Fremantle railway line

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Fremantle railway line
Overview
Other name(s)Fremantle Line
OwnerPublic Transport Authority: Perth-South Beach
Arc Infrastructure: South Beach-Cockburn Junction
TerminiPerth
Cockburn Junction (current)
Kwinana (furthest extent)
Continues fromMidland line
Continues asSpearwood-Armadale line
Stations17
Service
SystemTransperth Trains
Operator(s)Transperth
Rolling stockA-series, B-series
Ridership8.2 million (year to June 2015)
History
Opened1 March 1881
Temporarily closed for works5 February 2021
Reopened from works5 April 2021
Closed1 September 1979
Reopened1983
Technical
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead lines
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Route map
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Legend
Continues to Midland line0000000
000.0km Perth
000000
Roe Street tunnel
000000
Bus lane crossing
Joondalup line
000000
West Perth
000000
West Perth Subway
001.6km City West
002.7km West Leederville
003.7km Subiaco
005.0km Daglish
Daglish Siding
005.9km Shenton Park
Aberdare Road Bus Bridge
Karrakatta Subway
007.4km Karrakatta
008.0km Loch Street
Ashton Avenue Bridge
008.6km Showgrounds
000000 (special events only)
Graylands Road Subway
009.3km Claremont
Butlers Siding
Stirling Road Subway
010.4km Swanbourne
Swanbourne Bridge
011.1km Grant Street
Eric Street Bridge
012.4km Cottesloe
Jarrad Street Crossing
Salvado Street Crossing
013.5km Mosman Park
Victoria Street Crossing
014.2km Victoria Street
Leighton
016.2km North Fremantle
North Fremantle (1881-1991)
Tydeman Road Bridge
North Quay Container Terminal Spur
Victoria Quay Road
Dual-gauge diversion around station
East Fremantle
018.7km Fremantle
Dual-gauge diversion
Phillimore Street Crossing
019.8km The Esplanade
Mews Road Crossing
Capo d'Orlando Drive Crossing
020.9km Success Harbour
Success Harbour Crossing
Ocean Road Crossing
022.0km South Beach
Transperth/Arc Infrastructure border
Rollinson Road Crossing
024.0km Robbs Jetty
Robb Jetty Marshalling Yard
025.5km Spearwood
Cockburn Junction
Kwinana line
026.6km Coogee
Clarence
Weston Street
037.7km Kwinana
Transperth railway lines
Armadale/Thornlie
Fremantle
Joondalup
Mandurah
Midland
List of Transperth stations

The Fremantle railway line is a suburban railway line in Western Australia that connects the state capital of Perth with the port city of Fremantle.

History[]

The line opened on 1 March 1881 as the first suburban railway line in Perth by William C. F. Robinson.[1] It originally operated as the Eastern Railway and ran between Fremantle and Guildford, via central Perth. In March 1884, the line was extended via Midland Junction to Bellevue[2][3] and later to Clackline, York and Northam. The line opened as a single track with a passing loop at Claremont, it was duplicated in 1896/97. A dedicated freight line was later added on the western side between Cottesloe and the Leighton Marshalling Yard.[4]

On 22 October 1898, the line was extended south to Robbs Jetty, on 1 July 1903 via Cockburn to Coogee and on 19 December 1955 via Woodman Point to Kwinana[5][6] The Coogee to Woodman Point section closed on 16 September 1973, followed by Robbs Jetty to Coogee in February 1986.[3][7]

In July 1926, the Fremantle Railway Bridge over the Swan River was partly washed away in a flood, with one line restored in October 1926 and the second in April 1928.[4]

In the 1960s, as part of the standard gauge project, the section south of Cockburn was replaced by the Kwinana line on a different alignment.[8] One of the lines north of Cockburn to the container terminal at North Quay and Leighton Marshalling Yard was converted to standard gauge. The Fremantle Railway Bridge was converted to dual gauge.[4][9] A marshalling yard was built at Robbs Jetty.

In 1966, the eastern railway metropolitan passenger services were curtailed to terminate at Midland.

Plaque commemorating the closure of the Fremantle line at Perth station in 1979

Passenger services on the Fremantle line were suspended on 1 September 1979. The decision was based on three one day counts in 1971, 1975 and 1977. The Liberal government of Charles Court planned to convert the railway reserve into a busway, citing figures which showed a loss of $1.14 per passenger-journey on trains versus a loss of $0.26 per passenger-journey on buses. The closure of the line was opposed by Friends of the Railway (FOR), which submitted a petition of 100,000 signatures and prepared a 98-page report arguing for its retention.[10] The railway was kept in working order despite the closure, as narrow gauge freight trains still used it to access Fremantle, there being no other narrow gauge access to the port.[11] The service was reinstated on 29 July 1983 following a change of government which saw Brian Burke and the Australian Labor Party (ALP) come to power.[1][4][12][13] During the closure of the rail line, patronage dropped by 30% .[14]

