Transperth Trains
Encyclopedia
Transperth Trains is a division of the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. It is responsible for operating Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

’s urban passenger rail system, as part of the Transperth
Transperth
Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system in Perth, Western Australia. It is operated by the Public Transport Authority.-History:...

 network.

Lines

Transperth runs five train lines with one spur line. These lines are:
  • Armadale Line, which goes in a south-east direction to Armadale
    Armadale railway station, Perth
    Armadale Train Station is a Transperth train station 30 km from Perth Train Station, in Western Australia, on the Armadale Line. The current station building is less than five years old, having been constructed in a more favourable location than the previous station of the same...

    . The Transwa Australind
    Transwa Australind
    The Transwa Australind is a diesel railcar train operated by Transwa that runs between Perth, Western Australia, and the south-west city of Bunbury on the South Western Railway . The Australind fleet consists of three powered railcars ADP101, ADP102 and ADP103, with two non-driving trailers ADQ121...

     continues along the same track to Bunbury
    Bunbury, Western Australia
    The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...

    . A spur line to Thornlie station opened on 8 August 2005.
  • Fremantle Line, which goes in a westerly direction towards Fremantle. Major stations include Subiaco and Claremont
    Claremont railway station, Perth
    Claremont Station is a Transperth railway station 9.3 km from Perth station, in Western Australia, on the Fremantle Line. It is the westernmost station in Zone 1 on the Fremantle Line and is located approximately halfway between Perth and Fremantle. The disused signalling cabin at the station...

    .
  • Joondalup Line, which goes in a northern direction, in the middle of the Mitchell Freeway
    Mitchell Freeway
    Mitchell Freeway is a long freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Perth's central business district with its outer northern suburbs. It is allocated Route 2 for its entire length and is named after former state Premier and Governor Sir James Mitchell....

     reserve, before moving eastward near Eddystone Avenue through to Joondalup
    Joondalup, Western Australia
    Joondalup is a regional metropolitan city within Perth, Western Australia, approximately north of Perth's central business district.It acts as the primary urban centre in Perth's outer northern suburbs.-History:...

    , then returning to the Mitchell Freeway reserve and continuing towards Clarkson
    Clarkson railway station, Perth
    Clarkson is a Transperth bus and train station located north of Perth, Western Australia, in the suburb of Clarkson. It presently serves as the terminus for the Joondalup Line. It is located east of Ocean Keys Shopping Centre....

    . The line then continues currently as a single track to the Nowergup Depot. When trains on the Joondalup Line arrive at Perth Station, they connect to the Mandurah Line. Future expansion plans provide for the extension of the line to Butler
    Butler, Western Australia
    Butler is an outer suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located 41 kilometres north of Perth's central business district. It is part of the City of Wanneroo local government area...

     then Alkimos
    Alkimos, Western Australia
    Alkimos is an unpopulated coastal suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located north-northwest of Perth's central business district. It is part of the City of Wanneroo local government area....

    .

  • Midland Line, which goes east towards Midland
    Midland railway station, Perth
    Midland Train Station is a Transperth train station 16km from Perth Train Station, in Western Australia, and is the terminus of the current suburban rail service on the Midland Line.-History:...

    . Transwa
    Transwa
    Transwa is Western Australia's regional public transport provider, linking 275 destinations within Western Australia, from Kalbarri in the north to Augusta in the south to Esperance in the east along with the regional centres of Bunbury, Kalgoorlie, Northam, Geraldton and Albany.Transwa is...

     services diverge and continue to Kalgoorlie
    Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
    Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...

     (the Prospector
    Transwa Prospector
    The Transwa Prospector is a standard-gauge passenger train operated by Transwa that runs between Perth, Western Australia, and the Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie.-History:...

    ) and to Merredin
    Merredin, Western Australia
    -Economy:The agricultural land around Merredin produces 40% of Western Australia’s wheat quota. As a focal point for the region, Merredin’s local bulk handling co-operative receives and processes in excess of a million tonnes of grain every year...

     (the Avonlink
    Transwa Avonlink
    The AvonLink is a standard gauge passenger train operated by Transwa that operates between Perth, Western Australia and the Avon Valley. It provides one service in each direction every weekday, to and from the regional town of Northam, and since 2004, has provided three extended services a week to...

    ).
  • Mandurah Line, which goes in a southward direction, in the middle of the Kwinana Freeway
    Kwinana Freeway
    The Kwinana Freeway is a major arterial road in Perth, Western Australia, linking Perth with the southern suburbs and then further on towards Mandurah, a distance of . It has a speed limit of , except in central Perth and south of Lakes Road . Like all Western Australian freeways, the minimum...

     reserve until the suburb of Kwinana, then curving south-west towards the suburb of Rockingham and then south to Mandurah. When trains on the Mandurah Line arrive at Perth Station, they connect to the Joondalup Line.


