The first railway to open in the Perth area was the Eastern Railway, which opened in 1881 between Fremantle to Guildford via Perth, forming the modern-day Fremantle and Midland lines. This was later extended past Midland and suburban services were extended to Midland in 1904 and 1905. The South Western Railway was opened between Perth and Bunbury in 1893. Suburban services initially ran as far as Cannington, but were extended over the following decades to reach Armadale station by the 1950s to form the Armadale line.[5]
Initially served by steam trains, diesel railcars began running on 28 November 1954. This allowed for smaller spacing between stations, and so seven new stations opened on that day: Ashfield, Higham (now known as Beckenham station), Grant Street, Stokely, Loch Street, Oats Street, and Victoria Street.[6][7] The Fremantle line was closed on 2 September 1979 due to declining patronage, but it was reopened on 29 July 1983 after a public outcry. The network was electrified in the early 1990s,[8] and the Yanchep line opened on 20 December 1992 as the Joondalup line with three stations operational: Leederville, Edgewater, and Joondalup.[9] The remaining stations between Perth and Joondalup opened on 21 March 1993,[10] and an extension to Currambine station opened on 8 August 1993.[11]Subiaco station was rebuilt in the late 1990s, opening on 12 December 1998 as Perth's first underground station.[12][13]
A number of new stations opened in the 2000s under the New MetroRail project. This included an extension of the Joondalup line to Clarkson on 4 October 2004,[14] a branch off the Armadale line to Thornlie on 7 August 2005,[15][16] and the 72-kilometre (45 mi) Mandurah line, which opened in 2007. The first section of the Mandurah line, which was the two underground stations (Perth Underground and Elizabeth Quay), opened on 15 October 2007,[17][18] and the second section, which was the nine stations between Elizabeth Quay and Mandurah, which opened on 23 December 2007.[19] On 21 September 2014, an extension of the Joondalup line to Butler opened.[20]
Another large increase in the station count is occurring under the Metronet program in the 2020s. This included the Airport line, which is a three-station branch off the Midland line that opened on 9 October 2022,[21][22] a three-station extension of the Joondalup line to Yanchep that opened on 14 July 2024 (coinciding with the Joondalup line being renamed the Yanchep line),[23][24] the Ellenbrook line, which is a five-station branch off the Midland line opened on 8 December 2024,[25] an extension of the Thornlie line to link up to the Mandurah line with two new stations, expected to open in 2025,[26] and an extension of the Armadale line by one station to Byford.[27] Additionally, five stations along the Armadale line are being rebuilt as part of the Victoria Park-Canning Level Crossing Removal Project, which has closed the Armadale line for 18 months starting in November 2023.[28][29]
Stations
There are 75 Transperth railway stations. 39 of those stations have bus transfers.[30] Five of those stations are underground: Airport Central,[31] Elizabeth Quay, Perth Underground,[17][18] Redcliffe,[31] and Subiaco stations.[12]Showgrounds station only operates during events at the Claremont Showground.[32]
The Armadale, Fremantle, and Midland lines are known as the "heritage lines" as they were constructed long before the other lines.[33] Over half the stations on the heritage lines have poor disabled accessibility. Perth station is accessible with the exception of platform four, which is used by the Thornlie line. 17 stations along the Armadale and Thornlie lines are not accessible. The exceptions are Claisebrook, Perth Stadium, Thornlie, and Victoria Park stations. 13 stations along the Fremantle line are not accessible. The exceptions are Fremantle, Subiaco, and West Leederville stations. Eight stations along the Midland line are not accessible. The exceptions are Bassendean, Bayswater, Claisebrook, East Perth, Maylands, and Midland stations. All stations along the Airport line branch and the Mandurah line are accessible and all stations along the Yanchep line except Edgewater, Leederville, and Stirling stations are accessible. All stations have step-free access. Factors limiting accessibility include non-compliant ramps, a lack of tactile paving, large platform gaps, and pedestrian level crossings.[34]
All stations along the Airport line branch, the Yanchep line, and the Mandurah line have 150-metre (490 ft) long platforms, which are long enough for six car trains, the longest trains used on the network. Most stations along the heritage lines have platforms which are only 100 metres (330 ft) long, limiting the length of trains that can be used on those lines. The exceptions are Bayswater, East Perth, Perth, and West Leederville. The other stations are planned to be lengthened eventually.[35]
^ abcdefg"New Timetables For Suburbans". The Sunday Times. 21 November 1954. p. 6. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^ abcdefg"Advertising". The West Australian. 27 November 1954. p. 22. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqArnold, John (2006). A History of Bringing the Rails to Pinjarra : The Southwest Railway of Western Australia. Pinjarra, W.A. pp. 7, 11–12. ISBN0646142283.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadMinchin, R. S.; Higham, G. H. (1981). Robb's railway : Fremantle to Guildford railway centenary 1881–1981. Australian Railway Historical Society, West Australian Division. pp. 52–53. ISBN0959969020.
^ abCarter, Jennie (May 2020). "Town of Bassendean"(PDF). Bassendean: A brief history. p. 14. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
^"News And Notes". The West Australian. 8 July 1924. p. 6. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Progress of Subiaco". The Sunday Times. 20 July 1924. p. 17. Archived from the original on 16 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^ abcdefgHigham, Geoffrey (2007). Marble Bar to Mandurah : a history of passenger rail services in Western Australia. Rail Heritage WA. p. 235. ISBN9780980392203.
^"New Railway Station". The Daily News. 1 July 1907. p. 3. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"New Station". The West Australian. 11 June 1948. p. 14. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Railway Notice". The West Australian. 1 May 1948. p. 24. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
