as someone who lives in perth and has never really put too much thought into the public transport, this was very entertaining and educational to watch. Thank you.
How's the pronunciation of the place names . Lol . Joon da lup . Kwinana sounds like banana and the kw is said like qu in queen . The new line is open to the airport already and the next station is on its way soon it will be completed all the way to Ellenbrook. The butler line will be extended really soon . Still need the Australind to get to Bunbury on the train , where you will share the tracks with freight trains through the beautiful south west .
Couple of things you might be interested to know: The Mandurah line replaced a pseudo-BRT system between Canning Bridge and the Elizabeth Quay Busport (previously known as Esplanade) there's still some evidence of it in the form of dedicated bus entry/exits to the Kwinana freeway near both ends. Both Warwick and Whitfords (on the Joondalup line) have the bus concourse directly above the platforms while Kelmscott (on Armadale line) actually has them at grade in the middle of the two platforms. Prior to the Perth City Link project (sinking the Freo line west of Perth station) being completed the through running was actually Fremantle - Armadale with Midland terminating. The freight corridor for the Thornlie - Cockburn link was deliberately kept wider to accommodate the passenger rail expansion. You mentioned capacity issues on the Midland line, hopefully the signal upgrade assists with this because at the moment there won't be capacity between Bayswater and Perth (mostly on the Claisebrook - Perth segment) resulting in some services having to terminate at Bayswater (Ellenbrook line when it gets built) even currently when there's an event on at Optus stadium they have to close Claisebrook and McIver stations to be able to run the extra services. Unfortunately quad tracking this corridor wasn't thought of and so it's going to be difficult to do. Apparently the ultimate plan with the Forrestfield-Airport link is to run it further south and then loop it back into the Armadale line so that'll be interesting to see!
THe Kelmscott layout is something I have legitimately never seen before, that's really cool. By the way: If Quad-Tracking isn't possible here. Perhaps this is a rare case where Triple-tracking might be possible and beneficial, given the demand peaks are largely in a single direction at any given time due to either events or peak hours, although that comes with obvious operational downsides that RMTransit has talked about all too often already.
They just closed the caledonian ave level crossing in Maylands and are beginning to lift up the Bayswater subway to make way for grade separations. They're repeating what they did to the Denny Avenue crossing removal across the entirety of the Armadale line and will do the same for the Midland line, helping to speed up trains and reduce time waiting at the lights. Fun Fact! did you know that the boomgates next to Beckenham station close for something in the realm of 4 hours a day?
@@AutoGamerZ_ Haha, i really do enjoy K-Town station, being my local traino. We do do triple-tracking, kinda. There's returns at Cockburn central and now Claremont stations.
I thought Metronet said that the you could have a one seat ride from Ellenbrook to Perth. Not sure how that'll be achieved without quad track, maybe reduce the frequency of the Midland line, coupled with the signalling improvements
The freo - Armadale line through running is misleading, It did do so on certain occasions, but it has always been fremantle to midland, since the 1800s when the lines opened. Prior to 2004's opening of the clarkson and thornlie stations, the joondalup line stopped at current day Platform 5 and Armadale stopped at platform 6.
One of the best parts about the renaissance of Perth's rail network is that it indirectly led to a similar revival in Auckland See, those diesel trains shown briefly at 6:14 were only 5-20 years old when made redundant by the electrification of Perths rail network, and thus were made available on the second hand market. At the same time in the early 90s Auckland's rail network was going through a lot of the same problems that Perth's had been before its turnaround: underinvesment, aeging equipment (the coaches were from the 1930's) falling ridership, and talks of complete closure. Foruntately, the relevant government's instead scooped up the secondhand trains at basement prices from Perth in 1992 and 1993. Ridership finally started to increase after decades of decline. This began a gradual revival of Auckland's rail network: In 1995, the old post office in downtown Auckland was purchased by the government for reopening as a transit hub: this eventually came to pass in 2003 as Britomart (now Waitemata), allowing trains to actually run into Auckland CBD, and coincided with a general increase in service. At the same time, secondhand British Mk2s converted to narrow gauge used as push pull sets were used to increase capacity. In the early 2010s, service was expanded with the new service Helensville in 2008 (ultiamtely axed), Onehunga Branch reponening in 2010 and the Manukau staiton opening 2012. This all coincided with a government intiative to *FINALLY* electrify the Auckland Rail system (which almost happened- twice in the 1950s and 1970s, only for the National Party to say no), completed in 2015. The wires are now also set to expand down the rest of the Southern Line next year, thus making the system 100% electric. Then in 2021, the Te Huia train began, finally giving Auckland a regional train connection to Hamilton in the same way Wellington has the Capital Connection and the Wairarpara Connection. The service has expanded to have 2-3 trips everyday (except sundays), so starting to feel more a regional train than commuter train. Hopefully, the new government doesn't can the service this June. (Kinda wish they would run the service with a diesel and and an electric locomotive to allow the service to run into Britomart; would probably attract more people than running it to Strand) And of course we have CityRail Link, (which also almost happened in the 1970s), which will really turn Auckland's Rail into an S-Bahn. Now if only we could connect Auckland Rail to the airport. I love being an American who did all this research on NZ transport history, lol. Anyway, great video.
Got Randomly recommended this. and why not, it's my hometown, after all! Best Metropolitan transit network on the damn planet, IMO. you should see the *BUS* Network!!
One thing that was done fairly well (with one glaring mistake) was the introduction of Smartrider, our electronic ticketing system. Having a consistent payment structure over all public transport and reconciling payments etc instead of realtime account debit makes the process very quick compared to most others I've used (looking at you Melbourne).
@@shaminoranger8588 they put the data on the security block instead of the transport block. Standard rfid chips have 9 data 'blocks', they're each allocated a purpose (only by convention not by any enforcement per-se) It means that companies that use rfid swipe cards can't incorporate a Smartrider into their cards like schools and unis have. (There's an education block which educational institutions use.) Well, they can but all the current security systems use the security block and AFAIK it would take a significant rebuild to switch them. Transperth decided to use the security block because it sounded more secure to someone. It's not that big of a deal, just mildly annoying that I have to have a separate card for work and pubtrans.
Tbh i'd love it if the Transperth App allowed you to use your Phone's NFC to make payments akin to how you can pay with credit card on Opal in Sydney. I'm sure you could easily facilitate it, getting Smartrider cards and phone apps to sync would be the hardest part tbh.
@@rtmpgt The hard part is the NFC readers. They're not the same type as used for bank/credit or phone NFC. Every single reader on every single bus and station needs to be updated along with the back end software. Using an app-nfc though would make things easier than charging cards directly. There will be no need to process the payment before tagging on. Which is the major issue with Myki.
Lived in Canning Vale in 2007 after living in London, used to take the Madurah Line from Murdoch to the CBD for work, it was a decent railway back then, although everyone I knew drove so had never used it, understandable as there's huuuuge gaps between the lines that would just be a pain for every day life, even with buses. Mandurah line was sweet though as you got this sick view of Swan River either side of you before you got into town (having lived in London, I have to call Perth a town instead of a city )
Been waiting for this video for a while so very nice to see! Takes on our system by locals and transit minded people tend to be very pessimistic so it's refreshing to hear this these takes. But there are some huge drawbacks which are a huge killer but if someone in government were to spend time on it at any point in the future it would be easy to fix. And it's that the stations on the newer lines are so far spaced they basically serve slivers of dormitory suburbs on either side of the freeways, and the freeways themselves are dead zones. That makes it not usable for the overwhelming majority of people along the lines, even paired with bus use. The new extensions to Ellenbrook and Cockburn are even worse. The other problem is ballooning costs. In the 2000s that Mandurah line, tunnels, bridges, bus transfer station-bridges, modifications to the freeway and all cost less than a billion dollars. The Thornlie Cockburn link costs just as much for two stations along an existing, already graded rail corridor with existing tunnels. Infrastructure needed for the link was built as part of the Mandurah project with foresight and it was still cheaper. New stations on the new lines are transit fortresses that don't age nicely and don't really provide much more shelter. They feel unsafer too with less natural surveillance and need more active security. The old lines are better to use with stations that are just a bit of paving with a tin roof. All that extra money could build denser stops, and even multiplatform stations to allow express services since adding more stations on such long lines would impact existing commuters.
As someone who has lived much of his life in Perth (born in UK, raised here, lived in Melbourne for a time, then moved back) I have to say a big thank you for this video. I am vision impaired and have a strong interest in public transport and urban planning. For years I was unimpressed with this city's public transport network and especially its railway but I have watched it grow and develop as my family lives in the south-central suburbs which relieds heavily on the Mandurah line (which like the Joon-dahl-up line is a metro, suburban railway and regional railway all rolled into one) and will be soon connected to the Thronlie-Cockburn line. The city has unique problems in that its population density is the third lowest while its distribution is officially the world's largest. However incremental bus service changes over the years have seen gradual improvements in connecting all these distant suburbs. I now live between Bull Creek and Fremantle stations which is an interesting case study because I rarely utilise Bull Creek station. In fact I actively avoid it during outbound journeys because of having to cross the truck-intensive Leach Highway. For city bound journeys I tend to catch the 160 bus because a stop for which is just 100m away and there is no need to connect between bus and train. I'm of the belief that when the Thornlie-Cockburn link is opened the 160 bus should be re-routed down the North Lake Road to Cockburn station while a new route is reimagined so it assumes the section of the 160 that commences once the bus enters Archibald St. The system is far from perfect and more needs to be done to encourage people to abandon their cars. Perth remains a city bound by the automobile in spite of its good public transport system and there are definite PT dead zones including where my family is situated. The future Fremantle extension of the Thornlie-Cockburn link was quietly shelved by the current government which is a shame as Fremantle is in need of a little TLC. Bus links leading south from Freo also leave a lot ot be desired while light rail between Murdoch and Fremantle has been mooted forever but looks to become a new Hobart light rail... We'd love to have you here! I'd recommend living somewhere along South Street or Ranford Road because of its metro-like bus network but beware! Anywhere beyond that might require 2km+ of walking in oppressive heat or pouring rain-there's no in between here! Finally some of the old DMUs were sold to Auckland before its railway network was recently electrified.
Completely didn't expect to see a video about Perth! I actually think the system could have way more stations along the Joondalup and Mandurah lines considering the density of houses along the highways.
More stations means trains can't get up to the speeds they do now, before they have to slow down again. I assume that's why we ditched Lathlain, which, ironically, is now full of high density living.
@@philthy903 We ditched Lathlain when the Eagles came along and killed the WAFL. Lathlain Station was predominantrly there to service the WAFL home games for Perth at Lathlain Park which often had 10-15k people attend before the early 80's.
It has been nearly 2 years since this video was uploaded, time flies by! It was fun to watch this video as someone from Perth. 😄 The whole METRONET project is awesome to have! It's all within the WA Government's focus to get more people using public transport given they have a really bad city sprawl problem to deal with. Anyway, quite a bit of developments have happened since you published this video.. Notably the Airport Line is now fully operational, currently** serviced by 3-car B sets, and runs underground past Bayswater Station with the trains able to speed up to 130km/h. Pretty quick for underground rail, heh. Also, the big advantage our Airport Line has over Sydney/Brisbane's is that ours has remained in public ownership, thus it's fully operated by our Public Transport Authority (PTA) with the bonus of keeping fares at an extremely cheap ~A$5. ** The new Bayswater & Airport stations were designed to accommodate for 6-car sets, however, most old stations still only accommodate for 4-car sets so they cannot run 6-car sets just yet. There is quite a bit to say to be honest, especially for a TH-cam comment... But I figured I'd mention we've made good developments since nearly 2 years ago. 😅
Amazing video, interesting, educational, and has a great pacing. Really well put-together comparison with the cities in Canada too. I'm a Perth local and I never really fully apreciated the scope of our rail network until now. One thing that I'd like to add is how well thought out the rail system is. They could've built the rail to run closer to the beach to serve the wealthier areas better, but they didn't. They knew that it would be working class people, students, and everyone inbetween that would be using the rail the most, and they planned accordingly for it. The best part is that with the bus terminal links, it's very hassle free and equitable for commuters to get to the train station, whichever side of the tracks they come from (in this case, I use that term literally and metaphorically). It's these future-focussed plans that are now paying off and contributing towards high commuter participation. A testament to it's design. Thanks for the video!
As a Perth local, the main issue with these train lines is they are very very loud, coming into Perth underground the screeching noise is so loud it triggers my Apple Watch to said dangerous noise levels. People waiting for the trains block their ears in anticipation of a trains arrival.
just a little thing, joondalup is pronounced june-dah-lup and also when the mandurah line was completed elizabeth quay was actually named esplanade train station and esplanade bus station before transitioning to elizabeth quay in 2016
it's pretty awesome here and most people aren't even aware how beautiful it is. The only thing Perth transport lacks post-metronet, is interconnecting lines. I live up the end of Armadale line, to goto Cockburn by car takes ~20 minutes. To goto Cockburn via transport is 1h 10m, I can take the bus from Gosnells, or ride all the way into the City and out the Cock-burn line, it takes about the same time.
It's so interesting because a lot of people complain about the public transport system in Perth, but I think its pretty good in comparison to other cities. Although, the bus network needs a bit of improvement. But that's for another day!
Joondalup is pronounced JUNE-da-lup, but apart from that, a great video. It is worth noting that public transit in Perth is extremely well done. When I went there in 2001, it was easy to navigate, and both the trains and buses all connected very well with each other with minimal waiting time. The rest of Australia can learn from Perth.
Very cool and interesting video. I live in Perth and I learnt a bit about the railway system that I didn’t even know about from this video. I just want to point out one thing though. The pronunciation of Joondalup. We say it like: Joon da lup.