All of the above services except the Transwa Prospector
Transwa Prospector
The Transwa Prospector is a standard-gauge passenger train operated by Transwa that runs between Perth, Western Australia, and the Goldfields town of Kalgoorlie.-History:...

 and Transwa Avonlink
Transwa Avonlink
The AvonLink is a standard gauge passenger train operated by Transwa that operates between Perth, Western Australia and the Avon Valley. It provides one service in each direction every weekday, to and from the regional town of Northam, and since 2004, has provided three extended services a week to...

 run on narrow-gauge tracks. The Prospector and Avonlink run on standard-gauge tracks
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

 and takes the same route as the Midland line services. Consequently the track between East Perth
East Perth railway station
East Perth railway station is a Transperth railway station 1.9 km from Perth Train Station, on the Midland Line in Perth, Western Australia.It is next to the East Perth Terminal and Public Transport Centre, in Western Australia....

 and Midland is dual gauge
Dual gauge
A dual-gauge or mixed-gauge railway has railway track that allows trains of different gauges to use the same track. Generally, a dual-gauge railway consists of three rails, rather than the standard two rails. The two outer rails give the wider gauge, while one of the outer rails and the inner rail...

.

History

Diesel trains were used on the rail network until the three lines then in service (Midland, Fremantle and Armadale) were electrified
Electrification
Electrification originally referred to the build out of the electrical generating and distribution systems which occurred in the United States, England and other countries from the mid 1880's until around 1940 and is in progress in developing countries. This also included the change over from line...

 in the early 1990s. The first service with the A-series train was introduced during Royal Show week in September 1991, with regular services beginning on the Armadale line on 7 October 1991. The Midland and Fremantle lines commenced service with the then-new A-series trains in December 1991. The conversion from diesel to electric trains was accompanied by many upgrades to the rail network, such as upgrades to stations and tracks, and the cost of the undertaking was estimated at around A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...

109 million.

To service the expanding northern suburbs, Joondalup line was built in the median of the Mitchell Freeway
Mitchell Freeway
Mitchell Freeway is a long freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Perth's central business district with its outer northern suburbs. It is allocated Route 2 for its entire length and is named after former state Premier and Governor Sir James Mitchell....

 in the early 1990s, after several years of planning. The line was later extended to Currambine in 1993 and to Clarkson
Clarkson railway station, Perth
Clarkson is a Transperth bus and train station located north of Perth, Western Australia, in the suburb of Clarkson. It presently serves as the terminus for the Joondalup Line. It is located east of Ocean Keys Shopping Centre....

 in 2005.

Mandurah Line

Legislation for the construction of the Mandurah Line was passed in December 1999. The original proposed route branched from the Armadale line at Kenwick, and then ran alongside the freight lines until Jandakot where it would run in the middle of the Kwinana Freeway
Kwinana Freeway
The Kwinana Freeway is a major arterial road in Perth, Western Australia, linking Perth with the southern suburbs and then further on towards Mandurah, a distance of . It has a speed limit of , except in central Perth and south of Lakes Road . Like all Western Australian freeways, the minimum...

. However, a bill passed in November 2002 after a change of state government saw that the route would start at Perth, traverse the Kwinana Freeway, and then continue along its initial route after Jandakot.

Construction of the line started in February 2004. The line was officially opened on 23 December 2007, with the first train carrying 1500 passengers, including 1000 members of the public selected by ballot.

Thornlie Spur

Because the Government did not begin its review of the Mandurah Line masterplan until after construction had begun, the tunnel under Roe Highway had already been constructed. To make use of the new tunnel, the government decided to convert this section into a small spur line to the suburb of Thornlie
Thornlie, Western Australia
Thornlie is a large outer suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located 18 kilometres south-east of Perth's central business district. It is part of the City of Gosnells local government area. The Canning River runs through the northern side of the suburb...

.

It was decided that Armadale trains would alternate with Thornlie trains, with the Thornlie trains stopping at all stations and Armadale trains only stopping at Oats Street and Cannington stations. Thornlie station was officially opened on 7 August 2005. Normal services began the next day.

New MetroRail

In 2003, the government launched the New MetroRail
New MetroRail
New MetroRail was a division of the Public Transport Authority in Western Australia. It was responsible for managing extensions to Perth's railway network...

 program as the official name of the upgrades to the rail network. This program included the following projects:
  • Extension of the Joondalup Line to Clarkson.
  • Construction of a new railway depot in the suburb of Nowergup.
  • Acquiring 93 new B-series
    Transperth B-series train
    The Transperth B-series trains are the newest model of electric trains that run on the Transperth metropolitan transit system in Perth, Western Australia.The new trains run in configurations of 3 or 6 carriages...

     railcars to service the Clarkson and Mandurah lines. These railcars would be configured as 31 three-car sets.
  • Construction of the Thornlie line and spur line.
  • Rebuilding Bassendean, Gosnells and Armadale stations in 2004, 2005, and 2004 respectively.
  • New station named Greenwood built between Warwick and Whitfords to relieve the pressure on these stations. This station opened 2005.
  • Upgrade of the West Leederville station, including a third platform, to help serve crowds from Subiaco Oval.

