Midland railway line

Midland railway line
Legend
Continues to Fremantle line 000.0km Perth Perth Southern Sidings Moore St Crossing 000.9km McIver Lord St Flyover Claisebrook depot 001.3km Claisebrook 00.0 00.0 Armadale/Thornlie line 00.0 Graham Farmer Freeway 001.9km East Perth East Perth STD Gauge Platform spur Lord St Subway 003.2km Mount Lawley Third Avenue Bridge Seventh Avenue Bridge 004.5km Maylands Caledonian Avenue Crossing 005.5km Meltham Railway Parade Bridge Coode St/King William St Subway 006.7km Bayswater Belmont Branch Line (closed 1955) Forrestfield-Airport Link Tonkin Highway Katanning St Crossing 009.2km Ashfield Collier Rd Crossing Perth Rail Museum Old Bassendean Sidings 010.8km Bassendean Lord St Flyover 011.6km Success Hill Swan River 012.5km Guildford West Swan Rd Crossing 014.0km East Guildford James St/Great Eastern Hwy Forrestfield Freight Spur Devon St Crossing 015.5km Woodbridge Amherst Rd Crossing 016.0km Midland Freight line and regional rail continues
Transperth railway lines Armadale/Thornlie Fremantle Joondalup Mandurah Midland List of Transperth stations

Midland Line is a suburban railway line in Perth, Western Australia. It runs through Perth's eastern suburbs and connects Midland with Perth and Fremantle.

History

The line was a part of the first suburban railway line in Perth, opening on 1 March 1881. It originally operated as the Eastern Railway and ran between Fremantle and Guildford passing through Perth. The line was extended from Guildford to Chidlow's Well, opening in March 1884.^[1]

Throughout the 1880s, the Eastern Railway line was extended beyond Guildford and Midland Junction along its first route to Chidlow and Northam. The second route varied after Bellevue proceeding to Chidlow. The third route saw the removal of the Bellevue Railway station in its construction, with the new Midland railway terminus replacing the older Midland Junction railway station.

An anomaly of the Midland line timetables in the 1950s and 1960s was that Bellevue was nominally the terminus of the line until 1962. Koongamia, which was a new station prior to Greenmount on the original first route, was the terminus from 1962 to 1966.

In 1966, the stations on the first two Eastern Railway routes as well as the old Midland Junction railway station were closed and the new Midland was constructed 200 metres to the west and became the new terminus.

Generally, changes from the 1970s saw a significant number of stations on the line moved or turned into island platform stations (to be compatible with the double track, dual-gauge track configuration between East Perth and Midland).

On 24 July 2004, Bassendean became the first station to be upgraded under the Building Better Stations project.

In the earlier decades of the twentieth century, a significant number of rail-crossing accidents between motor vehicles and trains occurred. Unattended crossings were provided with boom gates, flashing lights and bells to counter inattention or risk taking from drivers. Also crossings were reduced, and in a number of locations bridges were constructed.

In mid-February 2006, an express train heading from Midland to Perth was involved in an accident with a passenger car. Near Guildford a tourist, unfamiliar with the road layout illegally turned right at a set of traffic lights onto the wrong side of the road crossing the railway. This lane was not protected on the oncoming side with a boom gate as it was a one way lane. The train slammed into the vehicle, dragging it for a short distance. The accident resulted in the death of the car's driver but no fatalities or reported injuries to the passenger and driver of the train.

Airport railway connection

In December 2013, the Government of Western Australia announced its intention to construct a railway line branching off the Midland Line north of Bayswater to Forrestfield via Perth Airport.^[2] Construction of the Forrestfield-Airport Link is scheduled to commence in 2016, with the line opening in 2020.^[3][4]

Patronage

Below is the annual patronage of Midland railway line from 2010–2011 financial year. Figures are provided as total boardings, which includes all fare-paying boardings and free travel on stations within the free transit zones as well as transfers between stations. The figures for rail replacement and special events services are not included in the total.^[5]

Railway stations

During peak hours on weekdays, some stopping patterns exclude stations on this line.

Old stopping patterns

A2 Set 47 accelerates out of Success Hill en route to Midland on dual gauge track

.

• E - stops at McIver, Claisebrook, Maylands, Bayswater, Bassendean and Midland.

See also

Current information

• Transperth
• Transperth Trains
• List of Perth railway stations

Historical information

• Midland Railway of Western Australia

References

Further reading

• Watson, Lindsay The Railway History Of Midland Junction : Commemorating The Centenary Of Midland Junction, 1895-1995 Swan View, W.A : L & S Drafting in association with the Shire of Swan and the Western Australian Light Railway Preservation Association, 1995