Next year in early June and late July and mid august and im be getting baldivis 568 to warnbro stn to perth underground stn and midland line train to East Perth station
The cost of the Perth airport line will just be a regular 2 zone fare, about $4.50. Compared to the Brisbane and Sydney airport lines that cost $18-20+
Hello from Perth! I found this video really interesting, so great job! - yes, definitely agree about overcrowding in the future. Metronet part 2 would entail filling in the circle that you described. I think it's actually a pertinent issue, because Perth is only going to grow. We're a small city right now, but could be quite large in the future, with Andrew Forest's green hydro plan. Also if I recall correctly we supply the vast majority of Tesla's lithium. In fact, by 2035, Perth is estimated to be bigger population- and economy-wise than Brisbane. So it's really important to ask ourselves: what's Perth going to look like in 20-50 years, and how should we plan for that? -the main reason I'm really proud of Transperth isn't the size of the rail network, or the somehiw-clean carpet (YMMV, I frequent the Mandurah/Joondalup and occasionally the Fremantle lines), but because of the reliability. There's a poster up in some of the trains that frequently gets replaced, called "how we're tracking: April-May 22" for example. And the thing that strikes me is that the percentage of on-time trains is consistently above 95%. We manage to maintain 4 minutes between trains at peak. So that's really outstanding for any city, let alone a city the size of Perth. -finally, a question: even though I've lived in Perth for most of my life, and my local line is the Mandurah line, I'm really confused about how they're building the Thornlie-Cockburn link. Because they didn't build any new platforms. So I'm interested, how will it work exactly?
At Cockburn Central Station, there is an extension to the existing Platform 1 at the northern end, thereby creating an additional platform which I assume will be known in the future as Platform 3, with boarding on the eastern side of the new platform. This platform will not allow through running, i.e. will be a terminus platform as it will likely receive services coming through the Glen Iris tunnel, terminating at Cockburn Central, and returning through the tunnel. I also assume through running services between the Mandurah and Thornlie-Cockburn lines will be achieved by utilising the existing platforms. Platform 1 will receive services from Mandurah heading to either Perth or deviating through the Glen Iris tunnel along the Thornlie-Cockburn line and Platform 2 will function the same but in reverse. The section between Cockburn Central Station and the Glen Iris tunnel will be quad-track which means switches can be installed to allow trains to switch between the Mandurah line and the Thornlie-Cockburn line. Fun Fact: When planning for the construction of the Mandurah line, original plans had services running from Perth along the Armadale line before branching off at the Thornlie spur and entering the Kwinana Fwy median through the Glen Iris tunnel. This is why both the Thornlie spur and the Glen Iris tunnel were originally constructed.
Joon da lup. Thing with austraa'ia a lot of place names are aboriginal in origin. You are right, theoretically you could've maybe had faster trains but as someone who lives in perth and has used trains quite a bit going up and down from the CBD going south, by the time the train hits top speed its already slowing down to get into the next station. It wouldn't really make a difference. the lengthiest bit of track is between Wellard and Mandurah.. that's about 15 minutes.
Perth is looking at trialing Trackless Trams for the Glendalough to Scarborough Beach Rd route. New technology. It would be interesting to have some information on that. Something Prof Newman is enthusiastic about. The Govt tried to get trams up and running about 10 years ago between UWA and Curtin through the City and up Alexander Dr north, but couldn't get that first metre of track laid before the project was delayed indefinitely. It now looks like trackless trams may be the future. Do you have a view on this?
Trackless trams = fancy electric buses. Honestly, you may as well just build a light rail. Better yet, just electrify/hybridise existing buses as Stirling and Glendalough already serve buses in the area. Trackless Trams are quite literally the definition of a Gadgetbahn.
We will be cruising to Perth in late December, and will layover in the city for about 4 days, waiting for our uber train to Sydney. I have no idea of where we will be going during those 4 days, but it's nice to know that we can get there on a very modern train network.
Make sure you get down to Fremantle, and especially make time for a visit to the Fremantle Maritime Museum - my all time favourite. Perth Zoo is also fantastic.
I'm not sure why 2 million is seen as a low number for a city to have this level of service. I guess compared to North America it would be, but there are regions under a million with regional rail networks such as Wellington, New Zealand. Not as big obviously, but it services a region of only half a million people so 2 million doesn't seem low at all
Also a little bit of trivia: for a long time Adelaide used to be bigger than Perth, but with its rapidly surging population Perth overtook Adelaide a few decades ago. But you're right - 1.5m isn't exactly a small city being only 0.5m less than Perth. I remember Perth when it was around 1.5m and even then it didn't feel *that* small compared to Melbourne (roughly 4.5m at the time)
@@zerobi9468 Perth is about 2.2 million atm and closing in on Brisbane which is about 2.5 million. Brisbane might lose its position as 3rd largest city soon.
A 50 year masterplan for Perth's expansion was drawn up after WW2. This is why the freeways (or expressways as you call them) are so dominant. Fortunately, they stuck to the masterplan despite changes in government and retained the median for rail and stations. This is also why the city seems a bit lost as (AFAIK) there hasn't been another masterplan drawn up. I remember taking the bus from south of the river to uni and back before they built the Mandurah line. Those people complaining about train stations in a freeway median should try catching the (unairconditioned) one-bus-an-hour in 40°C (104°F) heat to get to your McJob in time.
Hi Reece. I'm not familiar with your channel, but this video was posted on the Perth subreddit. We all enjoyed your attempt to pronounce Joondalup. We say 'Joon-duh-lup', with all syllables around the same length. Thanks for covering our city, and we'd love to have you if you do plan to visit or stay! There were originally plans to sink the main rail line, but that hasn't come to full fruition yet. They are removing several level crossings through the city though. Bayswater Station is currently under renovations. There's a bridge by the station that is infamous for having trucks disregard the low headroom sign and run into it, but it's being removed and replaced with a better bridge. The bridge is a local meme with a running count online of 'days since incident', which sadly will disappear after the renovations are completed.
It was interesting to hear someone comment on our little corner of the globe. I never really thought much about transperths rail network apart from griping lol.
So a fun fact is when Perth electrified their rail network, Auckland bought their old rolling stock and that was what we used until a majority of our network was electrified 10 or so years ago. We still use a few of the diesel rolling stock for a section of the network that is still yet to be electrified. I think the two cities also use the same rail gauge, thus the use of their old trains.
Yes the ADL trains from Perth are used between Pukekohe and Papakura in Auckland. They are about to be retired this year when passenger train services are suspended for two years to allow electrification of the line. So a big thanks to Perth, the electrification of their passenger rail network enable Auckland to save its rail network. Auckland purchase Perth DMU at metal scraping rates, which enable Auckland in the 1990's, to replace its 1930's carriages which were locomotive hauled with DMU from the 1960's (ADK) and 1970's (ADL). The ADK are now used as carriages in Mozambique.
Queenslandand Perth share similar stock (the A and B class look quite similar to the IMU and SMU stock in Queensland) and both use 25kV. AC and 1067mm cape gauge.
I'm from Perth and grew up using (and hating) Perth's public transport. But I now truly appreciate it and think it's pretty good for a city given its circumstances. Perth is a notoriously low density and sprawling city, where car ownership reigns supreme - quite the opposite of New York or London or any other city lauded for its public transport. Yes driving to most places isn't for everyone...but using it for your regular commute (most people's most commune route) is just fine once you've worked it out. Trains on the Joondalup and Mandurah line feel luxurious - so spacious, clean and frequent. Probably the best I've travelled out (outside the mega-dense cities in Asia like Tokyo and Singapore). I look forward to the future growth and improvements to the rail network!
perth has 1/2 the population of seattle, yet your public transit is superior. Here, we are apparently trying to cover the type of distance your railway covers using LOW FLOOR TRAMS. (search sound transit 3)
He's doing my hometown! Woo! I think a lot of Aussies probably don't realise that Perth has really good public transport. Perth did things very differently to the rest of the country as there was no appetite to privatise anything here, so that allows Transperth to coordinate everything and develop long plan goals. The system is also cheap to use. I believe the new airport line will travel through Perth Station and terminate in Claremont - new facilities have just been built there. I live in Subiaco so now two lines will use my station and I shouldn't have to wait for longer than 5 minutes for a train.
I was in Subiaco until very recently too, and we definitely have the best mix of train/bike paths and roads over in the western suburbs. Now my family live over near the airport and they are soooooo excited to get a bit of that back 😅 (I’m about 5 hours away from the nearest passenger train at the moment)
I disagree that it's that good. I live in the Midland area and there's no direct public transport to many of the major employment centres such as Malaga, Balcatta, Canningvale, etc which means that it's incredibly impractical to use public transport to try to commute to work to areas that are less than half an hour's drive away
Holy Crap so much has happened since this video was uploaded. since then the the following has happened. - The Airport Line opened - Bayswater Station was demolished (Along with the bayswater bridge) and the new station is under construction. - The new C-Series cars have been under going testing on the Mandurah and Joondalup lines. - The Armadale line is closed from Victoria Park station to Armadale to make way for the removal of level crossings and the new Byford station. - the Yanchep rail extension is under going testing and will be open this year. - Lakelands station opened on the Mandurah line - The Morley-Ellenbrook line will be opened later this year.
I'm still on the 'Joondalup' pronunciation. I think Perth is better than what we give her credit for, people get passionate about her flaws but we love her still.
...and as an update to this comment: - The new Bayswater Station had been completed - The first 2 C-series trains have been incorporated for public use into the Mandurah and Joondalup lines, and more will soon be coming - The Yanchep rail extension is very close to opening, being in the completion phase
Sydneysider here, just coming into say that having spent some time in Perth, they hands down have the best transit in Australia. Absolutely fantastic train service, and the bus-rail integration is spot on. In Sydney I always drive unless I'm going right into the CBD or the airport (not because the airport is well connected from the western suburbs, but because the parking is even more painful than changing at Central). In Perth, even if where you want to go isn't on the rail system, no problem - the buses are logical, easy to figure out, clean, reliable and well planned. Oh... and in the CBD.... completely free. Frikkin awesome.
Excellent video. Just one thing: Joondalup is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable ie. "JOON - da- lup." However, you did pronounce Cockburn correctly. Many place names in Western Australia end with "up", which comes from an Aboriginal word meaning 'place of," eg. Boyanup, meaning "place of rock." And yes, Perth does actually look as good as it appears in the video.
Up in western Australia on the end of a word means water if you can pronounce this indigenous word your ok it's a road that runs of the hi way in Mandurah area most people have trouble mandjoogoordap drive I think it means meeting Place to the Noongar people
@@jackbarrie6007 I used to think the same mate but I’m pretty sure up does mean place of in Noongar and mandgoorjoorap means “meeting place of the heart”.
Thanks for your excellent video. As a Melbournian, I find it ironic that Perth's rail coverage hasn't got more coverage in Australian media. And it took a Canadian to do it!
@@grahamfrizzell7975 I left Optus a few weeks back and got on a train. I think they only run them for events though. Also for the comment chain, all Australian media is pure filtered propaganda don't expect to get anything out of it other than a single narrow twisted world view lmao.
Some additional points regarding the Perth rail system: 1. the Armadale line will be extended further south to Byford to access that growing area, adding 8 kilometres of track and one station (at Byford) 2. the Midland line may be extended further east to Bellevue which would add about 2 kilometres of track and one station (at Bellevue) whilst Midland Station is being relocated about 500 metres east of its existing location 3. there has been no desire to add additional tracks to the Midland line as it is believed the new signalling system will cope with the anticipated traffic on the Perth to Bayswater section of 24 trains per hour, as well as a couple of pinch points where four tracking in any case would not be possible (so say the planners anyway) 4. one of the primary reasons for the Thornlie-Cockburn line right now is in fact to run through trains from Mandurah to Perth Stadium Station to encourage people to take the train to events at Perth Stadium rather than cars (a new platform is being built at Perth Stadium Station to accommodate these trains) 5. there is a potential to extend the electrified system from Thornlie Station to High Wycombe Station (terminus of the Airport Line) along the existing freight corridor to make direct trains from Mandurah and Armadale/Byford to Perth Airport as High Wycombe Station has been built to make such an extension feasible with minimal work. There is a short chord at Kenwick Station already extant that connects the Armadale Line to the existing freight line 6. Should it become necessary in the future, the Thornlie-Cockburn link could be easily extended along existing freight corridors to Fremantle Station. Part of that line south of Fremantle Station previously saw passenger trains during the America's Cup in 1987 7. whilst no active provision has been made for it (rather short sightedly) there is a future possibility of a direct connection between the Ellenbrook Line and the Airport Line to enable direct trains from Ellenbrook to the Airport and southwards towards Cockburn Central and Mandurah, but that would be many years in the future. 8. operationally trains from the Airport Line will generally run through to Claremont on the Fremantle line to minimise terminating trains at Perth Station. Presumably a similar situation will operate when the Ellenbrook Line opens 9. the Armadale/Thornlie line will close for 18 months from early 2023 to enable the section between Carlisle Station and Beckenham Station to be elevated (a la Skyrail in Melbourne) to enable elimination of 6 level crossings. Welshpool Station will permanently close as a result of this due to low patronage
A friend of mine is a Project Manager on the level crossing removal project. He tells me that presently the crossings can be closed for up to 35 minutes per hour.
@@werdnanostaw Yes I regularly drive over the train tracks near Oats St station and on weekdays the boom gates seem to be down for about half the time. It's already causing significant inconvenience and the line needs to be elevated in that section to accommodate both general rail growth and the additional need for capacity with the Thornlie-Cockburn extension. The Moore St crossing in East Perth was closed a few years ago because there was too much train traffic. I worked close to it about 10 years ago and remember people bypassing the gates as they had been waiting 15 minutes with the gates closed. Once level crossings approach being closed 50% of the time they need to be removed and different options considered.
