by approximately when the air temperature is above , and by an additional when the air temperature is above .
The line uses an overhead
25 kV AC
Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The d ...
power supply system, which is the same system as the rest of the Transperth network. Third rail
750 V DC
This is a list of the power supply systems that are, or have been, used for tramway and railway electrification systems.
Note that the voltages are nominal and vary depending on load and distance from the substation.
Many modern trams and train ...
power was considered but was not chosen because it would require the rolling stock to be modified to use both power systems, which would reduce performance and cost over $20million. This system would also require that traction supply substations be located within intervals.
The Transperth network currently uses
fixed block signalling and
automatic train protection
Automatic train protection (ATP) is a type of train protection system which continually checks that the speed of a train is compatible with the permitted speed allowed by signalling, including automatic stop at certain signal aspects. If it is ...
, which stops trains that pass a red signal and slows trains that drive too fast.
[ Click Download Now, then Download for Information Only. Make sure HCS SWTR Book 1 - Scope of Works DRAFT 01-09-21_Redacted.pdf is selected, then click Download Documents.] These systems will be replaced by an
automatic train control
Automatic train control (ATC) is a general class of train protection systems for railways that involves a speed control mechanism in response to external inputs. For example, a system could effect an emergency brake application if the driver do ...
system, likely a
communications-based train control
Communications-based train control (CBTC) is a railway signaling system that uses telecommunications between the train and track equipment for traffic management and infrastructure control. CBTC allows a train's position to be known more accurat ...
system.
The new systems are planned to be in place on the Mandurah line by June 2029,
and will allow up to at least 30 trains per hour to use the line.
Fencing is used along the entire line aside from the freeway and tunnel sections. Concrete barriers are along the freeway section of the line, separating road traffic from the railway.
Route
The Mandurah line operates as a
through service A through service is a concept of passenger transport that involves a vehicle travelling between lines, networks or operators on a regularly specified schedule, on which the passenger can remain on board without alighting. It may be in form of eithe ...
with the Joondalup line. The service between Perth Underground station and Elizabeth Quay station is designated as both the Mandurah and Joondalup lines.
This section is underground in twin bored tunnels, and has a roughly north-south heading. Perth Underground station has an underground pedestrian link to the rest of Perth station. North of Perth Underground station, along the Joondalup line, the track bends westwards, then surfaces parallel to the
Fremantle line
The Fremantle line is a suburban railway and service in Western Australia that connects the central business district (CBD) of Perth with Fremantle.
History
The railway on which the service runs opened on 1 March 1881 as the first suburban rai ...
, allowing trains to switch tracks to the rest of the network. Approximately north along the Joondalup line is the
Nowergup depot,
where maintenance on trains occurs, and where most Mandurah and Joondalup line trains are stored.
South from Elizabeth Quay station, the tracks bend westwards in a cut-and-cover tunnel, surfacing in parts for the next , before permanently surfacing. after that, the railway passes under a bridge for the southbound carriageway of the
Mitchell Freeway
The Mitchell Freeway is a freeway in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, linking central Perth with the city of Joondalup. It is the northern section of State Route 2, which continues south as Kwinana Freeway and Forrest ...
, whilst gradually turning south, and entering the freeway's median. Just south of there, the railway crosses the
Swan River on the Narrows Bridge, where the Mitchell Freeway changes name to the Kwinana Freeway.
From the Narrows Bridge, the railway travels along the median of the Kwinana Freeway, parallel to the shore of the Swan and
Canning
Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although u ...
rivers. The only station along this section is
Canning Bridge station
Canning Bridge railway station is a railway station on the Transperth network. It is located on the Mandurah line, four kilometres from Perth station inside the median strip of the Kwinana Freeway located adjacent to the suburb of Como.
Hist ...
, which is at the point where the
Canning Highway
Canning Highway is an arterial road in Perth, Western Australia, linking the inner Perth suburb of Victoria Park in the north-east, to the port city of Fremantle in the south-west.
The road is mostly a four-lane divided carriageway, with a ge ...
crosses the freeway and the Canning River. At approximately south of the Narrows Bridge, the railway and freeway cross the Canning River on the
Mount Henry Bridge
The Mount Henry Bridge carries the Kwinana Freeway and Mandurah railway line over the Canning River in Perth, approximately south of the Perth central business district. At long, it is the longest road bridge in Western Australia. It spans t ...
.
Past the Mount Henry Bridge, the railway continues south in the median of the Kwinana Freeway. Stations along this section, from north to south, are
Bull Creek station
Bull Creek railway station is a railway station on the Transperth network. It is located on the Mandurah line, 11.7 kilometres from Perth station inside the median strip of the Kwinana Freeway serving the suburb of Bull Creek.