Future expansion

Funding has been allocated in the 2009-10 state budget for extending the Joondalup line north to Brighton, with construction scheduled to start in 2010. In addition, the Airport Masterplan calls for a spur line from the Midland Line to connect to the Airport
Perth Airport
Perth Airport is an Australian domestic and international airport serving Perth, the capital and largest city of Western Australia. The airport itself is located in the suburb of Perth Airport....

. The line would deviate between Bayswater and Ashfield stations, run through the suburb of Redcliffe and meet with the Airport.

Former Premier Alan Carpenter
Alan Carpenter
Alan John Carpenter is a former Australian politician. He was the 28th Premier of Western Australia, serving from 2006 to 2008. He took office following the resignation of Dr Geoff Gallop...

 had announced a study on the feasibility of a high speed rail service running from Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 to the south city of Bunbury
Bunbury, Western Australia
The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...

 as a replacement of the current Australind
Transwa Australind
The Transwa Australind is a diesel railcar train operated by Transwa that runs between Perth, Western Australia, and the south-west city of Bunbury on the South Western Railway . The Australind fleet consists of three powered railcars ADP101, ADP102 and ADP103, with two non-driving trailers ADQ121...

 train service. The new study says a new line could be built just after Cockburn Central station on the Mandurah Line, then following the Kwinana Freeway south to the new Perth-Bunbury Highway
Perth-Bunbury Highway
The Forrest Highway is an at-grade, dual-carriageway highway in Western Australia, linking the Kwinana Freeway with the Old Coast Road at Lake Clifton, bypassing the coastal city of Mandurah. The road is named after Sir John Forrest, the state's first premier. Construction began in 2007 and the...

 and following the highway until it reaches the Bunbury CBD. Alan Carpenter says the new line would reduce train travel times by up to one and a half hours from the current Australind service.

Current fleet

  • 43 two-car first-generation A-series EMU sets/86 cars
  • 5 two-car second-generation A-series EMU sets/10 cars
  • 46 three-car B-series EMU sets/138 cars

A-series EMU


The A-series electric multiple-unit
Multiple unit
The term multiple unit or MU is used to describe a self-propelled carriages capable of coupling with other units of the same or similar type and still being controlled from one driving cab. The term is commonly used to denote passenger trainsets consisting of more than one carriage...

 railcar sets are two-car trains with a driver’s cab at each end. They were built in Maryborough, Queensland
Maryborough, Queensland
Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...

 by Walkers (now EDi Rail
EDi Rail
Downer Rail is a rail company based in Australia. Formed by a merger of Walkers and Clyde Engineering, it is currently a division of Downer EDi...

) and ABB
Asea Brown Boveri
ABB is a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, and best known for its robotics. ABB operates mainly in the power and automation technology areas. It ranked 143rd in Forbes Ranking ....

, which had become part of ADtranz
Adtranz
ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....

 by the time the second generation were built.

The A-series sets were a very important part of the electrification of Perth’s suburban railway system in the early 1990s and the Joondalup Line, which was being constructed in the same period. The first ever A-series EMU was delivered on 1 September 1990. The original order of 43 first-generation A-series trains were followed by an additional order of 5 second-generation trains due to the Joondalup Line exceeding passenger estimates. Delivered in 1998, the second-generation trains are slightly different from the first-generation sets, with LED screens in the train and other upgrades to security and accessibility. Two-car A-series sets can be coupled together to make trains of four or six cars.

Specifications
  • Builder: ABB
    Asea Brown Boveri
    ABB is a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland, and best known for its robotics. ABB operates mainly in the power and automation technology areas. It ranked 143rd in Forbes Ranking ....

    /ADTranz
    Adtranz
    ABB Daimler-Benz Transportation , commonly known under its brand Adtranz, was a multi-national rail transport equipment manufacturer with facilities concentrated in Europe and the USA....

     and Walkers
  • Gauge: 1067 mm - narrow gauge
    Cape gauge
    Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...

  • Top speed: 110 km/h
  • Passengers: 156
  • Fleet numbers: 1 – 48

B-series EMU

Introduced to service in October 2004, the B-series are the newest electric trains to operate in Perth. They were built by Downer Rail and Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....

 (the new owners of ADtranz) in Maryborough, Queensland
Maryborough, Queensland
Maryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...

