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.

Fremantle line
An A-series train crossing over the Swan River via the Fremantle Railway Bridge
Overview
Owner	Public Transport Authority
Locale	Perth, Western Australia
Termini	Perth (north-east) Fremantle (south-west)
Continues from	Midland line
Stations	17
Service
Type	Suburban rail
System	Transperth
Operator(s)	Public Transport Authority (2003–present) WAGR/Westrail (1890–2003)
Depot(s)	Claisebrook
Rolling stock	Transperth A-series trains Transperth B-series trains
Ridership	5,798,235 (year to June 2024)
History
Opened	1 March 1881 (1881-03-01)
Closed	1 September 1979
Reopened	29 July 1983
Technical
Line length	19.0 km (11.8 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Character	At-grade and underground
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge
Electrification	25 kV 50 Hz AC from overhead catenary
Operating speed	80 km/h (50 mph)
Signalling	Fixed block signalling
Train protection system	Automatic train protection
Route map Show interactive map Legend km continues as Midland line Armadale & Thornlie lines 0.0 Perth Perth Underground 1.6 City West 2.7 West Leederville 3.7 Subiaco 5.0 Daglish 5.9 Shenton Park 7.4 Karrakatta 8.0 Loch Street 8.6 Showgrounds 9.3 Claremont 10.4 Swanbourne 11.1 Grant Street 12.4 Cottesloe 13.5 Mosman Park 14.2 Victoria Street 16.2 North Fremantle Fremantle Railway Bridge 18.7 Fremantle continues to Kwinana freight railway Red shading denotes the Free Transit Zone This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram

History

The railway on which the service runs opened on 1 March 1881 as the first suburban railway line in Perth by William Robinson.^[1] It originally operated as the Eastern Railway and ran between Fremantle and Guildford, via central Perth. In March 1884, the railway line was extended via Midland Junction to Bellevue^[2][3] and later to Clackline, York and Northam. The railway 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 railway 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.

Plaques at Perth station commemorating the closure and reopening of the Fremantle line

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, initially because narrow gauge freight trains still used it to access Fremantle, there being no other narrow gauge access to the port.^[11] Later when a narrow gauge link was constructed from Cockburn to North Fremantle, trade unions had placed a ban on working on dismantling any track or equipment.^[12] 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][13][14]} During the closure of the rail line, patronage dropped by 30%.^[15]

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.^[16] 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.^[17][18]

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][19] Today there are 17 stations on the line.^[20]

The eastern portal of the Subiaco tunnel

As part of the Subi Centro project, Subiaco station and 900 metres (980 yd) of the line were sunk in 1998.^[21] 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.^[22] 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.^[22] In June 2011 a $237 million cost blow-out was revealed, added to a 2009 project estimate of $500 million.^[23][24]

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 Yanchep line tunnel is only 75 cm (30 in). The new tunnel could be built to a smaller diameter by using a conductor rail, allowing for an increased clearance between the two.^[25] The new tunnel opened on 18 July 2013.^[26]

With the privatisation of Westrail in 2000, responsibility for the Perth to South Beach section 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.^[27][28][29]

A new bridge over the Swan River is scheduled for completion in 2025. This will carry the Fremantle line with the existing bridge retained for use by freight trains to Fremantle Harbour.^[30]

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.^[31][32][33] Freight services operate from Kewdale and Forrestfield to North Quay. Until July 2015 these were operated by Aurizon when SCT Logistics took over.^[34][35]

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.^[36]

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.^[37]

Fremantle 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%
2020–21	4,853,233	−21.38%
2021–22	5,217,162	+7.50%
2022–23	5,256,226	+0.75%
2023–24	5,798,235	+10.31%

Description

During hot weather, the tracks can distort. As a result, train speeds are reduced by approximately 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph) when the air temperature is above 37 °C (99 °F), and by an additional 10 kilometres per hour (6.2 mph) when the air temperature is above 41 °C (106 °F).^[38][39]

The Transperth network currently uses fixed block signalling and automatic train protection, which stops trains that pass a red signal and slows trains that drive too fast.^[40]: 21 These systems will be replaced by an automatic train control system, likely a communications-based train control system.^[40]: 27

Route

Transperth system map, with the Fremantle line in blue.

Stations

Key

Icon	Purpose
§	Special events station

Station	Distance from Perth[41]		Fare zone[42]	Location	Opened	Connections
	km	mi
Perth	0.0	0.0	1/FTZ	Perth	1881	Bus at Perth Busport Australind, Airport, Armadale, Mandurah, Thornlie and Yanchep lines Services continue on the Midland line
City West	1.6	1.0	1/FTZ	West Perth	1986	Airport line
West Leederville	2.7	1.7	1	Subiaco, West Leederville	1897	Airport line
Subiaco	3.6	2.2	1	Subiaco	1883	Bus, Airport line
Daglish	4.9	3.0	1	Daglish, Subiaco	1924	Airport line
Shenton Park	6.0	3.7	1	Shenton Park	1908	Bus, Airport line
Karrakatta	7.6	4.7	1	Karrakatta	1886	Airport line
Loch Street	8.0	5.0	1	Claremont, Karrakatta	1954	Airport line
Showgrounds§	8.7	5.4	1	Claremont	1954	Airport line
Claremont	9.4	5.8	1	Claremont	1886	Bus, Airport line
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
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

Stopping patterns and frequency

The Fremantle railway line has one all-stops service pattern. All stops services run every 15 minutes during the day from Monday to Sunday, every 10 minutes (six trains per hour) during the weekday peak period, and every half an hour or every hour at night. When the Airport line began operation,^[43][44] weekday peak period frequency between Claremont and Fremantle was reduced to five trains per hour.^[45] A special D stopping pattern servicing Shenton College previously ran between Perth station and Shenton Park station once daily in each direction.^[42] This pattern last ran and was deleted on 7 October 2022, due to the Airport line rendering it useless.

See also

• Last Train to Freo
• The Return (play)