University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Engineering and Information Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B Sciences 2016 Perth's urban rail renaissance Philip G. Laird University of Wollongong, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/eispapers1 Part of the Engineering Commons, and the Science and Technology Studies Commons Recommended Citation Laird, Philip G., "Perth's urban rail renaissance" (2016). Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B. 277. https://ro.uow.edu.au/eispapers1/277 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Perth's urban rail renaissance Abstract Over the past thirty five years, instead of being discontinued from use, Perth's urban rail network has been tripled in route length and electrified at 25,000 oltsv AC. The extensions include the Northern Suburbs Railway (with stage 1 opened in 1993 and this line reaching Butler in 2014), and, the 72 kilometre Perth Mandurah line opening in 2007. Integrated with a well run bus system, along with fast and frequent train services, there has been a near ten fold growth in rail patronage since 1981 when some 6.5 million passengers used the trains to 64.2 million in 2014-15. Bus patronage has also increased. These increases are even more remarkable given Perth's relatively low population density and high car dependence. The overall improvements in Perth's urban rail network, with many unusual initiatives, have attracted international attention. However, ongoing improvements in public transport and also road pricing are needed to contain road congestion. Disciplines Engineering | Science and Technology Studies Publication Details Laird, P. (2016). Perth's urban rail renaissance. AusRAIL PLUS Proceedings 2016, Rail - Moving the Economy Forward (pp. 1-8). Canberra, Australia: Australian Railway Association. This conference paper is available at Research Online: https://ro.uow.edu.au/eispapers1/277 Philip Laird Perth's urban rail renaisance University of Wollongong PERTH'S URBAN RAIL RENAISSANCE Philip Laird MSc (VUW) MSc (ANU) PhD (Calgary) FCILT, Comp IE Aust University of Wollongong NSW Australia Summary Over the past thirty five years, instead of being discontinued from use, Perth’s urban rail network has been tripled in route length and electrified at 25,000 volts AC. The extensions include the Northern Suburbs Railway (with stage 1 opened in 1993 and this line reaching Butler in 2014), and, the 72 kilometre Perth Mandurah line opening in 2007. Integrated with a well run bus system, along with fast and frequent train services, there has been a near ten fold growth in rail patronage since 1981 when some 6.5 million passengers used the trains to 64.2 million in 2014-15. Bus patronage has also increased. These increases are even more remarkable given Perth's relatively low population density and high car dependence. The overall improvements in Perth's urban rail network, with many unusual initiatives, have attracted international attention. However, ongoing improvements in public transport and also road pricing are needed to contain road congestion. 1. INTRODUCTION As seen by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics [3, p56] The Greater Perth region is now home to about two million people and, like Western Australia, In recent years, Perth’s train services has seen a long period of strong population have been upgraded and extended. With growth. How Perth planners have chosen to frequent services, good reliability improve its urban rail system in a city with a standards and high average speeds over relatively low population density and high car much of the network, the Transperth usage is a story that has attracted global network arguably delivers Australia’s attention. highest-standard CBD commuter Perth's public transport with its modern electric railway. The network plays to the relative trains and buses is world class and has been strengths of urban railways—mass- well planned and well received by the traveling transit, radial, commuter services. public. In the case of rail, patronage went from a low of about 6.5 million passengers in 1981 Crucially, the rail operation is not [1] to 64.2 million in 2014-15 [2], a near ten fold confined to these strengths. Non- growth. This factor exceeds the urban rail commuter travel is encouraged by high passenger growth of any other Australian city. service standards in off-peak periods, including weekends. Perth bus patronage has also increased and is ' now over 84 million passengers per year [2]. This assessment is supported by by Schwandl [4, p7] from an international perspective : Perth's rail transport demonstrates many innovations. One such is the use of the centre With the electrification of the existing parts of freeways for the new railways to the suburban rail system having being north, and then to the south, of