I really enjoyed seeing this video about the quality rail network of my home city. I'm a transport consultant myself and often feel people in Perth don't recognise how high quality our public transport network is. For a city that was literally planned around the car in the 1950s and has massive sprawl issues, the way they've retrofitted such a high quality rail network into a car-oriented city is quite impressive and should be a model for other car based cities. Something else you might find interesting is that every railway line also has a cycle path going alongside it, with major stations having large secure bike cages that require an ID'd Smartrider to access. Combined with a very high quality cycle path network (Perth is a very bike friendly city), this offers a lot of excellent last mile solutions. It is literally faster for me to cycle to my nearest station on the Mandurah line than to drive or catch a bus.
There is a significant downside to this too, the universal policy of closing level crossings which is cutting off communities on either side of the tracks,. See the closure of Caledonian ave in Maylands as a prime example.
Now all the state government needs to do is clear out the intoxicated loitering a troublesome natives from the Perth Central rail station. Not a nice look for the city as train passengers traveling to the city have to avoid these annoying and pesky trouble makers.
I'm one of those who didn't appreciate what we had. Then on Quora reading the posts from people living in other cities around the world I started to get a glimmer. Many American cities on the other hand don't sound that great.
The Perth suburban rail system is world class now, a long ways from what I remember in 1969 with the old diesel railcars. The 1979-1983 Fremantle line closure was a low point. I revisited Perth in 2009 and was really impressed with the expanded and modernized suburban rail system.
Blown away ! Learned more about my local rail transit network from a Canadian than from having lived here for 60 years ! Great channel, great video. The rail upgrades for the new Perth stadium now allow up to 22 trains to be stacked to enable movement of about 28,500 per hour to or from the venue. A magnificent visual site when it is operating at full capacity during stadium events.
For a rather small and somewhat sprawling city I've always felt that Perth is a city that does transit right. The rail network is impressively modern and is definitely among the best in the entire country. The service is fast and frequent with trains on all lines running at least every 15 minutes during the day and with speeds up to 130kph on the Joondalup and Manurah lines; journey times are relatively small. The trains themselves are clean and well maintained with rubbish and graffiti being a rare sight (although I wish the trains had more comfortable seats). The larger stations too are very well designed with plenty of amenities; shelter and very easy interchange with bus services. It's the little things too that make Perth's rail system great, for instance at many stations the platform sits level with the trains meaning passengers with wheelchairs can simply board the train unassisted with minimal gap between the train and the platform. Perhaps what makes the public transport network a success is that it feels like a truly integrated and connected transport network; with train and bus services working together to maximize public transport coverage. Building a rail line on a freeway reserve isn't good for walkability with trains stations having small walk-up catchment, but despite this the Joonadlup and Manurah lines attract good patronage partly by having effective feeder buses that transfer passengers on and off the rail network. Even in the outer suburbs it's not uncommon to have buses running every 20 minutes, 15 minutes, or in some cases; every 10 minutes during peak times. This is perhaps in contrast to some North American cities that build new rail lines and simply rely on park & ride to get passengers onto trains. It's amazing to think that despite Perth having a smaller population than Brisbane and it's rail network being around half the size; Perth's rail network consistently gets more patronage than Brisbane's rail network, which shows you what a rail network with good frequencies and good integration with other modes can achieve.
Well said. Furthermore, Perth's train network is more efficiently operated than Brisbane's network too due to one-man operation, and is also safer as it was the first Australian network to fully adopt Automatic Train Protection.
Interesting you mention the comfort factor of the seats. Many hours of deliberation went into the design of the fabric for those seats, given the public propensity to vandalise everything they touch. I was heavily involved in the designing stage, and spent hours sifting thru material until we settled on a certain one. This material was supposed to have steel weaved thru it to prevent vandalism. Sadly, they didn't cut the mustard, within 4 weeks of the services opening, the seats were vandalised by knife attack. For my money, I suggested seats be replace with stainless steel perforated back and seat. Nothing to damage. But was rejected.
@@JackAllpikeMusic That's nothing compared to the state of trains in certain other capital cities in this country. Besides, feral passengers aren't the operator's fault. The trains start the day squeaky clean and the cleaners do a great job. If trains were cleaned after each and every trip, you'd see significant delays across the network.
@@PoweredByCNG I know, I get that. I wasn't blaming the operators or anything - but due to the uhh clientele of the Midland line, it's usually pretty mangy.
My Dad drives trains for Transperth! It's a good system, at one point I was catching the train and bus to high school. Though when I lived in Ellenbrook the rail line was an election promise many times and never happen. It became a bit of a joke. But the developer does deserve some credit as they designed the suburb with a rail corridor. Which is pretty rare forethought haha Perth definitely needs a ring line, ideally from the Joondalup line through Ellenbrook, to Midland and then as you suggested southward. (Also I'm sorry but that's not how you pronounce Joondalup. But that's ok 😅) It may have been mentioned before but in the last decade or so they've also developed an extensive bike network that also integrates with the train stations. Though I haven't visited in a few years so I haven't had a chance to try any of these things.
@@rtmpgt I don't know, actually. From the sound of it there was a bunch of trainees hired at the same time. It was a couple of months full time training if I recall.
Yup! The Ellenbrook line was an election prophecy for some years lol, but yeah as a Ellenbrookian, I personally think that the bus network is also something great, I haven't yet lived in a suburb where you absolutely have to get a car here
@@Lucifer-oh6ve what's wrong with this video? I think it's a good crash course (though I would've liked more detail in stone sections personally), the only glaring issue was the pronunciation of Joondalup
Reece - Good video. Some history/background: * Thornlie wasn't part of the original 3 lines. It is a result of the previous plan to route Mandurah trains via there. Fortunately that didn't happen with the more direct freeway alignment chosen instead. But Thornlie got built as a stub. The benefit is wider than that though as it allows the longer distance Armadale trains to run express, improving journey times. * Agree on comments re capacity. A disadvantage of the airport line is that peak trains on related lines will only be every 12 (not every 10 min). This has a major knock on effect to the bus network. Currently peak buses are every 10 min (main routes) with even local routes every 20 min. However 12 min train frequency will cause many bus routes to be only every 24 min in peak - a poorer service that's not clockface or memory. This is documented in the released plans for the airport area bus network. The trade-off is that stations like Bayswater will have amazing service. * Perth has integrated train/bus multimodal fares. Therefore whether CBD transport is free or not doesn't affect train usage or cost for commuters. Perth was one of the first Aust cities to do integrated fares (in the 1970s along with Adelaide). * There have been a few interesting schemes. Eg the promises for MAX Light Rail that came to nothing about 10 years ago by the Barnett government. * Perth doesn't get enough credit for its train frequency. With its 15 min off-peak 7 day service it is more consistently better than any Australian city apart from Sydney. Very roughly Perth has double Brisbane's train frequency on half the number of lines and half the stations. Yet its rail patronage exceeds Brisbane's. Perth has done a lot with a little due to working its trains hard 7 days and better integrating with buses. Neither are done by lazy and disjointed Brisbane. It's slow but Perth has gradually extended its 15 min service over more of the day including Sunday morning and early evenings (at times where a 30 min frequency is common in all other Australian cities outside Sydney). * Perth also needs credit for its bus network reform. There's still some complex routes and 120 min weekend headways but it's vastly better than in the '90s. There is a frequent orbital route. 900-series routes have tram-like operating hours and frequencies including 15 min maximum waits on Sundays. Government hasn't put a lot of money into increased bus services in recent years but the bus planners there know what they are doing and have been able to increase the number of all day frequent routes. The network is far less radial than the less versatile networks of Adelaide and Brisbane. Rail and bus are planned very closely there, unlike other cities (notably Brisbane) where there isn't much coordination. This has enabled buses to feed rather than duplicate trains with higher frequencies possible in the suburbs. * Passenger information is also quite good. Perth often has multimode network maps at stations. Something that cities like Melbourne could learn from. * There is a feeling there that there's a competent transit authority when travelling the network. You don't get that feeling in some other cities. To summarise Perth has better transit than you might expect from its urban form. Whereas there some other cities (especially with older urban patterns) that are better than their transit.
Your last comment is so true honestly. I've travelled all over Perth on buses and trains (not just into the town centres, but also to random roads/streets for shopping and FB Marketplace pickups) and never felt stranded or lost.
Perth's 900-series frequent bus network is good - but the definition of "frequent" and the application of that definition is inconsistent. The 955 to Ellenbrook is one example, with service falling off the proverbial cliff after 2010hrs on a weeknight out of Morley. The other 900s finish around midnight (generally). Compare this to Brisbane's frequent "BUZ" routes (a bus every 15mins, from approx. 0500-2400, 7 days a week), their Nightlink services (Fri/Sat only), or even little Adelaide with it's hourly after-midnight service across Sat/Sun, and you can't help but feel Perth is a bit short-changed. The sad part is, there are swanky reports and presentations about how gobsmacked everyone was when the 950's demonstrated that the strongest gains in patronage are to be found in between the peaks, at night and on weekends... Yet night service is still an issue on the 900s and even the more popular feeders, especially on weekends. It's the public transport equivalent of denying the health dangers of obesity. That said, the ongoing pattern of service review and reform since services were contracted out in 1996 has been nothing short of exceptional; plenty of other Australian cities could take heed of this system and reap similar benefits. The only trouble is, there's not a lot left to reform on the network, and thus not many more opportunities to rob Peter to pay Paul to fund service improvements as they've usually done. The pace of service improvements has therefore slowed, given the buses seem to be in a funding drought while the Government goes and pours money into the outer suburbs...
@@misterrocks3035 Agree. Despite its 900-series route number I think the 955/956 predates most of the expansion of the 900 routes and refinement of that concept. Weekends particularly poorly served even though it could have been set up as the Ellenbrook 'train' before it was built. Oddly the 98/99 got changed to 900-series route numbers even though it doesn't quite have the span and consistent weekend frequency to match. BUZ routes are better but seem to have a lot of overlap and middle of nowhere termini related to the BCC boundaries. A bit like Perth's old 940's weak terminus. And very strongly radial so overall less useful especially when combined with low train frequencies. Agree Perth is by far the worst served city with night services. It's tried various things but doesn't seem to have got usage satisfactorily high. Melbourne's made great strides and as you say that even Adelaide's better. But Adelaide's Go Zone corridors are mostly only every 30 min on weekends whereas Perth has a lot more 7 day 15 min corridors. If I had to choose I'd go with what Perth has done. As regards service reform, Labor in WA seems to have copied Labor in Victoria, including a focus on infrastructure, not service. NSW has funded both more equitably. Perth still has some parts of bus networks that could do with reform, eg a large area south of Cockburn, the south-east around Gosnells and the north-east around Morley/Noranda. Latter still has lots of dead end routes. Luckily Belmont / Kalamunda's getting reformed when airport rail starts and Morley/Noranda should be sorted when Ellenbrook rail commences. I notice Route 980 hasn't been allocated - I'm assuming they're keeping that for Wanneroo Rd, but that's quite complicated and could get pushback given the number of routes in that corridor terminating at various places. What might be neatest from a network point of view (eg a terminus at Warwick) might not be the best from a patronage point of view (guessing that this would be highest if it was towards Mirrabooka and north due to local demographics). Victoria is slowly turning around, appreciating service a bit more. Hopefully Perth will follow with some more 900 routes across the north, outer south-east. Also some faster options for the neglected north inland from Wanneroo Rd and south of Fremantle distant from fast rail. Failing that, if they're willing to permit more changing, there may be a scope to run one of the Belmont routes across to East Vic Park and then to South Perth rather than going into the city, providing a missing east-west link (even if it's only every 20 min peak/30 interpeak). And similar across the inner north from the Joondalup to the Midland line.
The off peak frequencies Perth trains have are impressive and yes far better than most other capital cities. This is what helps make PT appealing to people. Perth seems to have quietly gone about expanding and improving its train system. It punches above it's weight with speed and efficiency. It even had the first cashless card system with SmartRider, long before Melbourne/Sydney or Brisbane came on board with their own.
@@RMTransit Finally got around to watching this video, and you mentioned the possibilities of a rail loop in the future. 8:25 I'm surprised you didn't mention that there were already plans of this by the current Labor government (Metronet stage 2), released in the 2016 election campaign. Under that, there'd be two rail loops, linking Cockburn to Fremantle, Thornlie to Perth Airport, and Bayswater to Balcatta via a northern corridor, possibly along Reid Highway.
Hey Reece, I think it'd be cool to do a video ranking the rapid transit systems of Australia similalr to the videos you've done with America and Canada since their are actually a similar amount of sytems to Canada, it'd be interesting to hear your rankings and the pros of cons of each system (In your eyes).
@@RMTransit I have bone to pick. You made statement regards the gauge of track, suggesting that 4.8' standard gauge would allow faster speeds. problem with that is NSW has 4.8' on their system, yet when I visited over there, their trains ran bloody SLOW. Like you, I expected them to be faster, very disappointed to see how slow they really were. I was told the slow speeds were due to the very poor track conditions, couldn't buy that though, because some sections were in good shape. Maybe next time you come here, you need to try a trip to Kalgoorlie on the Prospector, whole different ball game.
I'm from Sydney but spent about 3 months living in Perth for work in the early 2000s. I used the free Cats (metro busses) when traveling around the CBD and trains when traveling to and from the suburbs. I get this was some time ago and only for a relatively short time. But I do remember thinking the public transport felt more reliable than Sydney's. Of course it was servicing a much smaller population in a much smaller geographical area. But I got by without a car living in West Perth (inner city) and Cannington (the burbs). For what it's worth, I'm not downplaying Sydney's public transport. Our rail network is incredibly complex which is the result of it being much older and servicing a huge population. Sometimes I'm amazed at how well it does given the circumstances. But if you're in the suburbs of Sydney, your millage will vary. If your suburb has a train station and you're mainly traveling to the CBD or other large population area then you'll love our public transport. Otherwise, you'll probably need a car.