For the staging of the 1987 America's Cup, stations south of Fremantle were erected for use by special trains at The Esplanade, Success Harbour and South Beach. The Hotham Valley Railway operated a daily service on this section of the line with a W class steam locomotive as the Spinnaker Run between October 1986 and February 1987.[15] The narrow and standard gauge lines were rebuilt as a single dual gauge line at the same time. Having been disused since 1987, the three stations were demolished in September 2018.[16][17]

During 1990, work commenced on building a new North Fremantle station, 800 metres (870 yd) north of its original location, which opened for service on 28 July 1991. Leighton station, which was 700 metres (770 yd) further north, was demolished during the electrification of the line. Regular electric services started in September 1991.[1][18] Today there are 17 stations on the line.[19]

As part of the Subi Centro project, 900 metres (980 yd) of the line and Subiaco station were sunk in 1998.[20] Between 2011 and 2014, the Fremantle line was sunk between Lake Street and the Horseshoe Bridge in the Perth CBD to allow for the redevelopment of the area.[21] Perth station's former Fremantle to Midland platform became an island platform, with an additional platform and track built on the north side. Platforms west of the Horseshoe Bridge were demolished.[21] In June 2011 a $237 million cost blow-out was revealed, added to a 2009 project estimate of $500 million.[22][23]

The new tunnel is the first in Western Australia to use a rigid overhead conductor rail instead of overhead wires, the same system as used on the Madrid Metro. With overhead wires, the clearance between the new tunnel and the existing Joondalup line tunnel is only 75 cm (30 in). By using a conductor rail, the new tunnel could be built to a smaller diameter, allowing for an increased clearance between the two.[24] The new tunnel opened on 18 July 2013.[25]

With the privatisation of Westrail in 2000, responsibility for the Perth to South Beach section has passed to the Public Transport Authority and the South Beach to Cockburn Junction section to Arc Infrastructure, although operational responsibility for the standard gauge line is with Arc Infrastructure.[26][27][28]

Services[]

Dual gauge track at South Beach station in February 2006

Transperth operate services on the line from Fremantle through the Perth CBD to Midland on the Midland line.[29][30] Freight services operate from Kewdale and Forrestfield to North Quay. Until July 2015 these were operated by Aurizon when SCT Logistics took over.[31][32]

Rolling stock[]

Until the ADG class railcars entered service in 1953, services on the Fremantle line were operated by steam locomotives. Some peak-hour services continued to be steam hauled until the arrival of the ADK/ADB class diesel multiple units in 1968 resulted in the end of steam haulage. When the line was electrified in 1991, A-series electric multiple units took over. B-series electric multiple units have been used irregularly (for example, for special events services to West Leederville). Two three-car B-series trains were introduced on regular weekday peak services from 21 July 2019.[33]

Patronage[]

Below is the annual patronage of Fremantle railway line from 2010 to 2011 financial year. Figures are provided as total boardings, which includes all fare-paying boardings and free travel on stations within the free transit zones as well as transfers between stations. The figures for rail replacement and special events services are not included in the total.[34]

Fremantle railway line annual patronage
Year Patronage ±%
2010–11 8,198,224 —
2011–12 8,679,139 +5.87%
2012–13 8,866,211 +2.16%
2013–14 8,284,716 −6.56%
2014–15 8,228,255 −0.68%
2015–16 8,244,599 +0.20%
2016–17 7,940,853 −3.68%
2017–18 7,694,437 −3.10%
2018–19 7,476,804 −2.83%
2019–20 6,173,120 −17.44%

Cultural references[]

The Fremantle line featured in the 2006 film Last Train to Freo.

Stations[]

Key
Icon Purpose
§ Special events station
Station Distance from Perth[35] Fare zone[36] Suburbs served Opened Connections
km mi
Perth 0.0 0.0 1/FTZ Perth 1881 Bus transfers at Perth Busport
Train transfers to Australind, Armadale/Thornlie, Joondalup and Mandurah Lines
Services continue on the Midland Line
City West 1.6 1.0 1/FTZ West Perth 1986
West Leederville 2.7 1.7 1 Subiaco, West Leederville 1897
Subiaco 3.6 2.2 1 Subiaco 1883 Bus transfers
Daglish 4.9 3.0 1 Daglish, Subiaco 1924
Shenton Park 6.0 3.7 1 Shenton Park 1908 Bus transfers
Karrakatta 7.6 4.7 1 Karrakatta 1886
Loch Street 8.0 5.0 1 Claremont, Karrakatta 1954
Showgrounds§ 8.7 5.4 1 Claremont 1954
Claremont 9.4 5.8 1 Claremont 1886 Bus transfers
Swanbourne 10.5 6.6 2 Claremont, Swanbourne 1904
Grant Street 11.2 7.0 2 Cottesloe 1954
Cottesloe 12.4 7.7 2 Cottesloe 1884 Bus transfers
Mosman Park 13.6 8.5 2 Cottesloe, Mosman Park 1894
Victoria Street 14.2 8.8 2 Cottesloe, Mosman Park 1954
North Fremantle 16.1 10.0 2 North Fremantle 1991
Fremantle 19.0 11.8 2 Fremantle 1907 Bus transfers

