The Fremantle line is a suburban railway and service in Western Australia which connects the central business district (CBD) of Perth with the port city of Fremantle.
History The railway on which the service runs opened on 1 March 1881 as the first suburban railway line in Perth by William Robinson.Our History Public Transport Authority 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 BellevueLegislative Council - The Governor's Speech The West Australian 12 July 1884 page 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.
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.Robb's Jetty-Woodman's Point Railway Act 1902 Parliament of Western AustraliaCoogee-Kwinana Railway Act 1952 Parliament of Western Australia The Coogee to Woodman Point section closed on 16 September 1973, followed by Robbs Jetty to Coogee in February 1986.Railway (Coogee-Kwinana Railway) Discontinuance Act 1973 Parliament of Western Australia
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.
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.Kwinana-Mundijong-Jarrahdale Railway Act 1961 Parliament of Western Australia 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.Nomination of Western Australian Standard Gauge Railway for a Engineering Heritage Australia Heritage Recognition Award Engineers Australia September 2011 pages 10, 15 A marshalling yard was built at Robb Jetty.
In 1966, the eastern railway metropolitan passenger services were curtailed to terminate at Midland.
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. 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. 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. 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.A History of the Town of Cottesloe Town of CottesloeA Guide to the 1983 State Cabinet Records State Records Office of Western Australia page 13 During the closure of the rail line, patronage dropped by 30%.
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.A Descriptive History of Hotham Valley Tourist Railway Hotham Valley Railway 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.Fremantle Line Platform Demolitions Public Transport AuthorityFremantle line platforms removed Railway Digest November 2018 page 27
During 1990, work commenced on building a new North Fremantle station, north of its original location, which opened for service on 28 July 1991. Leighton station, which was further north, was demolished during the electrification of the line. Regular electric services started in September 1991. Today there are 17 stations on the line.History of Stations on the Fremantle Line Right Track
As part of the Subi Centro project, Subiaco station and of the line were sunk in 1998.Official opening of the Subiaco rail tunnel and station Government of Western Australia 12 December 1998 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. 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. In June 2011 a $237 million cost blow-out was revealed, added to a 2009 project estimate of $500 million.
The new tunnel was 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 . The new tunnel could be built to a smaller diameter by using a conductor rail, allowing for an increased clearance between the two. The new tunnel opened on 18 July 2013.Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese highlights urban rail as key election issue ABC News 18 July 2013
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.Network Map Brookfield RailScope of the Network Rules Public Transport AuthorityTrackwork resleepering Public Transport Authority
A new rail bridge over the Swan River in Fremantle has been planned to be built in future. It will carry the Fremantle line, with the existing bridge retained for use by freight trains to Fremantle Harbour.Swan River Crossings Main Roads Western Australia
Services
Transperth operate services on the line from Fremantle through the Perth CBD to Midland on the Midland line.Fremantle Line Timetable Transperth 18 July 2013Midland Line Timetable Transperth 18 July 2013 Freight services operate from Kewdale and Forrestfield to North Quay. Until July 2015 these were operated by Aurizon when SCT Logistics took over.Trainline 2 Statistical Report Bureau of Infrastructure Transport & Regional Economics 2014 page 39SCT WA picks up new business with Fremantle Port Rail Service SCT Logistics August 2015
Stopping patterns Legend — Stopping Patterns ● – All trains stop ◐ – Some services do not stop | – Trains pass and do not stop
Fremantle Services+StationZoneAll+SWSEPerth1 ● ● ▲ ●City West ● ● ▲ West Leederville ● ● ▲ Subiaco ● ● ▲ Daglish ● ● ▲ Shenton Park ● ● ▲ Karrakatta ● ● ▲ Loch Street ● ● ▲ Showgrounds ● ◐ ●Claremont 1/2 ● ● ▲ Swanbourne ● ●Grant Street ● ●Cottesloe 2 ● ●Mosman Park ● ●Victoria Street ● ●North Fremantle ● ●Fremantle ● ●
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.
Patronage + Fremantle line annual patronage Year Patronage 2010–11 8,198,224 — 2011–12 8,679,139 2012–13 8,866,211 2013–14 8,284,716 2014–15 8,228,255 2015–16 8,244,599 2016–17 7,940,853 2017–18 7,694,437 2018–19 7,476,804 2019–20 6,173,120 2020–21 4,853,233 2021–22 5,217,162 2022–23 5,256,226 2023–24 5,798,235 2024–25 5,947,360 2025–26 6,212,766
Description During hot weather, the tracks can distort. As a result, train speeds are reduced by approximately when the air temperature is above , and by an additional when the air temperature is above .
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. Click Download Now, then Download for Information Only. Make sure HCS SWTR Book 1 - Scope of Works DRAFT 01-09-21_Redacted.pdf is selected, then click Download Documents. These systems will be replaced by an automatic train control system, likely a communications-based train control system.
Route
Stations + Key Icon Purpose § Special events station
+StationDistance from Perth 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. Fare zoneLocation OpenedConnectionskmmiPerth0.00.01/PerthBus at Perth Busport,Australind, Airport, Armadale, Ellenbrook, Mandurah, Thornlie–Cockburn and Yanchep linesServices continue on the Midland lineCity West1.61.01/West Perth1986Airport lineWest Leederville2.71.71Subiaco, West Leederville1897Airport lineSubiaco3.62.21Subiaco1883Bus, Airport lineDaglish4.93.01Daglish, Subiaco1924Airport lineShenton Park6.03.71Shenton Park1908Bus, Airport lineKarrakatta7.64.71Karrakatta1886Airport lineLoch Street8.05.01Claremont, Karrakatta1954Airport lineShowgrounds§8.75.41Claremont1954Airport lineClaremont9.45.81Claremont1886Bus, Airport lineSwanbourne10.56.62Claremont, Swanbourne1904Grant Street11.27.02Cottesloe1954Cottesloe12.47.72Cottesloe1884Mosman Park13.68.52Cottesloe, Mosman Park1894Victoria Street14.28.82Cottesloe, Mosman Park1954North Fremantle16.110.02North Fremantle1991Fremantle19.011.82Fremantle1907Bus
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 12 minutes (five trains per hour) during the weekday peak period, and every half an hour or every hour at night; these frequencies are increased between Perth and Claremont due to Airport Line services. Before the Airport line began operation, weekday peak period frequency between Claremont and Fremantle was every 10 minutes. A special D stopping pattern servicing Shenton College previously ran between Perth station and Shenton Park station once daily in each direction. This pattern last ran and was deleted on 7 October 2022, due to the Airport line taking its place. The line previously ran some express stopping patterns in peak times, the two major patterns skipping many minor stations on different halves of the line, whilst both stop at Claremont, Subiaco, and City West.
See also Last Train to Freo The Return (play)
References
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