I was born and raised in WA, but I lived in Adelaide for 2 years (1995-1997). I gotta say I did love it, part of it's charm though is that it's not big and full of itself, it's got that old school charm. I'm heading back in a couple of weeks for a friends birthday, looking forward to catching up with my old Glenelg crew.
Seeing a structural analysis of Perth's public transport system from an international perspective definitely helps me appreciate what I have more! Perth people always complain about the public transport, possibly because lots of people here are from/have holidayed in Asia or England, and have Singapore and London to compare to. There's definitely unreliability as to bus punctuality and many suburbs aren't connected super well, but I suppose bus routes are all decided based on demand and patronage. But as for the suburban train system, it definitely helps to see from a third party view about how well designed it is! Also -it throws me a bit when you say regional rail to refer to transit within a city, because here regional rail is out to the regions/regional towns, as opposed to between suburbs within a big city. What do you call train systems servicing regional/rural towns? Also: Joondalup is pronounced JOON-duh-LUP, same intonation as kangaroo
I have a new appreciation too! It definitely reframes a lot of complaints I've had. Though my complaints also stem from the buses usually. I live in the free transit zone in the city, my closest stop literally has 2 different cats buses run along it, and I still have to wait over 10 minutes for a bus
People forget that we have low density everywhere, even sydney and Melbourne is very low dense. Not many countries have cities of over 5 million (let alone 2 mill) that is mostly just low dense housing. Thankgod for the Australian dream aye haha. So PT is never gonna be on the scale as Europe or Asia. However if we compare it to other countries that are also very Low dense (US and Canada) we are far superior in that competition
As someone who spent most of my life in the United States, the public transit in Perth is something out of a dream for me. I hardly use my car at all. I only drive to go on a surf trip to Margaret river here and there.
Looking at urban rail across various Australian cities, it’s interesting that dedicated underground/metro lines only appeared recently and that regional trains (thinking Sydney) operate underground and almost metro like, reducing the need for transfers to other transport modes into the downtown core. To the Australians watching this video, would the cities of Perth and Sydney benefit from more underground rail transport or is surface regional rail sufficient enough?
In Brisbane I like surface rail because I like natural light beaming into the train, but in the CDB I’d expect to be mostly underground. Personally, any new train line/extension is good. I believe most cities would benefit from having suburban rail located more throughout a CBD.
@@samsam21amb and within the CBD, would it be better on elevated track or underground. And would service be better offered with a dedicated metro or just by utilizing existing regional rail, but with more stops closely spaced?
@@japanesetrainandtravel6168 The CBD's of Australian cities are a lot smaller than you seem to think they are. The two underground stations in Perth are only 2 minutes apart but are right on the northern and southern edges of the city. Density immediately drops once you leave the CBD so Metro style rail is pretty much pointless. Places outside of the CBD with higher density housing are built around the already existing rail network.
Hey, not Australian but anyways. In my country (China) the cities are high-density and there is no real distinction between a suburban residential area and an employment area; the cities are polycentric. Thus, there are underground systems here as underground systems require many dense areas of employment and residency that are connected. In Australia (I have visited once), the cities have a clear distinction between suburban housing zones and employment centers in the form of CBDs or industrial areas. Thus, the commuter rail should be enough in countries like Australia as most people commute from the suburbs into the central areas and there is lower demand for travel.
@@Tobez11 thanks for clearing that up! I am looking at the systems in Australia and comparing them to Toronto and now questioning if our regional rail could have had some through running underground with two stops underground. In Toronto, our urban planners love tunnelling even out to suburbs where metro trains could have run above ground at a cheaper cost (thinking about York U extension to Vaughan)
While stations in the middle of freeways look cool, I was surprised to find it a less than pleasant environment because of the noise of traffic, and fumes. The stations off the freeway are a much better waiting environment. What is cool is travelling on the train at 130 km/hr past cars limited to 110 km/hr, or less because of congestion.
Definitely agree that that can be an issue and so a smart design is really important, it would be good to encourage more ev adoption which would at least reduce the fumes.
Los Angeles has this same problem, as they have a lot of stations in the middle of freeways. Loud, windy, polluted, and almost nothing within walking distance because you have to walk across the freeway first.
Nice one! I love how Perth has taken a long term approach to transport planning. Things as simple as building the underpass off the Mandurah line north of Cockburn Central to enable the future Thornlie-Cockburn link - 15 years ago. Not to mention the beautiful integration of the Optus stadium with the rail system and active modes. Perth is a shining example of why "$city is too small for transit" or "$city is too sprawly for rail" arguments are nonsense. So many cities can learn from Perth.
yeah perth and future proofing is not something we're known for. the mandurah and joondalup lines were meant to be built at the same time (1990-92), but mandurah line got delayed due to changing the route 20000000 times and was opened in 2007.
I'm not sure if plans have changed since the initial pitch a few years ago but my understanding is that they are planning to make one giant ring around the city, or several smaller loops. I know one part will be to connect the Ellenbrook line to the Joondalup line probably through Reid highway and connecting through to either Stirling or Warwick station.
As far as I know that has been discussed as potentially part of MetroNet Part 2. Unfortunately very few details have been given so far. I expect we'll have to wait and see how things go with Part 1, as it has taken longer than originally planned.
@@silk1435 Yes, Ellenbrook is happening now along with the Yanchep extension. They are raising parts of the Armadale line to eliminate at grade crossings. The Thornlie line will connect to Cockburn Central and then the original plan was to connect that through to Fremantle. The Ellenbrook line is supposed to connect across to the Joondalup line via Reid Highway. The idea behind Metronet was originally to have two "circle lines" one north and one south of the river.
@@OberonOZ I like the idea of 2 circle lines, will be great for improving the reach and flexibility of the system I think. Hopefully we get that by 2035, or 2040, but planning these things alone does take ages, so I will just keep my fingers crossed.
The LINE actually already exists. It runs from the Bunbury line at Mundejong thru to Kwinana, there it accesses the Fremantle section, which then acceses the Midland via Perth, from Perth you go to Armadale, (currently working on extending to Byford) then thru again to Mundijong. One giant circle rail route.
I’m so glad you covered this system of Perth, Western Australia, Australia! I often used studied the system over the last two years, the first time I ever started studying passenger train systems in Australia! I was quite impressed with the system in Perth, and given the size of the city and how the regional rail system operates, I think it’s quite an amazing system!
So fun to see my city featured on this channel! I catch Transperth trains and buses frequently, they're honestly the easiest and cheapest way to get to the city CBD. I'm hoping the Metronet promise for light-rail eventuates, as there are plenty of local councils with long-term plans for tram routes. Bit worried about the possibility of being stuck with trackless trams though, as a very influential transport planning figure over here (Peter Newman) has been pushing for them.
Cheapest? Transperth is an absolute rip off compared to most cities around the world, who even has zones still, should be one fee per trip just like every other major city.
@@exhpv I didn’t say they were the cheapest service in the world mate. I said they were the cheapest way to get into the city (considering parking, fuel, etc). Besides, Transperth appear to be phasing out zones; they’ve reduced the fare cap down to 2 zones just recently.
The Perth network has become a classic S-Bahn, with suburban above-ground lines connecting through the city centre by tunnel. This is the ideal way to expand rail coverage of a large urban area which has generally suburban density, rather than building a metro. The S-Bahn concept that started in Germany has spread across the world. The video also shows that the 'Cape gauge' of 3 ft 6 in (1.067M) is able to deliver most of what a standard gauge railway offers - and has a long-term future, with WA (Perth Region) and Queensland taking up with Japan has done successfully for decades. The extra 3 inches over the metre-gauge (3ft 3 in, 1.0M) seems to make a real difference, enabling trains to be as heavy and wide as on standard gauge lines, though with lower maximum speed. ''Cape gauge' is one of the British Empire's legacies to the world.
Yep essentially the Perth rail network is mostly a suburban commuter one. In the inner suburbs of Perth rather than metros there are high frequency bus routes that run every 5-15 minutes during the day 7 days per week. The bus service in the inner suburb I live in is excellent and service frequency has improved dramatically with bus services in Perth in the last 20 years generally. In the 1990's the usual Sunday frequency of a bus route was EVERY 2 HOURS!! so we've come a long way.
I particularly think it’s quite amazing how the regional passenger train system of Perth, a very isolated city of Australia, has a great system but not Adelaide, which is closer to several other major cities of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. That said, Adelaide is the only remaining major city to not have a fully electric regional rail system, but Perth, given how isolated it is, has a fully electric regional rail system!
@@worldatmyfeet7898 yeah true! It’s interesting indeed. That too, the Perth metropolitan population is greater than that of Adelaide, though that’s probably not at all a contributing factor to the superiority of Perth’s regional passenger train network compared to that of Adelaide’s, but it is interesting indeed how Perth is ahead in terms of better regional trains than Adelaide.
Yeah, but proximity doesn't mean anything. Luck does. South Australia (no offence south Aussies, I thing you guys are very cool) is hemorrhaging money. Even before covid their economy was a little... Slow. They are half the size of even Perth. Which is a fifth of the size of Sydney. (probably very patriotic hot take) Perth is also the backbone of the entire Australian economy. We're the most productive state per capita, and supply a decent proportion of the world's iron ore, and a majority of Tesla (and the world's) lithium. In our previous state budget, we had a 5 billion dollar surplus. While all the other states were in deficit. We're forecast again to be in for another landmark surplus. We kept Australia's triple a credit rating, and arguably our economy was the best in the world during covid. It's not surprising then that we're bigger than south Australia in all respects.
Perth resident here. Interesting to see your take on our rail system however it still has a lot of issues. Our trains are fast but our stations are sparse and last mile public transit is an absolute nightmare in many parts of the city. Our city has a particularly low population density because most people live in large houses on large blocks of land and our urban planning has historically been centred around owning a car - very similar to American cities. The result is that unless you live close to a train station (most people don't), you will have to take a bus to your final destination and these buses are low in frequency (compared to many European cities), often out-of-sync with the train timetable and take a long time to reach their destination because of the distances they need to travel and the high frequency of stops needed to serve all of the areas on their routes. The urban sprawl also means that you may end up walking almost half a kilometre to get to the bus stop from your house. The result is that most people just chose to drive unless they are commuting to the central business district in peak hour, when there is nowhere to park. In peak hour, some people are able to make use of park 'n ride facilities but these aren't available at all stations (underground carparks might help solve this but they would cost the government a lot of money I don't think they are willing to spend). There are also many suburbs where a rail line or a station with park 'n ride facilities is not within a reasonable distance which means a slow, frequently-stopping peak hour direct bus into the CBD is the fastest means of public transport. If I could drive to work, it would take me 12 minutes however on public transport, it takes 45 minutes! Cycling is an option but the distance is such that I would have to shower and change clothes at work due to the sweat which ultimately adds another 15 minutes to the effective time before I'm at my desk. E-scooters are a way forward that not enough people are talking about. They have the potential to massively increase the accessibility radius of train stations, especially if appropriate infrastructure is built. Our trains are also wide enough to take plenty of folded e-scooters.
@@nmslstoneinty3131 Theres a nebulous planned station for Karrinyup road at some point in the future. (I dont think it falls into the Metronet plan, so would be quite some way off)
Bikes/Escooters are your friend. pretty much all stations have storage for them and great cycle path connections. if its inside 5 kms from the station theres a pretty good chance its faster than driving to the station, and MUCH faster than getting a bus.
This! I used to live in Ardross. To get to MU by car it would only take ike 10-12 minutes. By public transport though, it takes 40 minutes. The buses are infrequent and some mean standing at a nearby bus station in the hot sun for a long time. You can get around to most of Perth by public transport, but it takes an awfully long time. It's possible, but most of your time is spent waiting around or trying to reach your next bus or train station.
Great video on my home city , there is so much happening on our PT network it is hard to keep up with the projects. Some of the projects include rebuilding old sections as elevated rail. Perth is the poster child of how you can take a car dependent sprawling city and turn it into a pro train city. Perth came very close to losing its train network in the 1970’s to one that Perth people are now proud of.
It's hard to emphasise enough how much the Perth system relies on high speed. In a low density city like Perth, the primary competition is the private car. So designing a system that forces riders to transfer from bus to train doesn't seem like the obvious solution (forced transfers in isolation are usually supposed to be an anti-ridership thing). But two things about the Perth approach stand out. Firstly, the trains are fast. And secondly the transfers happen (generally) a good long distance from the CBD. By spending a large part of the journey on very fast vehicles the disadvantage of a forced transfer is entirely offset, and public transport becomes a compelling option. It's often said that transfers can make your transit better. Perth is how.
I wouldn't view it as forced transfer. It just makes sense. most reasonable sized stations have a circle route or two around the suburb, with relatively high frequency and not overly long travel times. it makes the amount of population the train can service quite a large percentage. The ticket system is only based on how many Zones you've crossed, so there is no penalty for a new ticket. overall the system works very well, I've been using it for years.
You have to add in the compelling advert for public transit of the train whipping past slowed cars in a traffic jam. The more congested the traffic, the more compelling the train looks.
@@lindsaycole8409 traffic in perth is never as bad as the insanity you see in major us cities, london or china, but take the train on any above average traffic day and you will move past all the cars you can see long term. if you drive, see how long you can stay in front of the train for once you line up with it.
@@jonathanodude6660 That is my point, if there wasn't a good public transit option in Perth it would have horrendous traffic on the north-south freeways during rush hour and constant moaning to add ever more lanes etc. that happens in North America. Having the railway as part of the freeway means that it becomes a combined travel corridor that is really only limited by the train capacity, not the freeway traffic capacity.