History
The ...
, where
Leach Highway
Leach Highway is a east-west arterial highway in the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, primarily linking Kewdale and Perth Airport with the city of Fremantle.
It is allocated State Route 7 and is a dual carriageway for its enti ...
interchanges with the freeway;
Murdoch station
Murdoch railway station is a railway and bus station on the Transperth network. It is located on the Mandurah line, from Perth station inside the median strip of the Kwinana Freeway serving the suburb of Murdoch.
History
Murdoch railw ...
, where
South Street interchanges with the freeway;
Cockburn Central station
Cockburn Central station ( ) is a bus and railway station on the Transperth network. It is located at the juncture of the Mandurah andonce completed Thornlie lines, from Perth station inside the median strip of the Kwinana Freeway serving t ...
, between the freeway's interchanges with
Armadale Road and
Beeliar Drive
Beeliar Drive is a major arterial road in the southwestern part of the Metropolitan Region Scheme, Perth Metropolitan Area. It provides an important and unbroken east-west link between Kwinana Freeway and Stock Road providing access to resident ...
; and
Aubin Grove station, where the freeway has an interchange with Russell Road and Gibbs Road. About halfway between Murdoch station and Cockburn Central station is the Glen Iris Tunnel, where the Thornlie line will enter the Kwinana Freeway median. south of the Mount Henry Bridge, the railway dives down into a cut-and-cover tunnel, and exits the Kwinana Freeway.
After exiting the freeway, the railway goes in a south-westerly direction, passing through the
City of Kwinana
The City of Kwinana is a local government area of Western Australia. It covers an area of approximately 118 square kilometres in metropolitan Perth, and lies about 38 km south of Perth central business district, via the Kwinana Freew ...
. Stations along here are
Kwinana station and
Wellard station
Wellard railway station is a railway station in Wellard, Western Australia, Wellard, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is on the Mandurah railway line, which is part of the Transperth commuter rail network, and is located at the centre o ...
. When the railway reaches
Rockingham station, Perth, it turns in a southerly direction, and travels parallel to
Ennis Avenue
Ennis Avenue is a major road between Rockingham and its southern suburbs and is part of Australia's National Highway 1 for all of its length. It is a controlled access road and after leaving Rockingham has only four intersections (Willmott Dr ...
for , passing through
Warnbro station
Warnbro railway station is a commuter railway station in Warnbro, Western Australia, Warnbro, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is on the Mandurah line, which is part of the Transperth commuter rail network, and is located immediately s ...
. For the remainder of the line, it travels south, through rural and suburban areas, towards
Mandurah station
Mandurah Station is the terminus of the Mandurah railway line and a bus station on the Transperth network, serving the satellite city of Mandurah, Western Australia.
History
The bus station opened prior to the railway station, on 17 Septe ...
. For in Mandurah, the railway travels in the median of
Mandjoogoordap Drive
Mandjoogoordap Drive, meaning "meeting place of the heart" in the indigenous Noongar language, Noongar language, is a dual carriageway road which links the Western Australia, Western Australian city of Mandurah to the Kwinana Freeway. It was o ...
, entering and exiting the road through cut-and-cover tunnels.
At the line's Mandurah terminus, there is a small railcar depot, used for cleaning and storing trains overnight.
Stations
![Warnbro Station, August 2021 11](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Warnbro_Station%2C_August_2021_11.jpg)
The Mandurah line has 12 stations. All 10 stations outside the Perth CBD have been designed with a dedicated bus interchange.
Service
The Mandurah line has two stopping patterns in addition to all stops services. The W stopping pattern stops at all stations between Perth and Cockburn Central. The K stopping pattern stops at all stations between Perth and Rockingham. During
peak hour
A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour ( Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: ...
, all stops services run at six trains per hour and W pattern services run at six trains per hour, resulting in a combined frequency of twelve trains per hour between Cockburn Central and Perth. During the day outside peak hour and on weekends, all stops services run at four trains per hour, and W pattern services do not run. There is only one K pattern service per day, in the early morning at the start of peak.
Originally when the Mandurah line opened, the W stopping pattern ran all day, with a between-peak frequency of four trains per hour. This resulted in a combined frequency of twelve trains per hour between Cockburn Central and Perth. This stopped on 28 June 2009, leaving just the peak hour services.
with the government citing poor utilisation of those services outside peak hour as the reason. There also used to be a C stopping pattern, which stopped at all stations except Canning Bridge. It operated during peak at frequency of six trains per hour. This pattern was replaced by the current all stops service on 31 January 2016.