, and operate on the new Mandurah Line and the existing Joondalup Line.

Unlike the A-series, the B-series has three cars to a set. The powered ‘A’ and ‘B’ cars each have a driver’s cab at one end, while the central ‘T’ car is entirely devoted to passengers, and supplies power from overhead lines to the powered cars. The B-series trains can operate as the single three-car set, or be coupled together to make trains of six or nine cars. B-series trains can reach a top speed of 130 km/h.

On 19 September 2006 the Premier of Western Australia
Premier of Western Australia
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...

, Alan Carpenter
Alan Carpenter
Alan John Carpenter is a former Australian politician. He was the 28th Premier of Western Australia, serving from 2006 to 2008. He took office following the resignation of Dr Geoff Gallop...

, announced that the Public Transport Authority will purchase another 15 new 3-car sets from the EDI Rail-Bombardier Transportation joint venture. The first three B-series railcar sets were introduced on 28 June 2009 and have allowed some of the A-series trains to be transferred to the Midland-Fremantle line. As more sets become available, they will allow the remaining two-car A1/2 series railcar sets currently being used on the Perth-Clarkson line to increase total capacity for the Armadale-Perth and Midland-Fremantle services, with an overall increase of 3,900 passengers, or more than 30 per cent.

Specifications
  • Builder: Downer Rail and Bombardier Transportation
    Bombardier Transportation
    Bombardier Transportation is the rail equipment division of the Canadian firm, Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Transportation is one of the world's largest companies in the rail-equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. Its headquarters are in Berlin, Germany....

  • Gauge: 1067 mm - narrow gauge
    Cape gauge
    Cape gauge is a track gauge of between the inside of the rail heads and is classified as narrow gauge. It has installations of around .The gauge was first used by Norwegian engineer Carl Abraham Pihl and the first line was opened in 1862.- Nomenclature :...

  • Top speed: 130 km/h
  • Passengers: about 700
  • Fleet numbers: 49–94

By 2011, the fleet numbers will be from 49–98.

Diesel multiple units

Transperth used to operate ADK-
NZR ADK class (Diesel Multiple Unit)
The ADK class consists of nine diesel multiple unit cars each coupled to an ADB class trailer, operating on Auckland's suburban rail network. The Auckland Regional Council owns these units, and they are operated by Veolia.- History :...

 and ADL-
NZR ADL class (Diesel Multiple Unit)
The ADL class consists of ten diesel multiple unit cars each coupled to an ADC class trailer, built by Goninan for the Western Australian Government Railways in the early 1980s. They were purchased by New Zealand Rail Limited in 1993 to replace suburban carriage trains used in Auckland...

class diesel multiple unit
Diesel multiple unit
A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple unit train consisting of multiple carriages powered by one or more on-board diesel engines. They may also be referred to as a railcar or railmotor, depending on country.-Design:...

s, until New Zealand Rail Limited
Tranz Rail
Tranz Rail, formally Tranz Rail Holdings Ltd , was the main rail operator in New Zealand from 1991 until it was purchased by Toll Holdings in 2003.- Formation :...

 bought them in 1993. The units remain in service today on Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

’s commuter network, but will be retired once electrification of the urban rail system has been completed in that city.

Depots

Transperth trains run from two main depots and one minor depot:
  • Nowergup Depot, which is in Nowergup, past Clarkson
    Clarkson railway station, Perth
    Clarkson is a Transperth bus and train station located north of Perth, Western Australia, in the suburb of Clarkson. It presently serves as the terminus for the Joondalup Line. It is located east of Ocean Keys Shopping Centre....

    . This depot is used to store and clean mainly B series trains
    Transperth B-series train
    The Transperth B-series trains are the newest model of electric trains that run on the Transperth metropolitan transit system in Perth, Western Australia.The new trains run in configurations of 3 or 6 carriages...

    .
  • Claisebrook Depot, which is next to Claisebrook. This depot is used to store and clean mainly A series trains.
  • A smaller depot at Mandurah
    Mandurah, Western Australia
    Mandurah is the second-largest city in Western Australia and is located approximately south of the state capital, Perth.The city attracts a large number of tourists, including many international visitors...

     has been constructed to store primarily B series trains
    Transperth B-series train
    The Transperth B-series trains are the newest model of electric trains that run on the Transperth metropolitan transit system in Perth, Western Australia.The new trains run in configurations of 3 or 6 carriages...

    .


Currambine Station, until its relocation to the middle of the Mitchell Freeway
Mitchell Freeway
Mitchell Freeway is a long freeway in Perth, Western Australia, linking Perth's central business district with its outer northern suburbs. It is allocated Route 2 for its entire length and is named after former state Premier and Governor Sir James Mitchell....

reserve in 2004, had a small cleaning and overnight storage facility designed to hold up to four two-car sets.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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