@@lindsaycole8409 it seemed like you were saying the converse affirmative, that traffic generates higher demand for transit, rather than transit directly reducing the traffic. Both are true, but I was only responding to our traffic not being as much of a driver towards trains as might be in North America. For example I take it because it’s convenient, cheaper than driving most of the time (for me) and doesn’t add enough time to the journeys to be not worth it. The new work won’t reduce any of my existing trips, but it would mean that more areas are accessible by train than before.
Great overview! The Airport line is scheduled to go into operation by the 30th of June, and will run on B series trains from Claremont on the Fremantle Line through to the new High Wycombe station on the Airport Line. We are truly blessed to have such a nice transport system here in Perth and to have a government which supports funding for it!
dont bank on the airport line being completed in June - there was a mistake with construction because they installed the track switchers all wrong, so itll likely be opened in september (the line was going to be closed after a month or so anyway for more construction) - source from a guy working in Transperth
@@daleglenny1133 I'm Australian and live in Perth. The previous state government prior to Mr. McGoo spent SFA on modernising and expanding Perth's metropolitan train network. Perth requires an expanded and more efficient transport network for our city's future needs.
Excellent video Reece! Well researched and well detailed, and this is why your channel has become successful! If you ever do a video on Adelaide, please get in touch! Cheers (The guy who sent you the heap of Adelaide Timetables and Metrocard last year)
I think Reece probably knows the pronunciation of Cockburn very well due to the presence of people with the surname Cockburn in his home country. One such person who comes to my mind is the great musician Bruce Cockburn. With regards to the pronunciation of "Joondalup", he will do well to know that the emphasis is on the first syllable. Locals say /ˈdʒʉːndəˌlʌp/ (JUNE-da-luhp, the last syllable rhyming with "up") I'm from Perth, by the way.
Relative to population size, Perth's heavy rail network is clearly ahead of Melbourne's, despite it lacking a city loop. Quite embarrassing that there's now going to be 2 smaller cities than Melbourne that are going to have an Airport link earlier.
So true - Melbourne will still be waiting and debating after Adelaide and Auckland and Canberra have rail links to their airports. But please people do not despair we have the skybus - an argument that has been forced down our throats for decades.
Adelaide is without an airport rail link. There is an Airport Express Bus from the city but the only time I caught it, it left from the CBD at the same time as the regular J1 service through the airport, and arrived after it. Some express bus indeed. I can not see anywhere such a line could be placed and I doubt an underground line could be justified.
This is such a good video Reece. Really touches on the many features that makes the Transperth network so good. It was also great that you touched on some impending issues Perth's rail network is about to face, with over-crowding on the Joondalup Line, and track congestion on the Bayswater group. To relieve some of the pressure on the Joondalup Line, the State Government is investigating a 'second northern railway' to serve the future area of East Wanneroo. Branching from the Ellenbrook Line near Malaga. Some ideas for connecting this East Wanneroo Line to Perth, is to quad-track between Perth and Bayswater station (like you said), or dig a parallel tunnel about 2km to the north, that goes to Morley and Edith Cowan University. But both of these result in the East Wanneroo Line bypassing all of the existing suburbs such as Mirrabooka and Alexander Heights. We have been advocating for the East Wanneroo Line to instead use a combination of tunnel and elevated rail (which we know you love), that runs through the middle of Perth's northern suburbs and then 'through-runs' to the Armadale Line. This proposal reduces the over-crowding on the Joondalup Line, reduces the track congestion on the Bayswater group, and increasing the frequency on the Armadale/Thornlie Lines as trains no longer terminate at Perth.
Very good, except for your pronunciation of Joondalup lol ;) Next you've got to do Brisbane/Gold Coast, since you've done the other Australian big cities
@@RMTransit North America just focused too much on inner city light rail than metropolitan s-trains, but the political setup in North America vs Australia also plays a role, like in North America, a metro area is made up of multiple independent cities with their own council with jurisdiction only in their part of metro area, while in Australia, a metro area counts as 1 city under 1 council
@@thomasgrabkowski8283 I think 1 city under council really only counts for Brisbane. Perth has many different councils but than again they don't have the same power as American ones (mostly look after rubbish collection, parks and local roads).
I love how you somehow managed to pronounce cockburn central “correctly” yet butchered Joon-dal-up 😭😭😭 Hahaha. I grew up with this network and also think it’s awesome!
This was great! So good to see Perth! Coming up is soon is the elevation of most of the Armadale/Thornlie line which shuts next year for 18 months to facilitate construction. Some other missing pieces for Perth are inner city light rail along the historic main streets and an expanded ferry service to bring to life the river network. Joondalup is pronouced Dune-darh-lup btw (say it quickly no spaces :)
Thanks for an informative and accurate explanation of the Perth Metronet system which is my home city. If I remember correctly many years ago when planing concepts were being considered there was a workimg party that specifically went to Canada to examine the majour city transport systems there to see if they could adapt some of their features here. Vancouver and Montriol were mentioned. The original designer of the Perth modern tail system was later employed to run the Sydney design and I believe now works in Canada.
The B Series trains also have a very silent sound, and when they leave and enter the station its sounds pretty important and cool. Although, the A series has doors to separate each car and kids trap themselves in there. I am super excited for the C series as the A series is really old and needs to be replaced.
I'm sure there have been studies on this, but i wonder if having railways right next to a road encourages more use of public transport. Sitting in traffic and seeing a train zoom past, uninterrupted, must be pretty convincing.
Trust me as someone who lives and works at opposite ends of Perth it is. Though the limited non-peak bus services make transferring from bus to train or train to bus less inviting, and hence the train less inviting. The issue is Perth's train network is highly radial. If you work in the CBD or near a train station it's great, but if you need to catch a bus to get to the station and then another bus at the other end it's not so great.
@@chrisdehaer1 This is a problem even in transit heavy parts of North America such as the Bay Area and Chicagoland. For uptown to uptown trips or suburb to suburb trips the multiple transfers involving not so frequent buses makes the journey cumbersome. Can share-ride taxis/vans/ Uber-share make a difference. Are they planning on circumferential lines for Perth?
Transperth have definitely capitalised on this. On the side of many B trains there is large writing that says "Take a break from driving". Definitely a good way to advertise
While it probably is, Perth (and Australia in general) has a huge car culture and it's a bit of a battle. One of the issues was excessive pricing for the outer suburbs, however fares are now capped at 2-zone prices ($3ish I believe).
Mate, thanks for sharing our awesome train network with the world! I live along the armadale line, what's also really brilliant is that that line is undergoing grade separation works in 2023. Essentially the boom gates at each level crossing close for a total of about 4 hours a day, so it's absolutely a nessecary upgrade over the existing non-seperated level crossings. See the Denny Avenue grade separation in Kelmscott as a prime example of that in action. Another note about the airport line, I am hoping that it opens in October, because at that point i'll be able to finally do what I did in Singapore and Sydney, and take the train to the airport for the first time ever. For reference, the 935 and 40 Bus routes are some of the busiest in perth! Another crucial part of keeping car traffic off the roads is the CAT bus system, where it's a hop-on, hop-off bus system designed to loop the cities of Joondalup, (Pronounced JOON-d'-lup, not joon-DA-llup, btw.) Fremantle (their CATs are Orange!) and of course, Perth. I'd love to see the crucial blue, Red and Yellow CATs of the CBD turned into light rail, or trolleybuses at least, especially considering how often these buses get used. it'd also make them way easier for wheelchair users to access as you could just use a low-floor tram or a raised platform. I absolutely like the idea of your ring railroad connection though, it's probably doable seeing as there's freight lines that go through the kewdale-forrestfield-maida vale area that connect to the midland railway workshops and could provide some coverage to the industrial areas to the north of the city. Tonkin Highway also extends out to as far as Bullsbrook, where a lot of development will more than likely occur past 2050. Also, our cycling network is also REALLY interesting, as a budding cyclist. The Principal Shared Path or PSP scheme essentially creates a cycling superhighway all across the city, with major links running through similar corridors that highly trafficked roads and rail lines use, on specially designed surfaces so that cyclists can use for maximum speed. the material uses way, way finer bitumen compounds and thus results in lower friction for cycle tires. Where there are breaks in the PSP there's also signage to direct riders to where other PSPs are, or where the recommended route is. It's definitely nowhere near as good as Denmark, but getting around on a bike, despite the size of the city is absolutely doable. Our roads are also only as wide as they need to be. In suburbs the roads are quite narrow, and in more dense areas they are deliberately small to help calm traffic. The other aspect of Metronet too is the development of areas _surrounding_ the train stations, i.e, what kind of property and businesses are going to be able to be built there. Essentially with Metronet, the idea is that each station's going to get turned into like, a metropolitan hub where there's medium density housing and businesses placed close to the train station. Anyways, cheers for a great vid! If you ever do come live in sunny old Perth, we'll be happy to welcome you here :)
Lived next to the Denny Ave crossing for 7 years. Even before they installed the traffic signals on the Albany hwy side. I hated it. Horrible intersection at peak times. And when Kelmscott high school would knock off. The new over pass is a god send
@@NASGGamePlayz Nice to see some positive attitudes to all this work. The media have concentrated on people bleating about the Armadale line being closed for 18 months, as if rail replacement buses hadn't been considered. Short-term pain for massive overall gain. I'm up the Vic Park end, and the death of the 20-minute wait at the Welshpool Road crossing will be mourned by ... well... NOBODY. Especially since it's between me and the nearest BWS :D
@@NASGGamePlayz Oh I live in the area! Let me tell you getting to the local Woolies has gotten a lot faster. Used to take you about 10-15mins, now it takes you less than five. I live a 2min drive away from my local traino for reference, so the reduction in time is a godsend. I can also now cycle to the shops if i need to as well thanks to all the upgraded paths. It also only takes me about 15mins to get to Armadale by bike :D
I was hoping for a clip of Warwick Station on the Joondalup line when talking about bus routes feeding stations in highway medians, because it has the bus station on the roof of the train station.
G'Day from Perth, mate. Interesting overview of the rail network around the city and suburbs. Joondalup is pronounced "june -da-lup" - run them together and say it fast. Not "june-dal-up". Fun fact - any place name in 'Straya ending in 'up comes from the Aboriginal word meaning "near water". Oh, and you're more than welcome down here, you'll find the weather way better than what you get in Canada! 😁 Cheers cobber!
The buses, once transferred from a train, can still seem quite long in reaching adjacent destinations. This is in part due to the very s p r E a d apart nature of the land use. Walking, bring water and a hat.
Gotta say, bus services like the 525 and 526, that exist solely to wander through back streets and collect for/deliver from train stations are a godsend. Unfortunately they seem to exist in suburbs that, once you've disembarked, aren't very pedestrian-friendly, particularly at night.
Check out our latest video on Brisbane's amazing transit right here:
th-cam.com/video/iOemjHJxwRE/w-d-xo.html
as a resident of down below Perth, sure!
as someone who lives in perth and has never really put too much thought into the public transport, this was very entertaining and educational to watch. Thank you.
true true
same i was only interested in the buses, just getting on the bus every morning to go to school was fun
I love transPerth allot and I love seeing the trains one time I saw an a series on the Butler line
I was actually on the Train the other day, and was looking for the new line on the map. I ended up spending a few minutes admiring the map!
How's the pronunciation of the place names . Lol . Joon da lup . Kwinana sounds like banana and the kw is said like qu in queen . The new line is open to the airport already and the next station is on its way soon it will be completed all the way to Ellenbrook. The butler line will be extended really soon . Still need the Australind to get to Bunbury on the train , where you will share the tracks with freight trains through the beautiful south west .
Couple of things you might be interested to know:
The Mandurah line replaced a pseudo-BRT system between Canning Bridge and the Elizabeth Quay Busport (previously known as Esplanade) there's still some evidence of it in the form of dedicated bus entry/exits to the Kwinana freeway near both ends.
Both Warwick and Whitfords (on the Joondalup line) have the bus concourse directly above the platforms while Kelmscott (on Armadale line) actually has them at grade in the middle of the two platforms.
Prior to the Perth City Link project (sinking the Freo line west of Perth station) being completed the through running was actually Fremantle - Armadale with Midland terminating.
The freight corridor for the Thornlie - Cockburn link was deliberately kept wider to accommodate the passenger rail expansion.
You mentioned capacity issues on the Midland line, hopefully the signal upgrade assists with this because at the moment there won't be capacity between Bayswater and Perth (mostly on the Claisebrook - Perth segment) resulting in some services having to terminate at Bayswater (Ellenbrook line when it gets built) even currently when there's an event on at Optus stadium they have to close Claisebrook and McIver stations to be able to run the extra services. Unfortunately quad tracking this corridor wasn't thought of and so it's going to be difficult to do.
Apparently the ultimate plan with the Forrestfield-Airport link is to run it further south and then loop it back into the Armadale line so that'll be interesting to see!
THe Kelmscott layout is something I have legitimately never seen before, that's really cool.
By the way: If Quad-Tracking isn't possible here. Perhaps this is a rare case where Triple-tracking might be possible and beneficial, given the demand peaks are largely in a single direction at any given time due to either events or peak hours, although that comes with obvious operational downsides that RMTransit has talked about all too often already.
They just closed the caledonian ave level crossing in Maylands and are beginning to lift up the Bayswater subway to make way for grade separations. They're repeating what they did to the Denny Avenue crossing removal across the entirety of the Armadale line and will do the same for the Midland line, helping to speed up trains and reduce time waiting at the lights.
Fun Fact! did you know that the boomgates next to Beckenham station close for something in the realm of 4 hours a day?
@@AutoGamerZ_ Haha, i really do enjoy K-Town station, being my local traino.
We do do triple-tracking, kinda. There's returns at Cockburn central and now Claremont stations.
I thought Metronet said that the you could have a one seat ride from Ellenbrook to Perth. Not sure how that'll be achieved without quad track, maybe reduce the frequency of the Midland line, coupled with the signalling improvements
The freo - Armadale line through running is misleading, It did do so on certain occasions, but it has always been fremantle to midland, since the 1800s when the lines opened. Prior to 2004's opening of the clarkson and thornlie stations, the joondalup line stopped at current day Platform 5 and Armadale stopped at platform 6.
