Metronet (Western Australia)

Metronet

Construction of the Thomas Road bridge at Byford, August 2022
Agency overview
Formed	2017
Jurisdiction	Western Australia
Headquarters	Perth, Western Australia
Minister responsible	Rita Saffioti, Minister for Transport
Website	www.metronet.wa.gov.au

Metronet (styled METRONET) is a multi-government agency in Western Australia. It is responsible for managing extensions to Perth's rail network. It was formed to deliver commitments made by the McGowan Government during the 2017 election campaign.[1][2][3][4]

History

Metronet was first proposed as a set of rail infrastructure projects in December 2012 by the opposition Labor Party as an election commitment for the forthcoming 2013 state election. Included were new lines to Ellenbrook, Perth Airport, and eventually Wanneroo (all of which would branch from the existing Midland line), extensions of the Joondalup line to Yanchep, the Armadale line to Byford and eventually Pinjarra, and the Thornlie line to meet the Mandurah line at a new station at South Lake, and new stations at Atwell and Karnup on the Mandurah line.

The extensions were to be arranged into two "circle routes": a North Circle that would share parts of the Joondalup line (from Perth to a new station at Balcatta), Ellenbrook line (from Perth to Noranda), and Wanneroo line (from Noranda to a station at Alexander Drive), along with exclusive tracks and stations between Alexander Drive and Balcatta; and a South Circle that would share infrastructure with the Airport line (from Perth to Forrestfield), the Thornlie line (from Thornlie to South Lake), and the Fremantle line (from Fremantle to Perth), with exclusive tracks between Forrestfield and Thornlie, and between South Lake and Fremantle.[5] While unsuccessful in winning government,[6] the re-elected Barnett Ministry formally approved an alternative airport link in 2014.[7]

In August 2015, the Labor Party proposed a modified, staged version of Metronet as an election commitment for the 2017 election. The plan prioritised completion of the Airport line, the Joondalup line extension to Yanchep, the Armadale line extension to Byford, and the Thornlie line extension.[8] That was expanded to reincorporate a rail line to Ellenbrook and Karnup station by December 2016.[9] After the election of the McGowan Government, the Metronet multi-agency team was formed in 2017 to deliver the commitments.[10]

Projects

Projects managed by Metronet are:

New railway lines

• Building the 8.5 kilometre Forrestfield-Airport Link with stations at Redcliffe, Airport Central and High Wycombe[11]
• Building the 21 kilometre Ellenbrook line with stations at Morley, Noranda, Malaga, Whiteman Park and Ellenbrook, with provision for a future station at Bennett Springs[12]

Railway line extensions

• Byford Rail Extension: extending Armadale line services 8 kilometers to Byford[13]
• Yanchep Rail Extension: extending the Joondalup line 14.5 kilometres with stations at Alkimos, Eglinton and Yanchep[14]
• Thornlie-Cockburn Link: connecting Thornlie station on the Thornlie line to Cockburn Central station on the Mandurah line, with stations at Nicholson Road and Ranford Road[15]

Stations

Construction at Bayswater station, April 2022

Construction at Lakelands station, May 2022

• Rebuild Bayswater Station to accommodate the Midland Line, Forrestfield-Airport Link and Ellenbrook line connections[16]
• Relocating Midland Station[17]
• Building Lakelands Station and Karnup Station on the Mandurah line[18]
• Building a multi-storey car park at Mandurah Station[19]
• Upgrades to Claremont Station and add train turnback for the Airport Line[20]

Level crossing removals

• Removing up to six level crossings on the inner Armadale and Midland Lines, along with Denny Avenue Level Crossing in Kelmscott and Caledonian Avenue Level Crossing in Maylands[21]
  • The Victoria Park-Canning Level Crossing Removal Project, consisting of:
    • Hamilton Street, Wharf Street and William Street Cannington
    • Mint Street, Oats Street and Welshpool Road Carlisle
  • Denny Avenue, Kelmscott[22]
  • Caledonian Avenue, Maylands[23]

Signalling

• Introducing high capacity signalling[24]

Rolling stock

Transperth C-series train during testing between Burswood and Stadium stations, February 2023

• Introducing 41 six-car C-series trains.[25] In August 2019, it was announced that Alstom would be the supplier for the 246 new railcars, each with the capacity to hold up to 1,200 passengers.[26] The tender mandated the railcars contained 50% locally manufactured content.[26] The factory is being built in Bellevue but will be operated by Alstom.[27] In 2017, 13 new six-car sets were ordered at a cost of $410 million but, in a 2019 announcement, the order was expanded to 41 six-car sets, at a cost of $1.3 billion.[27] In March 2024, it was announced that the C-series trains wold enter service on 8 April 2024.[28][29]

See also

• Transperth
• New MetroRail
• Railways in Perth

References

1. Metronet Progress on Track Archived 2 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Premier of Western Australia 21 August 2017
2. Metronet drives Perth expansion plans Archived 2 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Metro Report International 23 August 2017
3. "Metronet construction to start in 2019". The West Australian. 7 September 2017. Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
4. Western Australia budget backs rail projects Archived 2 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine International Railway Journal 11 September 2017
5. Preston, Robyn (16 December 2012). "Labor promises new Perth rail network". WAtoday. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
6. Spagnolo, Joe (29 August 2015). "Labor bets on Metronet transport plan". PerthNow. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
7. "About". Forrestfield–Airport link. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
8. O'Connor, Andrew (30 August 2015). "McGowan in Metronet pledge at WA Labor state conference". ABC News. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
9. O'Connor, Andrew (15 December 2016). "WA Labor vows to build Metronet stage one in first eight years". ABC News. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
10. "Specialist team to drive METRONET vision". METRONET. 28 May 2017. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
11. "Forrestfield-Airport Link". Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
12. Morley-Ellenbrook Line Archived 2 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
13. Byford Rail Extension Archived 2 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
14. Yanchep Rail Extension Archived 5 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
15. Thornlie-Cockburn Link Archived 9 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
16. New Bayswater Station Archived 17 September 2021 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
17. New Midland Station Archived 22 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
18. Lakelands Station Archived 10 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
19. Mandurah Station Multi-Storey Car Park Archived 4 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
20. Claremont Station Project Archived 8 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
21. Level Crossing Removal Archived 8 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
22. Denny Avenue Level Crossing Removal Archived 4 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
23. Caledonian Avenue Level Crossing Removal Archived 2 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
24. High Capacity Signalling Archived 4 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
25. Railcar Program Archived 2 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Metronet
26. "Largest ever order for WA made railcars". Metronet. Archived from the original on 18 August 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
27. Zimmerman, Josh (27 February 2022). "Is Rail Promise Still On Track". Sunday Times (Perth). pp. 14–17.
28. Zimmerman, Josh (18 March 2024). "ALL ABOARD: Metronet's next-gen train just one stop away". The West Australian. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
29. "All aboard! First METRONET C-series train ready for passengers | Western Australian Government". www.wa.gov.au. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.