Turning of the first sod of the Fremantle-Guildford line in by Governor Ord. The line was later open for traffic on 1 March 1881. Courtesy of Battye Library BA 369/MA-01

the ground in one of the biggest engineering projects network for the next eight to 10 years. Construction ever undertaken in . The project, of the new high-speed trains for the Prospector service along with the Clarkson and Thornlie developments, from Perth to and AvonLink service from will virtually double Perth’s urban rail network Midland to Northam is proceeding. Subject to testing, and make regular train travel available to thousands they will come into service in late 2003. has more people. also made available an online booking and secure As part of the ongoing focus on its customers, credit card payment facility for train and coach a New MetroRail Information Centre has been services in the interests of customer convenience. established in Perth. The permanently-staffed centre Consideration is also being given to tailoring coach in William Street, opposite Raine Square, operates and train travel to specific markets, such as business five days a week to give the public a window into and backpackers. New MetroRail. It features displays, brochures, The excellent attitude of our people, our computer terminals, a model of the new railcars and progressive culture and the support we are a conference room for briefings. Displays are also enjoying from the Minister for Planning and held at other locations along the rail route from Infrastructure, Hon. Alannah MacTiernan MLA, time-to-time. indicate we are heading for a sucessful future as The needs of our country coach and train the Public Transport Authority. passengers are also firmly in focus. The former Country Passenger division has been re-branded as Transwa to better encompass its breadth of services. The new name comes with a new slogan, Making the Connection to Regional Western Australia, and attractive livery to present a stronger image to the public and enhance marketing opportunities. Reece Waldock Transwa is in the process of introducing an $11 million Mr Waldock acted as Commissioner of Railways fleet of 21 five-star diesel coaches featuring excellent for 2002/2003 reporting period. passenger comfort, low emissions and improved access for disabled passengers, to service the country

The Western Australian Government Railways Commission Annual Report 2003 7 Brett Inchley General Manager Urban Passenger Brett’s expertise lies in the fields of business and financial management, having worked for a number of national and international private sector companies including Mobil, Ford and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Brett joined the public sector in 1990 and has since gained extensive public transport management experience encompassing both operating and regulatory roles, including five years as Director Executive of . Profiles John Powell General Manager Transwa During his 42-year career Reece Waldock in the railway industry, Acting Commissioner John has gained extensive of Railways experience in transport Reece was appointed Acting policy and human resource Commissioner of WA management. John has Government Railways in contributed to productivity management changes December 2000. He has close and the evolution of Transwa into a safe, to 20 years experience in customer-focused and cost-effective passenger strategic management, with transport provider. particular expertise in organisational reform. He has held a number of senior executive roles with the Department of Transport and the Department of Commerce and Trade in Western Australia. John Leaf General Manager Finance Prior to his career in the public sector, he held a John has gained extensive number of senior management roles with BHP. financial and general He is currently State Chairman of the Chartered management experience Institute of Logistics and Transport. in the accounting profession with private and listed public companies and government entities, in Australia and overseas. John joined WAGR in 1989 and has performed a strategic role in the continuous improvement and restructuring of the organisation, as well as its evolution into a customer-focused public transport service provider.

The Western Australian Government Railways Commission Annual Report 2003 8 Hugh Smith Rob Lindsay General Manager Director Network and Infrastructure People and Organisational Hugh launched his Development engineering career at British Rob’s expertise is in the Steel in the United Kingdom fields of labour relations, and joined WAGR in 1972 human resource policy as an Assistant Engineer at formulation, dispute Midland workshops, where resolution and strategic he subsequently held senior management positions human resource planning and management. in design and production. He was appointed Before joining WA Government Railways, Rob was General Manager of the Urban Passenger Division Assistant Director of Strategy and Representation at in 1994. In this role he was responsible for developing the Department of Productivity and Labour Relations. strategies for customer focus, reliability of services Previously, he was Coordinator of Health Workforce and improved on-time running of trains. and Reform. Following the sale of WAGR’s freight business During his career Rob has played an integral role in in December 2000, Hugh was appointed the formulation of a number of enterprise bargaining General Manager, Network and Infrastructure in agreements in the public and private sectors. an organisation focused exclusively on passenger He has sat as Government member of the Long transport and customer service. Service Leave Appeal Board and Committee, and he has acted for health employers nationally in the area of competency packaging.

Sue McCarrey Garry Willox Acting Director Project Director Policy Unit New MetroRail Sue has expertise in Garry graduated as a Government policy and Civil Engineer in 1968. He administration including worked in WAGR’s district legal frameworks and the engineering offices of mechanics of Government. Narrogin and Bunbury before Her expertise also includes moving to Northam, where making the link between whole-of-Government he was District Engineer from 1975 to 1980. He was policy and directions within the operational level of then engaged as Senior Resident Engineer in charge the agency. of the Kwinana Koolyanobbing Rehabilitation Project Prior to joining WAGR, Sue worked in a number before moving on to a number of senior management of government administration roles within the positions in Head Office. Education Department including coordinating From 1988 to 1993 he was Project Manager for the policy development and review; and planning at Perth Urban Rail Electrification Project and Project the corporate, division and operational levels. Director of the Northern Suburbs Railway to This work included time as a school principal in Joondalup. He then held the position of General both country and metropolitan schools. Manager of Engineering and Supply, before joining National Rail Corporation in Sydney in 1996 as Project Director. He returned to Perth in 2000 to take up his current position.

The Western Australian Government Railways Commission Annual Report 2003 9