Perth. Further completed in 1991, and a totally new 100 innovative features include relatively few km north-south route added in stages stations to allow for faster train services. Many between 1993 and 2007, Perth now of these stations have bus interchanges and boasts what is probably Australia's most extensive provision for car parking. efficient suburban rail service. A system map follows below. AusRAIL 2016 22-23 November, Adelaide Philip Laird Perth's urban rail renaisance University of Wollongong All Perth's urban rail track is a 1067 mm narrow gauge except for a short East Perth to Midland section which is dual gauge (narrow plus standard (1435mm) gauge). In September 1979, the Perth to Fremantle passenger service was closed by Sir Charles Court’s government in order to build a freeway along the coastal suburbs. Perth's urban railways had contracted to 48 kilometres. Although his Minister for Transport said it was ‘futile’ to oppose this decision, it was met by the formation of a ‘Friends of the Railways’ group by academic and then Fremantle Councillor Peter Newman to lobby for the reinstatement and upgrading of the railway. The public gave strong support for building a state of the art rail system [6]. A change in 1983 of the Government of Western Australia led to the reinstatement of the Perth - Fremantle passenger service later that year. This was followed in 1991 by electrification of the then existing three lines (Armadale, Midland and Fremantle lines) at 25,000 volts AC using "A Class" electric multiple units to replace older diesel multiple units (which were then sent to Auckland New Zealand). By 1990, the annual patronage of Figure 1 Perth suburban rail network showing Perth's rail system was about 10 million future line to the Perth Airport and Forrestfield passengers per year. http://www.urbanrail.net/au/perth/perth.htm After electrification of the existing lines, the next initiative was the construction of the 2. NOTATION Northern Suburbs Railway (NSR) that became fully operational in March 1993 to Joondalup. AC Alternating current The first 22.5 km of line was built in the median BITRE Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and of the Mitchell Freeway. Details of planning of Regional Economics this line are given by Martinovich [7]. CBD Central Business District EMUs electric multiple units km kilometre mm millimetre PTA Public Transport Authority QEII Queen Elizabeth II hospital) UWA– University of WA WA Western Australia 3. PERTH RAIL INITIATIVES The first line in Perth was opened in 1881 between Fremantle to Perth and then Guildford and used steam trains. The system was extended in the late 19 th century with some contractions after World War II, and took nearly Figure 2 A B series EMU approaching twenty years to change from steam trains to Leederville on Perth's Northern Suburbs Line diesel trains [5]. with part of the Mitchell Freeway and the CBD in the distance – a 2014 photo by John Hoyle. AusRAIL 2016 22-23 November, Adelaide Philip Laird Perth's urban rail renaisance University of Wollongong By the year 2000, patronage on the growing completed. The "Perth City Link" project was Perth rail system had grown to about 20 million funded jointly by the State and Commonwealth passengers per year. To accommodate the Governments and the City of Perth, and unexpected growth on the Joondalup line, allowed for CBD revitalisation. additional "A Class" electric multiple units had to be ordered. Figure 3 shows this growth and The Perth railway station upgrade was subsequent passenger growth, that includes enhanced by a new nearby underground the surge of growth following the opening of BusPort completed in July 2016. the Perth-Mandurah line in 2007. In addition, Perth was the first of Australia's cities in 2007 to introduce integrated smart card ticketing. For Seniors, their SmartRider card was conveniently tied with their Western Australian Seniors card (as opposed to having to carry two cards as still required in NSW). On 1 July 2014, to ration increasingly scarce parking spots, paid parking was introduced at Perth rail system stations. 4. THE PERTH - MANDURAH RAILWAY In December 2007, the 72 km Southern Suburbs Railway between Perth and Mandurah was completed at a cost of some $1.2 billion. By March 2008, assisted by a world class service, patronage on the new line was 80 per cent above projections. During the Figure 3 Perth rail patronage from 1973-74 to weekday peaks, there are now six trains an 2014-15 [1,2] hour each way between Perth and Mandurah travelling at speeds up to 130 km/h. It is of note that during the 1990s when Perth's system was electrified and extended with Many train journeys take as little as 49 patronage doubling from 10 to 20 million minutes, which compares favourably with a 70 passengers per year, the Adelaide system minute journey time by car.