Railways in Western Australia were developed in the 19th century both by the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...

and a number of private companies. Today passenger rail services are controlled by the Public Transport Authority (a department of the Government of Western Australia) through

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 o ...

, which operates public transport in

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

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 ...

, which operates country passenger services. Great Southern Rail operates the ''

Indian Pacific The ''Indian Pacific'' is a weekly experiential tourism passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – thus, like ...

''. The interstate standard gauge line east from

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

is owned by the

Australian Rail Track Corporation The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is an Australian Government-owned statutory corporation. It operates one of the largest rail networks in the nation spanning 8,500km across five states, 39 worksites and more than 50 First Nations. ...

, with most other lines leased by the state to

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 ...

. Freight rail was privatised in 2000. General intrastate freight is mainly operated by

Aurizon Aurizon ( ) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National. it was the world’s largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland Government-owned company, it was privatised and floated o ...

, while grain traffic is also operated by Aurizon under contract to the

CBH Group The CBH Group (commonly known as CBH, an acronym for Co-operative Bulk Handling), is a grain growers' cooperative that handles, markets and processes grain from the wheatbelt of Western Australia. History CBH was formed on 5 April 1933, at ...

. Interstate traffic is operated by

Pacific National Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses. History In February 2002, National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock (owned by the Federal, New South Wales and Victorian Governments) were combined with Freig ...

and

SCT Logistics SCT Logistics is an Australian interstate transport company operating rail and road haulage, with facilities in Brisbane, Sydney, Parkes, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. History SCT Logistics was founded in 1974 as Specialised Container Tran ...

. Aurizon also operate an interstate mineral sands service to Kwinana from

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It ...

for

Tronox Tronox Limited is an American worldwide chemical company involved in the titanium products industry with approximately 6,500 employees. Following its acquisition of the mineral sands business formerly belonging to South Africa's Exxaro Resources ...

. A number of private iron ore haulage railways also operate in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...

region of the state.

History

Railway construction circa 1926, Western Australia

The Western Australian lines developed in narrow gauge from

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 ...

(the port of

Geraldton Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, Bunbury, Albany and Esperance, mainly for carrying grain and minerals, with the private

Midland Railway Company The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

and Great Southern Railway adding gauge lines in the Wheatbelt with the support of

land grants A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

. In 1907, the standard-gauge

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. As the only rail freight corridor between Western Australia and the east ...

from

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a seaport, it is now a road traffic and railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about north of the state c ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

was authorised. Construction started in 1912, and it was completed in 1917. It was run by the

Commonwealth Railways The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1917 by the Government of Australia with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the Trans-Australia and Port Augusta to Darwin railways. It was absorbed into Australian National in 1975. O ...

. In the 1960s standard () gauge lines penetrated to Perth and Esperance and long distance heavy-haul railways were built in the

region by major iron mining companies, particularly BHP and

Hamersley Iron Pilbara Iron is a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational Rio Tinto Group, that manages assets for Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, and Robe River Iron Associates, an unincorporated joint venture between Rio ...

. The Perth suburban lines were electrified and extended. Government railways were controlled by the ''Department of Works and Railways'' from 1877. The department became

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) in 1890. WAGR became

Westrail 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 ...

in 1975 and continued to manage both passenger and freight rail services in Western Australia until 2000, when the freight business was sold to the

Australian Railroad Group Australian Railroad Group (ARG) was an Australian rail freight operator. It began operations in Western Australia on 17 December 2000 following its purchase of the Westrail freight business. It was purchased by QR National in June 2006. The mai ...

who operated it under the Australian Western Railroad brand. This business was purchased by Queensland Rail in 2006 and rebranded

in 2013. Westrail’s freight rail lines were leased to WestNet Rail, another subsidiary of the Australian Railroad Group. This business was acquired by

Babcock & Brown Babcock & Brown LP was a global investment and advisory firm, established in 1977, based in Sydney, Australia, that went into liquidation in 2009. Babcock & Brown Securities LLC was an active investment banking firm focused on equipment and pro ...

in 2006 and sold again in 2010 to

Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contro ...

and rebranded Brookfield Rail. In July 2017 it was again rebranded as

. The WAGR's remaining functions, including owning the rail network and operating regional passenger services were transferred to 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 Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the operator of railway services in the state of We ...

. On 1 January 2003, the commission's functions were absorbed by the Public Transport Authority with passenger services operated under the

brand.