By 2031, it is planned for the K pattern to run at 6 trains per hour during peak,
for a total frequency of 18 trains per hour between Perth and Cockburn Central. This frequency is predicted to increase to 24 trains per hour by 2046.
Rolling stock
![Transperth B-series train near Warnbro Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Transperth_B-series_train_near_Warnbro_Station.jpg)
The Mandurah line is operated exclusively by
Transperth B-series train
The B-series trains are a class of electric multiple unit built by Downer Rail in Maryborough, Queensland for Transperth between 2004 and 2019.
History
Perth's first electrified trains, the two-carriage A-Series, entered service in Septem ...
s,
which are three cars long each and are typically coupled together to form six-car sets. These trains have a maximum speed of and have two doors on each side per car.
Previously, there were
Transperth A-series train
The A-series trains are a class of electric multiple unit built by Walkers Limited in Maryborough, Queensland for Transperth between 1991 and 1999. When introduced in 1991, the A-series trains became the first electric passenger trains to oper ...
s operating on the line. These trains are two cars long, typically coupled together to form four-car sets, have a maximum speed of , and have two doors on each side per car.
A-series trains typically operated along the Perth to Cockburn Central section.
As more B-series trains were delivered, A-series trains were moved from the Joondalup and Mandurah lines to the other lines on the network.
Starting in late-2023,
Transperth C-series train
The Transperth C-series trains are a planned class of electric multiple units part of Alstom's X'Trapolis family of trains for Transperth that are being delivered as part of Metronet.
The new trains will feature hard-worn flooring instead o ...
s will be operating on the Mandurah line. These trains will be six cars long, have a maximum speed of , and have three doors on each side per car. The higher number of doors will help reduce dwell times at stations, making 18 trains per hour possible. B-series trains will be gradually transferred onto the other lines to replace A-series trains.
By about 2031, all trains on the Mandurah line will be C-series trains.
In May 2002, the government signed a contract with
EDI Rail–
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian-German rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry ...
for the delivery and maintenance of 31 three car B-series trains, and the construction of the Nowergup depot.
These trains were all delivered before the opening of the Mandurah line. In December 2006, the government signed another contract for 15 more three car B-series trains. The first of these additional railcars were delivered in 2009, allowing several A-series trains to be moved from the Joondalup and Mandurah lines to other lines on the network, and for frequencies to increase on most lines, including the Mandurah line.
In July 2011,
the government ordered 15 more three car B-series trains. In August 2012, this order was increased by two, to cater for the opening of Aubin Grove station. In November 2012, this order was increased by five, bringing the total order to 22 three car trains.
By the final delivery from that order, all trains operating on the Mandurah and Joondalup lines were B-series trains.
In December 2019, the government signed a contract with
Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...
for the construction of 41 six car C-series trains. These trains are expected to be delivered starting in 2022.
Most trains on the Mandurah line are stored and cleaned at Nowergup depot. There is also Mandurah depot, which can store and clean a smaller number of trains. Maintenance occurs at Nowergup depot. As a result of increasing train frequency, a new depot may be required in the future along the Mandurah line.
Patronage
Prior to the Mandurah line opening, the Kwinana Freeway bus system carried 16,000 passengers per day. Within the first few weeks of operation, the Mandurah line reached the predicted patronage of 50,000 passengers per day.
Some stations had a significantly higher patronage than what was expected leading to car parks being full and peak hour services almost at capacity. In the PTA's 2007-08 annual report, CEO
Reece Waldock
Reece Waldock is a retired senior Australian public servant. Most recently he served concurrently as Director-General of the WA Department of Transport, Commissioner of Main Roads Western Australia and CEO of the WA Public Transport Authority, ...
described the line as "a victim of its own success".
The Mandurah line opening had an impact on patronage for the entire Transperth system as well: in the 2007-08 financial year, ending in June 2008, there was 108.8 million Transperth boardings, 7.8% higher than in 2006-07.
In the 2008-09 financial year, the first full financial year of Mandurah line operation, there was 128.8 million.
In the first six months of 2008, 28% of fare-paying train boardings were on the Mandurah line, making it the busiest line. Waldock attributed the higher than expected patronage to three reasons: the resources boom in Western Australia at time, which caused high interstate migration to Western Australia; increases in the price of fuel; and concerns relating to climate change.
In the 2018-19 financial year, the year before the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the line had 20.9 million boardings. In the 2021-22 financial year, the line had 14.4 million boardings.
References
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External links
{{Public Transport Authority of Western Australia railway stations, Mandurah=y, state=collapsed
Mandurah
Railway lines in Perth, Western Australia
Railway lines opened in 2007
2007 establishments in Australia
3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Australia
Railway lines in highway medians