The South Western Railway, also known as the South West Main Line, is the main railway route between

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 ...

and Bunbury 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 ...

History

Construction

The South Western Railway was constructed for the

Western Australian Government Railways Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra responsi ...

(WAGR) by various private contractors from 1891. Among these was the engineer and magistrate William W. L. Owen. Construction was completed in two parts. The first,

East Perth East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from ...

to Pinjarra, was undertaken by William Atkins (former mill manager of the

Neil McNeil Neil McNeil (November 23, 1851 – May 25, 1934) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver from 1910 to 1912 and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto from 1912 to 1934. Early life McNeil was born in Hillsborough, Inverness County, Nov ...

Co. at the Jarrahdale Timber Station) and Robert Oswald Law (who built the

Fremantle Long Jetty Fremantle Long Jetty was constructed in 1873 to replace the smaller South Jetty which had become too small for the large amounts of vessels entering the colony in Western Australia. The jetty lies in Bather's Bay which has been an occupation ...

) from the end of 1891. Work began in 1892 but was slowed by difficulties with building the bridge over the Swan River. This section opened on 22 May 1893. The second phase of construction was also completed by Atkins and McNeil, starting at Bunbury and working north to Pinjarra opening on 22 August 1893. Bunbury station was opened by Sir John Forrest on 14 November 1894.

Alignment

As operated by the WAGR, the line was from Perth to Bunbury. Since that time, the line has been shortened to 181 km as some stations have closed, moved or been replaced by

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

s.Arc Infrastructure Network Map
Arc Infrastructure The first 30 kilometres of the line from are served by

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 ...

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 ...

. This section is

double-tracked Double tracking or doubling is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or bigger sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. ...

and

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. The broad meaning of the term, such as in the history of technology, economic history ...

using

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 ...

. The line south of is not electrified and predominantly single-track, with passing loops at various locations. The section from Perth to Mundijong Junction is controlled by the Public Transport Authority, with the remainder of the line controlled by

Arc Infrastructure Arc Infrastructure (previously known as Brookfield Rail and WestNet Rail) is a transport infrastructure owner and access provider in Western Australia with a long-term lease on the network from the Government of Western Australia. It operates a ...

.Public Transport Authority Network Map
Public Transport Authority The section controlled by Arc Infrastructure has been upgraded to accommodate 21 tonne

axle load An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...

s, featuring

concrete sleeper A concrete sleeper (British English) or concrete tie (American English) is a type of railway sleeper or railroad tie made out of steel reinforced concrete. History In 1877, Joseph Monier, a French gardener, suggested that concrete reinforced ...

s and continuous welded 50 kg/m rail.

Bridges

The

Bunbury Bridge Bunbury Bridge was a single-track, timber railway bridge in East Perth, Western Australia, East Perth in Western Australia. The bridge crossed the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River near Claise Brook and was built for passenger and frei ...

near Perth was the most significant engineering structure on the line. It was replaced by the

Goongoongup Bridge Goongoongup Bridge is a railway bridge in East Perth, Western Australia which crosses the Swan River and forms part of the Armadale line. It opened on 24 July 1995 as part of the electrification of Perth's suburban railway network."New Perth B ...

in 1996. Other notable bridges include:

Branches

The line connects with all Transperth

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 ...

lines at Perth, with specific branches to the Midland Line at Claisebrook and the Thornlie Line at Kenwick. In terms of key freight connectivity, the line branches to the Kwinana Line at Kenwick and Mundijong Junction. The Jarrahdale Branch was accessed at Mundijong, but this line is now out of service. A branch south of Pinjarra serves Alcoa and provides access to the Hotham Valley Branch. The

Collie Branch Collies form a distinctive Dog type, type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and Breed standard, standardized Dog breed, breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-bu ...

connects at Brunswick Junction, providing access to

Worsley Alumina Worsley Alumina comprises a bauxite mine located near the town of Boddington and an Alumina refinery located near Worsley. Ore is mined then transported to the refinery via an overland conveyor system. Alumina is then transported to the port ...

and Collie. At Picton the line once continued a 200 km south as the Northcliffe Branch, with further branches to Flinders Bay and Katanning, however only the first few kilometres of this line remain in use. A 10 km spur to Bunbury Harbour provides access to the port west of Picton.

Timber tramways

Several timber mills used to operate along the railway, each with their own access to the mainline. Many of these mills operated extensive timber tramways that fed significant quantities of timber to the railway.

Operations

Passenger

The Transperth commuter rail

operates a frequent passenger service at the Perth end of the route. Beyond Armadale the only passenger service on the line is '' The Australind''. It traverses the entire length of the line from Perth to Bunbury twice a day in each direction, taking about 2 hours and 30 minutes each way.Australind Timetable
Transwa Other named trains that previously operated on the line were the ''

Bunbury Belle The ''Bunbury Belle'' was a passenger train operated by the Western Australian Government Railways between Perth and Bunbury via the South Western line from June 1964 until July 1975. History The ''Bunbury Belle'' commenced operating on 6 J ...

'' and '' The Shopper''.

Stations

There are currently 31 passenger stations on the line, of which 20 are served by Armadale Line services. Beyond the Armadale Line section, all stations meet

Disability Discrimination Act In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a number of countries have passed laws aimed at reducing discrimination against people with disabilities. These laws have begun to appear as the notion of civil rights has become more influential globally, ...

standards. The stations at Brunswick Junction and Bunbury provide connections to

Transwa Transwa is Western Australia's regional public transport provider, linking 240 destinations, from Kalbarri in the north to Augusta in the south west to Esperance in the south east. The Transwa system provides transport to the major regional ...

coach services. A planned extension of the Armadale Line as part of

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 ...

would see a new station built at .

Freight

Freight services on the line are operated by Aurizon and are primarily focused on bauxite and alumina mining and refining.Draft South West Supply Chain Strategy
Department of Transportation Bulk

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

is carried from

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

Pinjarra to Kwinana for export and bulk alumina is transported from Alcoa Wagerup as well as from Worsley Alumina to Bunbury port. Caustic soda is transported from Bunbury Port to Wagerup and Worsley for use in alumina refining and some coal from the Collie Branch is also carried on the line. Potential exists for the line to carry mineral sands, agricultural produce, lithium ore and containerised freight on the line in the future.