Timeline

The timeline can be considered in terms of events, or eras. May and Gray's History of Passenger Carriages chapters offer an insight into a set of decades or slightly longer stages of railway development. * Early Years (1877–1890) * Gold and the boom years (1891–1900) * Continued expansion and consolidation (1901–1910) * War and roaring twenties (1911–1930) * Depression and another war (1931–1944) * Post war reconstruction, but the rot sets in (1945–1958) * An Indian summer (1959–1975) * Just a shadow (1976 -)

By years

* 1871 - Private

Ballaarat Tramline The Ballaarat Tramline, also known as the Lockville - Yoganup Railway, was the first railway in Western Australia, constructed in 1871 by the Western Australian Timber Company. The railway was used to transport timber from forests in the South ...

opens from Lockville to Yoganup, south of Perth * 1879 - WAGR

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...

gauge line opens between

and

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

* 1881 – Eastern line opens from

and

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

* 1893 – South Western line opens from Perth to Bunbury * 1894 –

opens the Midland line from

Midland Junction Midland is a suburb in the Perth metropolitan region, as well as the regional centre for the City of Swan local government area that covers the Swan Valley and parts of the Darling Scarp to the east. It is situated at the intersection of Gr ...

to Walkaway, connecting with the WAGR line to Geraldton * 1896 – Eastern Goldfields line reaches

* 1917 – Standard gauge

connects eastern Australia with Western Australia, with a

break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally cannot ...

at Kalgoorlie * 1968 – Kalgoorlie to Perth standard gauge line opens. (Lines east of Merredin

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to standard gauge, including Kalgoorlie-Esperance & Kalgoorlie-Leonora. North and south of Merredin remains narrow gauge only. West of Northam becomes

dual gauge In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to ca ...

.) * 1970 – Inaugural

service, revamped passenger service from Perth to Sydney via Adelaide. * 1986 – Electrification of Perth suburban lines from with a

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 dev ...

overhead power supply commences * 1993 – Northern Suburbs Transit System commences operation with a

new line New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

opened from

Joondalup Joondalup () is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, approximately north of Perth's central business district. It contains the central business district of the regional City of Joondalup and acts as the primary urban centre of Perth's outer ...

* 2007 – The

Mandurah line The Mandurah line is a commuter railway and service on the Transperth network in Western Australia that runs from Perth south to the state's second largest city Mandurah. The service is operated by Transperth Train Operations, a division of the ...

opens as part of the

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 ...

project, which also included construction of the Thornlie spur and Greenwood station *2010 – the Metro Area Express was announced. The project would have introduced light rail to Perth along some of the former tram routes. The project was abandoned in 2016. *2017 –

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 ...

formed to manage extensions to the Perth rail system including the Thornlie-Cockburn link.

First lines

Private railways for carrying timber were built south of

from Lockville (just north of

Busselton Busselton is a city in the South West region of the state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destination for Western Australians; however, the closure of the Busselton ...

) to Yoganup in 1871, and from Rockingham to Jarrahdale soon after. The first government railway in the State was a gauge line between

and

and was opened in 1879 to transport lead and copper to port. It closed in 1957. The WAGR opened the Eastern line from

and

in 1881. It was extended to Chidlow in 1884,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in 1885 and

Beverley Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre and north-west of City of Hull. The town is known fo ...

in 1886. Branch lines were built to Belmont, Northam and Toodyay by 1888.

Southern lines

The Beverley line was extended to Albany in 1889 by the Great Southern Railway, which was taken over by WAGR in 1896. The South Western Railway was built from Perth to Bunbury in 1893, with branches to

Collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Man ...

Flinders Bay Flinders Bay is a bay and locality that is immediately south of the townsite of Augusta, and close to the mouth of the Blackwood River. The locality and bay lies to the north east of Cape Leeuwin which is the most south-westerly mainland poi ...

and Northcliffe.

Northern lines

The

opened a

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Art ...

from

to Walkaway in 1894, where it met the WAGR line from Geraldton opened in 1887. It was acquired by the WAGR in 1964.

Goldfields line

The Northam line was extended to

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for ...

in 1894 and Coolgardie and

in 1896. This line connected with the standard gauge

to eastern Australia in 1917 at a

. The replacement standard gauge line opened in 1968.

Timber lines

Wheatbelt branch lines

Isolated branch lines

The

had two isolated branches: The isolated

Marble Bar Railway The Port Hedland–Marble Bar railway was a railway in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, running into the hinterland from the north-west coast. History The line was a Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) gauge branch line w ...

was opened in July 1911. The last train to run out of

Port Hedland A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

operated on 25 October 1951, with the railway closed on 31 October 1951. The Hopetoun to Ravensthorpe railway was an isolated branch opened on 3 June 1909, and closed on 23 February 1935. The Hopetoun jetty line was handed over to the Harbour and Light Department on 1 January 1936. It was officially closed on 13 January 1946.