Stopping patterns and frequency[]

The Fremantle railway line has one stopping pattern in addition to all stops services. All stops services run every 15 minutes during the day Monday to Sunday, every 10 minutes during the weekday peak, and every half an hour or every hour at night. There is also the D stopping pattern, which runs between Perth station and Shenton Park station. It runs once every weekday in each direction. It runs towards Shenton Park in the morning, departing Perth at 8:25am, and towards Perth in the afternoon, departing Shenton Park at 3:12pm.[36]

There used to be several other stopping patterns, which were phased out in July 2019.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Our History Public Transport Authority
  2. ^ Legislative Council - The Governor's Speech The West Australian 12 July 1884 page 3
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Quinlan, Howard; Newland, John (2000). Australian Railway Routes 1854 - 2000. Redfern: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 64. ISBN 0 909650 49 7.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Minchin, RS; Higham, GJ (1981). Robb's Railway Fremantle to Guildford Railway Centenary. Bassendean: Australian Railway Historical Society. pp. 11, 19, 24, 37, 38, 48. ISBN 0 9599690 2 0.
  5. ^ Robb's Jetty-Woodman's Point Railway Act 1902 Parliament of Western Australia
  6. ^ Coogee-Kwinana Railway Act 1952 Parliament of Western Australia
  7. ^ Railway (Coogee-Kwinana Railway) Discontinuance Act 1973 Parliament of Western Australia
  8. ^ Kwinana-Mundijong-Jarrahdale Railway Act 1961 Parliament of Western Australia
  9. ^ Nomination of Western Australian Standard Gauge Railway for an Engineering Heritage Australia Heritage Recognition Award Engineers Australia September 2011 pages 10, 15
  10. ^ "Friends of Railways try save Perth to Fremantle line". The Canberra Times via Trove. 21 June 1979. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Perth City Link Rail Master Plan : Lowering of the Fremantle Railway in Perth" (PDF). Public Transport Authority. March 2010. p. 21. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  12. ^ A History of the Town of Cottesloe Town of Cottesloe
  13. ^ A Guide to the 1983 State Cabinet Records State Records Office of Western Australia page 13
  14. ^ Newman, Peter (2012). "The Perth Rail Transformation: Some political lessons learned" (PDF). p. 2.
  15. ^ A Descriptive History of Hotham Valley Tourist Railway Hotham Valley Railway
  16. ^ Fremantle Line Platform Demolitions Public Transport Authority
  17. ^ Fremantle line platforms removed Railway Digest November 2018 page 27
  18. ^ "Occasional Notes". The West Australian. 21 October 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  19. ^ History of Stations on the Fremantle Line Right Track
  20. ^ Official opening of the Subiaco rail tunnel and station Government of Western Australia 12 December 1998
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b "Perth City Link Rail Master Plan - Lowering of the Fremantle Railway in Perth". Public Transport Authority of Western Australia. 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 27 March 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  22. ^ Prior, Neale (2 June 2011). "City Link in $237m cost blowout". The West Australian. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  23. ^ "1ha town square to be built on land when Perth rail goes underground". PerthNow (Sunday Times). 29 November 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  24. ^ "WA rail technology first". Public Transport Authority of Western Australia. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  25. ^ Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese highlights urban rail as key election issue ABC News 18 July 2013
  26. ^ Network Map Brookfield Rail
  27. ^ Scope of the Network Rules Public Transport Authority
  28. ^ Trackwork resleepering Public Transport Authority
  29. ^ Fremantle Line Timetable Archived 5 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Transperth 18 July 2013
  30. ^ Midland Line Timetable Archived 6 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Transperth 18 July 2013
  31. ^ Trainline 2 Statistical Report Bureau of Infrastructure Transport & Regional Economics 2014 page 39
  32. ^ SCT WA picks up new business with Fremantle Port Rail Service SCT Logistics August 2015
  33. ^ Transperth. "Train and Bus Network Wide Changes". Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  34. ^ "Transperth patronage". Public Transport Authority. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  35. ^ "Manual – Rail Access" (PDF). Public Transport Authority. 30 August 2021. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021. Distance from East Perth station to Perth station is 2.1 km. Distance listed for Fremantle line stations is their distance from East Perth station. Each distance listed on this article is the distance listed in the source minus 2.1 km.
  36. ^ Jump up to: a b "Fremantle Line Train Timetable" (PDF). Transperth. Retrieved 21 September 2021.

External links[]

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