As someone that rides these trains I love the fact you used the actual line colours on the map like we see on the maps irl >.
One of the best parts about the renaissance of Perth's rail network is that it indirectly led to a similar revival in Auckland
See, those diesel trains shown briefly at 6:14 were only 5-20 years old when made redundant by the electrification of Perths rail network, and thus were made available on the second hand market.
At the same time in the early 90s Auckland's rail network was going through a lot of the same problems that Perth's had been before its turnaround: underinvesment, aeging equipment (the coaches were from the 1930's) falling ridership, and talks of complete closure. Foruntately, the relevant government's instead scooped up the secondhand trains at basement prices from Perth in 1992 and 1993. Ridership finally started to increase after decades of decline. This began a gradual revival of Auckland's rail network:
In 1995, the old post office in downtown Auckland was purchased by the government for reopening as a transit hub: this eventually came to pass in 2003 as Britomart (now Waitemata), allowing trains to actually run into Auckland CBD, and coincided with a general increase in service. At the same time, secondhand British Mk2s converted to narrow gauge used as push pull sets were used to increase capacity.
In the early 2010s, service was expanded with the new service Helensville in 2008 (ultiamtely axed), Onehunga Branch reponening in 2010 and the Manukau staiton opening 2012.
This all coincided with a government intiative to *FINALLY* electrify the Auckland Rail system (which almost happened- twice in the 1950s and 1970s, only for the National Party to say no), completed in 2015. The wires are now also set to expand down the rest of the Southern Line next year, thus making the system 100% electric.
Then in 2021, the Te Huia train began, finally giving Auckland a regional train connection to Hamilton in the same way Wellington has the Capital Connection and the Wairarpara Connection. The service has expanded to have 2-3 trips everyday (except sundays), so starting to feel more a regional train than commuter train. Hopefully, the new government doesn't can the service this June. (Kinda wish they would run the service with a diesel and and an electric locomotive to allow the service to run into Britomart; would probably attract more people than running it to Strand)
And of course we have CityRail Link, (which also almost happened in the 1970s), which will really turn Auckland's Rail into an S-Bahn.
Now if only we could connect Auckland Rail to the airport.
I love being an American who did all this research on NZ transport history, lol.
Anyway, great video.
Got Randomly recommended this. and why not, it's my hometown, after all!
Best Metropolitan transit network on the damn planet, IMO. you should see the *BUS* Network!!
Thanks for showing Perth some love
One thing that was done fairly well (with one glaring mistake) was the introduction of Smartrider, our electronic ticketing system.
Having a consistent payment structure over all public transport and reconciling payments etc instead of realtime account debit makes the process very quick compared to most others I've used (looking at you Melbourne).
what was the glaring mistake?
@@shaminoranger8588 they put the data on the security block instead of the transport block.
Standard rfid chips have 9 data 'blocks', they're each allocated a purpose (only by convention not by any enforcement per-se)
It means that companies that use rfid swipe cards can't incorporate a Smartrider into their cards like schools and unis have.
(There's an education block which educational institutions use.)
Well, they can but all the current security systems use the security block and AFAIK it would take a significant rebuild to switch them.
Transperth decided to use the security block because it sounded more secure to someone.
It's not that big of a deal, just mildly annoying that I have to have a separate card for work and pubtrans.
@@FelixMeister Thanks for the explanation, not something I would have guessed in a million years :-)
Tbh i'd love it if the Transperth App allowed you to use your Phone's NFC to make payments akin to how you can pay with credit card on Opal in Sydney. I'm sure you could easily facilitate it, getting Smartrider cards and phone apps to sync would be the hardest part tbh.
@@rtmpgt The hard part is the NFC readers. They're not the same type as used for bank/credit or phone NFC.
Every single reader on every single bus and station needs to be updated along with the back end software. Using an app-nfc though would make things easier than charging cards directly. There will be no need to process the payment before tagging on. Which is the major issue with Myki.
Lived in Canning Vale in 2007 after living in London, used to take the Madurah Line from Murdoch to the CBD for work, it was a decent railway back then, although everyone I knew drove so had never used it, understandable as there's huuuuge gaps between the lines that would just be a pain for every day life, even with buses. Mandurah line was sweet though as you got this sick view of Swan River either side of you before you got into town (having lived in London, I have to call Perth a town instead of a city )
Perth has changed a lot in 15 yrs ..you wouldn't recognise all the new suburbs out past canningvale now
I learned a lot even as a Perthite and aside from joondalup, the pronunciation was on point, well done
Been waiting for this video for a while so very nice to see! Takes on our system by locals and transit minded people tend to be very pessimistic so it's refreshing to hear this these takes. But there are some huge drawbacks which are a huge killer but if someone in government were to spend time on it at any point in the future it would be easy to fix. And it's that the stations on the newer lines are so far spaced they basically serve slivers of dormitory suburbs on either side of the freeways, and the freeways themselves are dead zones. That makes it not usable for the overwhelming majority of people along the lines, even paired with bus use. The new extensions to Ellenbrook and Cockburn are even worse. The other problem is ballooning costs. In the 2000s that Mandurah line, tunnels, bridges, bus transfer station-bridges, modifications to the freeway and all cost less than a billion dollars. The Thornlie Cockburn link costs just as much for two stations along an existing, already graded rail corridor with existing tunnels. Infrastructure needed for the link was built as part of the Mandurah project with foresight and it was still cheaper. New stations on the new lines are transit fortresses that don't age nicely and don't really provide much more shelter. They feel unsafer too with less natural surveillance and need more active security. The old lines are better to use with stations that are just a bit of paving with a tin roof. All that extra money could build denser stops, and even multiplatform stations to allow express services since adding more stations on such long lines would impact existing commuters.
As someone who has lived much of his life in Perth (born in UK, raised here, lived in Melbourne for a time, then moved back) I have to say a big thank you for this video. I am vision impaired and have a strong interest in public transport and urban planning. For years I was unimpressed with this city's public transport network and especially its railway but I have watched it grow and develop as my family lives in the south-central suburbs which relieds heavily on the Mandurah line (which like the Joon-dahl-up line is a metro, suburban railway and regional railway all rolled into one) and will be soon connected to the Thronlie-Cockburn line.
The city has unique problems in that its population density is the third lowest while its distribution is officially the world's largest. However incremental bus service changes over the years have seen gradual improvements in connecting all these distant suburbs. I now live between Bull Creek and Fremantle stations which is an interesting case study because I rarely utilise Bull Creek station. In fact I actively avoid it during outbound journeys because of having to cross the truck-intensive Leach Highway. For city bound journeys I tend to catch the 160 bus because a stop for which is just 100m away and there is no need to connect between bus and train.
I'm of the belief that when the Thornlie-Cockburn link is opened the 160 bus should be re-routed down the North Lake Road to Cockburn station while a new route is reimagined so it assumes the section of the 160 that commences once the bus enters Archibald St. The system is far from perfect and more needs to be done to encourage people to abandon their cars. Perth remains a city bound by the automobile in spite of its good public transport system and there are definite PT dead zones including where my family is situated.
The future Fremantle extension of the Thornlie-Cockburn link was quietly shelved by the current government which is a shame as Fremantle is in need of a little TLC. Bus links leading south from Freo also leave a lot ot be desired while light rail between Murdoch and Fremantle has been mooted forever but looks to become a new Hobart light rail...
We'd love to have you here! I'd recommend living somewhere along South Street or Ranford Road because of its metro-like bus network but beware! Anywhere beyond that might require 2km+ of walking in oppressive heat or pouring rain-there's no in between here! Finally some of the old DMUs were sold to Auckland before its railway network was recently electrified.
Completely didn't expect to see a video about Perth!
I actually think the system could have way more stations along the Joondalup and Mandurah lines considering the density of houses along the highways.
More stations means trains can't get up to the speeds they do now, before they have to slow down again. I assume that's why we ditched Lathlain, which, ironically, is now full of high density living.
@@philthy903 We ditched Lathlain when the Eagles came along and killed the WAFL. Lathlain Station was predominantrly there to service the WAFL home games for Perth at Lathlain Park which often had 10-15k people attend before the early 80's.
I live in Perth and the funny thing is I didn't know about all these changes, just a few. Thanks for the heads up.
It has been nearly 2 years since this video was uploaded, time flies by! It was fun to watch this video as someone from Perth. 😄
The whole METRONET project is awesome to have! It's all within the WA Government's focus to get more people using public transport given they have a really bad city sprawl problem to deal with. Anyway, quite a bit of developments have happened since you published this video.. Notably the Airport Line is now fully operational, currently** serviced by 3-car B sets, and runs underground past Bayswater Station with the trains able to speed up to 130km/h. Pretty quick for underground rail, heh. Also, the big advantage our Airport Line has over Sydney/Brisbane's is that ours has remained in public ownership, thus it's fully operated by our Public Transport Authority (PTA) with the bonus of keeping fares at an extremely cheap ~A$5.
** The new Bayswater & Airport stations were designed to accommodate for 6-car sets, however, most old stations still only accommodate for 4-car sets so they cannot run 6-car sets just yet.
There is quite a bit to say to be honest, especially for a TH-cam comment... But I figured I'd mention we've made good developments since nearly 2 years ago. 😅
Amazing video, interesting, educational, and has a great pacing. Really well put-together comparison with the cities in Canada too. I'm a Perth local and I never really fully apreciated the scope of our rail network until now.
One thing that I'd like to add is how well thought out the rail system is. They could've built the rail to run closer to the beach to serve the wealthier areas better, but they didn't. They knew that it would be working class people, students, and everyone inbetween that would be using the rail the most, and they planned accordingly for it. The best part is that with the bus terminal links, it's very hassle free and equitable for commuters to get to the train station, whichever side of the tracks they come from (in this case, I use that term literally and metaphorically). It's these future-focussed plans that are now paying off and contributing towards high commuter participation. A testament to it's design.
Thanks for the video!
As a Perth local, the main issue with these train lines is they are very very loud, coming into Perth underground the screeching noise is so loud it triggers my Apple Watch to said dangerous noise levels. People waiting for the trains block their ears in anticipation of a trains arrival.
The public transport system in Perth is great and very reasonably priced very much looking forward to the Bayswater to Perth Airport spur line.
just a little thing, joondalup is pronounced june-dah-lup
and also when the mandurah line was completed elizabeth quay was actually named esplanade train station and esplanade bus station before transitioning to elizabeth quay in 2016
I live in Perth, such an obscure but unique place.
This place is fucking mid and we all know it
@@gort0338 wdym mid
@@xperimentsallday5290 mediocre
it's pretty awesome here and most people aren't even aware how beautiful it is. The only thing Perth transport lacks post-metronet, is interconnecting lines. I live up the end of Armadale line, to goto Cockburn by car takes ~20 minutes. To goto Cockburn via transport is 1h 10m, I can take the bus from Gosnells, or ride all the way into the City and out the Cock-burn line, it takes about the same time.
As someone who lives in the City of Joondalup his pronunciation of joondalup hurts my soul
And yet he somehow got Mandurah right.
2:35, as someone who lives in Perth your pronunciation of Joondalup got me XD. its [joon-duh-luhp]
It's so interesting because a lot of people complain about the public transport system in Perth, but I think its pretty good in comparison to other cities. Although, the bus network needs a bit of improvement. But that's for another day!
Didn't realise we had the same gauge as JR. Transperth should do a single railcar set swap with JR just for the giggles.
That'll please the weeba
Joondalup is pronounced JUNE-da-lup, but apart from that, a great video. It is worth noting that public transit in Perth is extremely well done. When I went there in 2001, it was easy to navigate, and both the trains and buses all connected very well with each other with minimal waiting time. The rest of Australia can learn from Perth.
Very cool and interesting video. I live in Perth and I learnt a bit about the railway system that I didn’t even know about from this video.
I just want to point out one thing though. The pronunciation of Joondalup. We say it like: Joon da lup.
Perth is a quite sprawling city and its metro area is comparable to some megacities with 5-8m population.
Next year in early June and late July and mid august and im be getting baldivis 568 to warnbro stn to perth underground stn and midland line train to East Perth station
oh man, i've been drunk at so many of those train stations
The cost of the Perth airport line will just be a regular 2 zone fare, about $4.50. Compared to the Brisbane and Sydney airport lines that cost $18-20+
Hello from Perth! I found this video really interesting, so great job!
- yes, definitely agree about overcrowding in the future. Metronet part 2 would entail filling in the circle that you described. I think it's actually a pertinent issue, because Perth is only going to grow. We're a small city right now, but could be quite large in the future, with Andrew Forest's green hydro plan. Also if I recall correctly we supply the vast majority of Tesla's lithium. In fact, by 2035, Perth is estimated to be bigger population- and economy-wise than Brisbane. So it's really important to ask ourselves: what's Perth going to look like in 20-50 years, and how should we plan for that?
-the main reason I'm really proud of Transperth isn't the size of the rail network, or the somehiw-clean carpet (YMMV, I frequent the Mandurah/Joondalup and occasionally the Fremantle lines), but because of the reliability. There's a poster up in some of the trains that frequently gets replaced, called "how we're tracking: April-May 22" for example. And the thing that strikes me is that the percentage of on-time trains is consistently above 95%. We manage to maintain 4 minutes between trains at peak. So that's really outstanding for any city, let alone a city the size of Perth.
-finally, a question: even though I've lived in Perth for most of my life, and my local line is the Mandurah line, I'm really confused about how they're building the Thornlie-Cockburn link. Because they didn't build any new platforms. So I'm interested, how will it work exactly?