Operations

Perth suburban network

* In 1982, public protest led to the reopening of the Fremantle railway, beginning a new era of the metropolitan rail policy. In 1991

completed the electrification of its existing railway lines, utilising electric multiple units and a

overhead power supply system. * In 1993, the Northern Suburbs Transit System commenced operations. * 2007 saw the completion of the

project.

Regional passenger

controls public transport services outside of Perth, including passenger services from Perth to

, Northam and Bunbury. These trains are named the '' Prospector'', ''

AvonLink The ''AvonLink'' is a rural passenger train service in Western Australia operated by Transwa between Midland and Northam. History The consideration of revitalising passenger services in 1993 saw the ''Avonlink Ministerial Committee'' formed ...

'', and ''

Australind Australind is a town in Western Australia, located 12 km north-east of Bunbury's central business district. Its local government area is the Shire of Harvey. At the 2016 census, Australind had a population of 14,539. History Prior to Eur ...

''. Great Southern Rail operates the ''

'' from Perth to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

Pilbara iron ore lines

Four isolated heavy duty railways for the cartage of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the ...

in the

region have always been private concerns operated as part of the production line between mine and port. These lines have pushed the limit of the wheel to rail interface which has led to much useful research of value to railways worldwide. In April 2008,

Fortescue Metals Group Fortescue Metals Group Limited (often referred to as Fortescue Metals Group, FMG, or simply Fortescue) is an Australian iron ore company. As of 2017, Fortescue is the fourth-largest iron ore producer in the world. The company has holdings of m ...

opened the

Fortescue railway The Fortescue railway, owned and operated by Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It opened in 2008.Cloud Break mine The Cloudbreak mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 89 kilometres west-south-west of Nullagine, in the Chichester Range. The mine is fully owned and operated by the Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) and is ...

to Port Hedland. In 2016, Hancock Prospecting opened a line from Roy Hill. Another iron ore line has been proposed to the port of Oakajee, this will have open access to any iron ore mine wishing to use it. A

network based on the new

Oakajee Port Oakajee Port is a proposed deep water port to be built in the Mid West region of Western Australia, north of Geraldton, to service the region's growing iron ore industry. History Between 1879 and 1957, Oakagee was a siding and locality on the ...

north of

has been proposed by the Department of Transport. In 2010,

Rio Tinto Rio Tinto, meaning "red river", may refer to: Businesses * Rio Tinto (corporation), an Anglo-Australian multinational mining and resources corporation ** Rio Tinto Alcan, based in Canada ** Rio Tinto Borax in America *** Rio Tinto Borax Mine, ...

announced plans to expand capacity on the railway line linking its iron ore mines to Dampier; this would increase capacity to per year, to meet increasing demand for iron ore. The railway lines are: *

Hamersley & Robe River railway The Hamersley & Robe River railway, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, and operated by its subsidiary Pilbara Iron, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for the purpose of carrying iron ore. The network is larger than ...

(Rio Tinto) *

Mount Newman railway The Mount Newman railway, owned and operated by BHP, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It is one of two railway lines BHP operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Goldsworthy rail ...

(BHP) *

Goldsworthy railway The Goldsworthy railway, owned and operated by BHP, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It is one of two railway lines BHP operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Mount Newman rai ...

(BHP) *

Fortescue railway The Fortescue railway, owned and operated by Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It opened in 2008.Rail transport in Australia Rail transport in Australia is a component of the Australian transport system. It is to a large extent state-based, as each state largely has its own operations, with the interstate network being developed ever since Australia's federation i ...

Railway accidents in Western Australia This article is concerned with railway accidents occurring in Western Australia, where they are identified as fatal accidents, injury related accidents, or where infrastructure or rolling stock was damaged. Fatalities Poison Gully (Bellevue), ...

History of rail transport in Australia :''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series Australians generally assumed in the 1850s that railways would be built by the private sector. Private companies built railways in the then colonies of Victoria, opened ...

List of Western Australian locomotive classes This is a list of Western Australian locomotive classes, being classes of locomotive that have worked on railways in Western Australia. The majority of Western Australian steam locomotive classes were operated by the Western Australian Governm ...

* Closed railway stations in Western Australia

References

External links

Pilbara Railways
– rail enthusiast site

Rail Freight Network Map
Arc Infrastructure {{Australian rail