At Cockburn Central Station, there is an extension to the existing Platform 1 at the northern end, thereby creating an additional platform which I assume will be known in the future as Platform 3, with boarding on the eastern side of the new platform. This platform will not allow through running, i.e. will be a terminus platform as it will likely receive services coming through the Glen Iris tunnel, terminating at Cockburn Central, and returning through the tunnel. I also assume through running services between the Mandurah and Thornlie-Cockburn lines will be achieved by utilising the existing platforms. Platform 1 will receive services from Mandurah heading to either Perth or deviating through the Glen Iris tunnel along the Thornlie-Cockburn line and Platform 2 will function the same but in reverse. The section between Cockburn Central Station and the Glen Iris tunnel will be quad-track which means switches can be installed to allow trains to switch between the Mandurah line and the Thornlie-Cockburn line.
Fun Fact: When planning for the construction of the Mandurah line, original plans had services running from Perth along the Armadale line before branching off at the Thornlie spur and entering the Kwinana Fwy median through the Glen Iris tunnel. This is why both the Thornlie spur and the Glen Iris tunnel were originally constructed.
@@johnd9360 ahh right, thanks for the help!
Thanks for that. 😃
@RMTransit you should probably talk about the east cambridge transit expension in massachusetts.
Joon da lup. Thing with austraa'ia a lot of place names are aboriginal in origin.
You are right, theoretically you could've maybe had faster trains but as someone who lives in perth and has used trains quite a bit going up and down from the CBD going south, by the time the train hits top speed its already slowing down to get into the next station. It wouldn't really make a difference. the lengthiest bit of track is between Wellard and Mandurah.. that's about 15 minutes.
Perth is looking at trialing Trackless Trams for the Glendalough to Scarborough Beach Rd route. New technology. It would be interesting to have some information on that. Something Prof Newman is enthusiastic about. The Govt tried to get trams up and running about 10 years ago between UWA and Curtin through the City and up Alexander Dr north, but couldn't get that first metre of track laid before the project was delayed indefinitely. It now looks like trackless trams may be the future. Do you have a view on this?
Trackless trams = fancy electric buses.
Honestly, you may as well just build a light rail. Better yet, just electrify/hybridise existing buses as Stirling and Glendalough already serve buses in the area. Trackless Trams are quite literally the definition of a Gadgetbahn.
As someone that lived in Perth , they was he pronounces Joondalup gave me a laugh. June-de-lup
We will be cruising to Perth in late December, and will layover in the city for about 4 days, waiting for our uber train to Sydney. I have no idea of where we will be going during those 4 days, but it's nice to know that we can get there on a very modern train network.
Dave
If you are flying into Perth the Airport link is opening Junne 30 2022 and the fare is the suburban fare $3.90 to anywhere on Metronet
northbridge is a great place to visit if u got some spare time, nightlife is on point
Make sure you get down to Fremantle, and especially make time for a visit to the Fremantle Maritime Museum - my all time favourite. Perth Zoo is also fantastic.
Catch the train and bus to Scarborough beach 👍
Thank you all! It should be an amazing trip.
I'm not sure why 2 million is seen as a low number for a city to have this level of service. I guess compared to North America it would be, but there are regions under a million with regional rail networks such as Wellington, New Zealand. Not as big obviously, but it services a region of only half a million people so 2 million doesn't seem low at all
Armadale line. Very Grim train line.
Perth’s Compton
Love the pronunciation
We might have a neat rail service but I just wish it was as accurate and punctual as the trains in Japan.
Trains in Perth are super reliable (and reasonably priced) compared to Melbourne or Sydney
@@Hazza4257they used to be pretty expensive before the 2 zone cap
Let’s go perth!
I die a little inside every time he says joondalup
The closet big city to Perth isn't Melbourne or Jakarta. It's Adelaide, which in itself is a very isolated city.
I don't consider Adelaide to be big haha :)
@@RMTransit Aww, come on boss. 1.5 million isn't exactly small, and we're a state capital.
Also a little bit of trivia: for a long time Adelaide used to be bigger than Perth, but with its rapidly surging population Perth overtook Adelaide a few decades ago. But you're right - 1.5m isn't exactly a small city being only 0.5m less than Perth. I remember Perth when it was around 1.5m and even then it didn't feel *that* small compared to Melbourne (roughly 4.5m at the time)
@@zerobi9468 Perth is about 2.2 million atm and closing in on Brisbane which is about 2.5 million. Brisbane might lose its position as 3rd largest city soon.
You should do a video on Osaka on Nagoya transportation
A 50 year masterplan for Perth's expansion was drawn up after WW2. This is why the freeways (or expressways as you call them) are so dominant. Fortunately, they stuck to the masterplan despite changes in government and retained the median for rail and stations. This is also why the city seems a bit lost as (AFAIK) there hasn't been another masterplan drawn up.
I remember taking the bus from south of the river to uni and back before they built the Mandurah line. Those people complaining about train stations in a freeway median should try catching the (unairconditioned) one-bus-an-hour in 40°C (104°F) heat to get to your McJob in time.
Hi Reece. I'm not familiar with your channel, but this video was posted on the Perth subreddit. We all enjoyed your attempt to pronounce Joondalup. We say 'Joon-duh-lup', with all syllables around the same length. Thanks for covering our city, and we'd love to have you if you do plan to visit or stay!
There were originally plans to sink the main rail line, but that hasn't come to full fruition yet. They are removing several level crossings through the city though. Bayswater Station is currently under renovations. There's a bridge by the station that is infamous for having trucks disregard the low headroom sign and run into it, but it's being removed and replaced with a better bridge. The bridge is a local meme with a running count online of 'days since incident', which sadly will disappear after the renovations are completed.
And yet he absolutely nailed Cockburn and Mandurah!
He had a good crack at it
I am happy someone else from Perth
Point out how to pronounce Joondalup correctly
Hahaha
I also lolled at the Joondalup bit, however nailed cockburn and Mandurah 😂👌
It was interesting to hear someone comment on our little corner of the globe. I never really thought much about transperths rail network apart from griping lol.
So a fun fact is when Perth electrified their rail network, Auckland bought their old rolling stock and that was what we used until a majority of our network was electrified 10 or so years ago. We still use a few of the diesel rolling stock for a section of the network that is still yet to be electrified. I think the two cities also use the same rail gauge, thus the use of their old trains.
Yep! I'd heard about that, very good to see both electrified!
Yes the ADL trains from Perth are used between Pukekohe and Papakura in Auckland. They are about to be retired this year when passenger train services are suspended for two years to allow electrification of the line. So a big thanks to Perth, the electrification of their passenger rail network enable Auckland to save its rail network. Auckland purchase Perth DMU at metal scraping rates, which enable Auckland in the 1990's, to replace its 1930's carriages which were locomotive hauled with DMU from the 1960's (ADK) and 1970's (ADL). The ADK are now used as carriages in Mozambique.
The old diesel stock was not anything to write home about when I was living in Perth. The electrification of Perth's rail was a real boon.
I doubt the Australind line will be electrified
Queenslandand Perth share similar stock (the A and B class look quite similar to the IMU and SMU stock in Queensland) and both use 25kV. AC and 1067mm cape gauge.
I'm from Perth and grew up using (and hating) Perth's public transport. But I now truly appreciate it and think it's pretty good for a city given its circumstances.
Perth is a notoriously low density and sprawling city, where car ownership reigns supreme - quite the opposite of New York or London or any other city lauded for its public transport. Yes driving to most places isn't for everyone...but using it for your regular commute (most people's most commune route) is just fine once you've worked it out.
Trains on the Joondalup and Mandurah line feel luxurious - so spacious, clean and frequent. Probably the best I've travelled out (outside the mega-dense cities in Asia like Tokyo and Singapore). I look forward to the future growth and improvements to the rail network!
perth has 1/2 the population of seattle, yet your public transit is superior. Here, we are apparently trying to cover the type of distance your railway covers using LOW FLOOR TRAMS. (search sound transit 3)
He's doing my hometown! Woo! I think a lot of Aussies probably don't realise that Perth has really good public transport. Perth did things very differently to the rest of the country as there was no appetite to privatise anything here, so that allows Transperth to coordinate everything and develop long plan goals. The system is also cheap to use. I believe the new airport line will travel through Perth Station and terminate in Claremont - new facilities have just been built there. I live in Subiaco so now two lines will use my station and I shouldn't have to wait for longer than 5 minutes for a train.
I was in Subiaco until very recently too, and we definitely have the best mix of train/bike paths and roads over in the western suburbs. Now my family live over near the airport and they are soooooo excited to get a bit of that back 😅 (I’m about 5 hours away from the nearest passenger train at the moment)
My home town as well
I disagree that it's that good. I live in the Midland area and there's no direct public transport to many of the major employment centres such as Malaga, Balcatta, Canningvale, etc which means that it's incredibly impractical to use public transport to try to commute to work to areas that are less than half an hour's drive away
@@Steve_P_B True, Perth public transport is fine if you’re heading to the city centre but not efficient if you’re trying to get anywhere else.
@@Steve_P_B there are busses that run directly through ALL of those areas. cry harder
Holy Crap so much has happened since this video was uploaded. since then the the following has happened.
- The Airport Line opened
- Bayswater Station was demolished (Along with the bayswater bridge) and the new station is under construction.
- The new C-Series cars have been under going testing on the Mandurah and Joondalup lines.
- The Armadale line is closed from Victoria Park station to Armadale to make way for the removal of level crossings and the new Byford station.
- the Yanchep rail extension is under going testing and will be open this year.
- Lakelands station opened on the Mandurah line
- The Morley-Ellenbrook line will be opened later this year.
I'm still on the 'Joondalup' pronunciation.
I think Perth is better than what we give her credit for, people get passionate about her flaws but we love her still.
...and as an update to this comment:
- The new Bayswater Station had been completed
- The first 2 C-series trains have been incorporated for public use into the Mandurah and Joondalup lines, and more will soon be coming
- The Yanchep rail extension is very close to opening, being in the completion phase
@@Skyymonupdate to the update: -yancheep station is up and running
-three C-series trains are in use/testing
Sydneysider here, just coming into say that having spent some time in Perth, they hands down have the best transit in Australia. Absolutely fantastic train service, and the bus-rail integration is spot on. In Sydney I always drive unless I'm going right into the CBD or the airport (not because the airport is well connected from the western suburbs, but because the parking is even more painful than changing at Central). In Perth, even if where you want to go isn't on the rail system, no problem - the buses are logical, easy to figure out, clean, reliable and well planned. Oh... and in the CBD.... completely free. Frikkin awesome.
Thank you from Perth
Excellent video. Just one thing: Joondalup is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable ie. "JOON - da- lup." However, you did pronounce Cockburn correctly. Many place names in Western Australia end with "up", which comes from an Aboriginal word meaning 'place of," eg. Boyanup, meaning "place of rock." And yes, Perth does actually look as good as it appears in the video.
The thing that people always get is Joondalup. Mandurah and Cockburn. Very impressive you got that right!!!
Up in western Australia on the end of a word means water if you can pronounce this indigenous word your ok it's a road that runs of the hi way in Mandurah area most people have trouble mandjoogoordap drive I think it means meeting Place to the Noongar people
@@jackbarrie6007 I used to think the same mate but I’m pretty sure up does mean place of in Noongar and mandgoorjoorap means “meeting place of the heart”.
@@jackbarrie6007 'up' means 'place of'. I work extensively with Noongar people and have done a fair bit of cultural training, including language.
Thanks for your excellent video. As a Melbournian, I find it ironic that Perth's rail coverage hasn't got more coverage in Australian media. And it took a Canadian to do it!
Because the Murdoch media isn't for public transport.
given the tyranny of distance it's quite well researched, missing only a few bits and pieces (a surprising omission being links to Optus Stadium).
all Aus media is based in Sydney and they have only one interest, themselves
@@grahamfrizzell7975 I left Optus a few weeks back and got on a train. I think they only run them for events though. Also for the comment chain, all Australian media is pure filtered propaganda don't expect to get anything out of it other than a single narrow twisted world view lmao.
Lmao are you really surprised that easterners don't care bout perth?
Some additional points regarding the Perth rail system:
1. the Armadale line will be extended further south to Byford to access that growing area, adding 8 kilometres of track and one station (at Byford)
2. the Midland line may be extended further east to Bellevue which would add about 2 kilometres of track and one station (at Bellevue) whilst Midland Station is being relocated about 500 metres east of its existing location
3. there has been no desire to add additional tracks to the Midland line as it is believed the new signalling system will cope with the anticipated traffic on the Perth to Bayswater section of 24 trains per hour, as well as a couple of pinch points where four tracking in any case would not be possible (so say the planners anyway)
4. one of the primary reasons for the Thornlie-Cockburn line right now is in fact to run through trains from Mandurah to Perth Stadium Station to encourage people to take the train to events at Perth Stadium rather than cars (a new platform is being built at Perth Stadium Station to accommodate these trains)
5. there is a potential to extend the electrified system from Thornlie Station to High Wycombe Station (terminus of the Airport Line) along the existing freight corridor to make direct trains from Mandurah and Armadale/Byford to Perth Airport as High Wycombe Station has been built to make such an extension feasible with minimal work. There is a short chord at Kenwick Station already extant that connects the Armadale Line to the existing freight line
6. Should it become necessary in the future, the Thornlie-Cockburn link could be easily extended along existing freight corridors to Fremantle Station. Part of that line south of Fremantle Station previously saw passenger trains during the America's Cup in 1987
7. whilst no active provision has been made for it (rather short sightedly) there is a future possibility of a direct connection between the Ellenbrook Line and the Airport Line to enable direct trains from Ellenbrook to the Airport and southwards towards Cockburn Central and Mandurah, but that would be many years in the future.
8. operationally trains from the Airport Line will generally run through to Claremont on the Fremantle line to minimise terminating trains at Perth Station. Presumably a similar situation will operate when the Ellenbrook Line opens
9. the Armadale/Thornlie line will close for 18 months from early 2023 to enable the section between Carlisle Station and Beckenham Station to be elevated (a la Skyrail in Melbourne) to enable elimination of 6 level crossings. Welshpool Station will permanently close as a result of this due to low patronage
A friend of mine is a Project Manager on the level crossing removal project. He tells me that presently the crossings can be closed for up to 35 minutes per hour.
The underground between East Perth and Claisebrook I imagine may be an issue for track duplication.
@@werdnanostaw That sounds about right, they are a pain in the ass when driving in the area. Rail crossing gates are down more often than not
Not supprised about Welshpool closing. There's literally nothing there. And about 20 min walk to get to Bently centre
@@werdnanostaw Yes I regularly drive over the train tracks near Oats St station and on weekdays the boom gates seem to be down for about half the time. It's already causing significant inconvenience and the line needs to be elevated in that section to accommodate both general rail growth and the additional need for capacity with the Thornlie-Cockburn extension.
The Moore St crossing in East Perth was closed a few years ago because there was too much train traffic. I worked close to it about 10 years ago and remember people bypassing the gates as they had been waiting 15 minutes with the gates closed. Once level crossings approach being closed 50% of the time they need to be removed and different options considered.
I really enjoyed seeing this video about the quality rail network of my home city. I'm a transport consultant myself and often feel people in Perth don't recognise how high quality our public transport network is. For a city that was literally planned around the car in the 1950s and has massive sprawl issues, the way they've retrofitted such a high quality rail network into a car-oriented city is quite impressive and should be a model for other car based cities.
Something else you might find interesting is that every railway line also has a cycle path going alongside it, with major stations having large secure bike cages that require an ID'd Smartrider to access. Combined with a very high quality cycle path network (Perth is a very bike friendly city), this offers a lot of excellent last mile solutions. It is literally faster for me to cycle to my nearest station on the Mandurah line than to drive or catch a bus.
Transport might be decent in Perth, but I'm still gonna drive everywhere
There is a significant downside to this too, the universal policy of closing level crossings which is cutting off communities on either side of the tracks,. See the closure of Caledonian ave in Maylands as a prime example.
Now all the state government needs to do is clear out the intoxicated loitering a troublesome natives from the Perth Central rail station.
Not a nice look for the city as train passengers traveling to the city have to avoid these annoying and pesky trouble makers.
@@paulcasey5204 It was a good decision to make.
I'm one of those who didn't appreciate what we had. Then on Quora reading the posts from people living in other cities around the world I started to get a glimmer. Many American cities on the other hand don't sound that great.
The Perth suburban rail system is world class now, a long ways from what I remember in 1969 with the old diesel railcars. The 1979-1983 Fremantle line closure was a low point. I revisited Perth in 2009 and was really impressed with the expanded and modernized suburban rail system.
Blown away ! Learned more about my local rail transit network from a Canadian than from having lived here for 60 years ! Great channel, great video. The rail upgrades for the new Perth stadium now allow up to 22 trains to be stacked to enable movement of about 28,500 per hour to or from the venue. A magnificent visual site when it is operating at full capacity during stadium events.
Loving the new stadium, off the train and into your seat In minutes.
For a rather small and somewhat sprawling city I've always felt that Perth is a city that does transit right. The rail network is impressively modern and is definitely among the best in the entire country. The service is fast and frequent with trains on all lines running at least every 15 minutes during the day and with speeds up to 130kph on the Joondalup and Manurah lines; journey times are relatively small. The trains themselves are clean and well maintained with rubbish and graffiti being a rare sight (although I wish the trains had more comfortable seats). The larger stations too are very well designed with plenty of amenities; shelter and very easy interchange with bus services. It's the little things too that make Perth's rail system great, for instance at many stations the platform sits level with the trains meaning passengers with wheelchairs can simply board the train unassisted with minimal gap between the train and the platform.
Perhaps what makes the public transport network a success is that it feels like a truly integrated and connected transport network; with train and bus services working together to maximize public transport coverage. Building a rail line on a freeway reserve isn't good for walkability with trains stations having small walk-up catchment, but despite this the Joonadlup and Manurah lines attract good patronage partly by having effective feeder buses that transfer passengers on and off the rail network. Even in the outer suburbs it's not uncommon to have buses running every 20 minutes, 15 minutes, or in some cases; every 10 minutes during peak times. This is perhaps in contrast to some North American cities that build new rail lines and simply rely on park & ride to get passengers onto trains. It's amazing to think that despite Perth having a smaller population than Brisbane and it's rail network being around half the size; Perth's rail network consistently gets more patronage than Brisbane's rail network, which shows you what a rail network with good frequencies and good integration with other modes can achieve.
Well said. Furthermore, Perth's train network is more efficiently operated than Brisbane's network too due to one-man operation, and is also safer as it was the first Australian network to fully adopt Automatic Train Protection.
Interesting you mention the comfort factor of the seats. Many hours of deliberation went into the design of the fabric for those seats, given the public propensity to vandalise everything they touch. I was heavily involved in the designing stage, and spent hours sifting thru material until we settled on a certain one. This material was supposed to have steel weaved thru it to prevent vandalism. Sadly, they didn't cut the mustard, within 4 weeks of the services opening, the seats were vandalised by knife attack. For my money, I suggested seats be replace with stainless steel perforated back and seat. Nothing to damage. But was rejected.
Dunno what line you're running, but the Midland line is unfortunately frequently dirty, and rubbish everywhere. :(
@@JackAllpikeMusic That's nothing compared to the state of trains in certain other capital cities in this country. Besides, feral passengers aren't the operator's fault. The trains start the day squeaky clean and the cleaners do a great job. If trains were cleaned after each and every trip, you'd see significant delays across the network.
@@PoweredByCNG I know, I get that. I wasn't blaming the operators or anything - but due to the uhh clientele of the Midland line, it's usually pretty mangy.
My Dad drives trains for Transperth! It's a good system, at one point I was catching the train and bus to high school. Though when I lived in Ellenbrook the rail line was an election promise many times and never happen. It became a bit of a joke. But the developer does deserve some credit as they designed the suburb with a rail corridor. Which is pretty rare forethought haha
Perth definitely needs a ring line, ideally from the Joondalup line through Ellenbrook, to Midland and then as you suggested southward. (Also I'm sorry but that's not how you pronounce Joondalup. But that's ok 😅)
It may have been mentioned before but in the last decade or so they've also developed an extensive bike network that also integrates with the train stations. Though I haven't visited in a few years so I haven't had a chance to try any of these things.
How did he score the job? I'd love to drive trains for a living! :D
Also the PSP network absolutely rocks!
@@rtmpgt I don't know, actually. From the sound of it there was a bunch of trainees hired at the same time. It was a couple of months full time training if I recall.
Man, what a cool job.
Not the developer actually, the government yonks ago reserved a rail corridor up that way. There was some forethought for once 😂
Yup! The Ellenbrook line was an election prophecy for some years lol, but yeah as a Ellenbrookian, I personally think that the bus network is also something great, I haven't yet lived in a suburb where you absolutely have to get a car here
If you enjoyed this video, you'd probably enjoy my latest explainer on Melbourne here: th-cam.com/video/iwiAxppxGaU/w-d-xo.html
Please don't make anymore you know nothing about Perth
@@Lucifer-oh6ve what's wrong with this video? I think it's a good crash course (though I would've liked more detail in stone sections personally), the only glaring issue was the pronunciation of Joondalup
joodalup said june-da-lup
Well done on the pronunciation of our suburban names mate.
Ignore Lucifer! This was an outstanding presentation on my home city of Perth! Thanks RMTransit 😊 Hope you cover more of Perth in the near future!
Reece - Good video. Some history/background:
* Thornlie wasn't part of the original 3 lines. It is a result of the previous plan to route Mandurah trains via there. Fortunately that didn't happen with the more direct freeway alignment chosen instead. But Thornlie got built as a stub. The benefit is wider than that though as it allows the longer distance Armadale trains to run express, improving journey times.
* Agree on comments re capacity. A disadvantage of the airport line is that peak trains on related lines will only be every 12 (not every 10 min). This has a major knock on effect to the bus network. Currently peak buses are every 10 min (main routes) with even local routes every 20 min. However 12 min train frequency will cause many bus routes to be only every 24 min in peak - a poorer service that's not clockface or memory. This is documented in the released plans for the airport area bus network. The trade-off is that stations like Bayswater will have amazing service.
* Perth has integrated train/bus multimodal fares. Therefore whether CBD transport is free or not doesn't affect train usage or cost for commuters. Perth was one of the first Aust cities to do integrated fares (in the 1970s along with Adelaide).
* There have been a few interesting schemes. Eg the promises for MAX Light Rail that came to nothing about 10 years ago by the Barnett government.
* Perth doesn't get enough credit for its train frequency. With its 15 min off-peak 7 day service it is more consistently better than any Australian city apart from Sydney. Very roughly Perth has double Brisbane's train frequency on half the number of lines and half the stations. Yet its rail patronage exceeds Brisbane's. Perth has done a lot with a little due to working its trains hard 7 days and better integrating with buses. Neither are done by lazy and disjointed Brisbane. It's slow but Perth has gradually extended its 15 min service over more of the day including Sunday morning and early evenings (at times where a 30 min frequency is common in all other Australian cities outside Sydney).
* Perth also needs credit for its bus network reform. There's still some complex routes and 120 min weekend headways but it's vastly better than in the '90s. There is a frequent orbital route. 900-series routes have tram-like operating hours and frequencies including 15 min maximum waits on Sundays. Government hasn't put a lot of money into increased bus services in recent years but the bus planners there know what they are doing and have been able to increase the number of all day frequent routes. The network is far less radial than the less versatile networks of Adelaide and Brisbane. Rail and bus are planned very closely there, unlike other cities (notably Brisbane) where there isn't much coordination. This has enabled buses to feed rather than duplicate trains with higher frequencies possible in the suburbs.
* Passenger information is also quite good. Perth often has multimode network maps at stations. Something that cities like Melbourne could learn from.
* There is a feeling there that there's a competent transit authority when travelling the network. You don't get that feeling in some other cities.
To summarise Perth has better transit than you might expect from its urban form. Whereas there some other cities (especially with older urban patterns) that are better than their transit.
Your last comment is so true honestly. I've travelled all over Perth on buses and trains (not just into the town centres, but also to random roads/streets for shopping and FB Marketplace pickups) and never felt stranded or lost.
Perth's 900-series frequent bus network is good - but the definition of "frequent" and the application of that definition is inconsistent. The 955 to Ellenbrook is one example, with service falling off the proverbial cliff after 2010hrs on a weeknight out of Morley. The other 900s finish around midnight (generally). Compare this to Brisbane's frequent "BUZ" routes (a bus every 15mins, from approx. 0500-2400, 7 days a week), their Nightlink services (Fri/Sat only), or even little Adelaide with it's hourly after-midnight service across Sat/Sun, and you can't help but feel Perth is a bit short-changed.
The sad part is, there are swanky reports and presentations about how gobsmacked everyone was when the 950's demonstrated that the strongest gains in patronage are to be found in between the peaks, at night and on weekends... Yet night service is still an issue on the 900s and even the more popular feeders, especially on weekends. It's the public transport equivalent of denying the health dangers of obesity.
That said, the ongoing pattern of service review and reform since services were contracted out in 1996 has been nothing short of exceptional; plenty of other Australian cities could take heed of this system and reap similar benefits. The only trouble is, there's not a lot left to reform on the network, and thus not many more opportunities to rob Peter to pay Paul to fund service improvements as they've usually done. The pace of service improvements has therefore slowed, given the buses seem to be in a funding drought while the Government goes and pours money into the outer suburbs...
@@misterrocks3035 Agree. Despite its 900-series route number I think the 955/956 predates most of the expansion of the 900 routes and refinement of that concept. Weekends particularly poorly served even though it could have been set up as the Ellenbrook 'train' before it was built. Oddly the 98/99 got changed to 900-series route numbers even though it doesn't quite have the span and consistent weekend frequency to match.
BUZ routes are better but seem to have a lot of overlap and middle of nowhere termini related to the BCC boundaries. A bit like Perth's old 940's weak terminus. And very strongly radial so overall less useful especially when combined with low train frequencies. Agree Perth is by far the worst served city with night services. It's tried various things but doesn't seem to have got usage satisfactorily high. Melbourne's made great strides and as you say that even Adelaide's better. But Adelaide's Go Zone corridors are mostly only every 30 min on weekends whereas Perth has a lot more 7 day 15 min corridors. If I had to choose I'd go with what Perth has done.
As regards service reform, Labor in WA seems to have copied Labor in Victoria, including a focus on infrastructure, not service. NSW has funded both more equitably. Perth still has some parts of bus networks that could do with reform, eg a large area south of Cockburn, the south-east around Gosnells and the north-east around Morley/Noranda. Latter still has lots of dead end routes.
Luckily Belmont / Kalamunda's getting reformed when airport rail starts and Morley/Noranda should be sorted when Ellenbrook rail commences. I notice Route 980 hasn't been allocated - I'm assuming they're keeping that for Wanneroo Rd, but that's quite complicated and could get pushback given the number of routes in that corridor terminating at various places. What might be neatest from a network point of view (eg a terminus at Warwick) might not be the best from a patronage point of view (guessing that this would be highest if it was towards Mirrabooka and north due to local demographics).
Victoria is slowly turning around, appreciating service a bit more. Hopefully Perth will follow with some more 900 routes across the north, outer south-east. Also some faster options for the neglected north inland from Wanneroo Rd and south of Fremantle distant from fast rail. Failing that, if they're willing to permit more changing, there may be a scope to run one of the Belmont routes across to East Vic Park and then to South Perth rather than going into the city, providing a missing east-west link (even if it's only every 20 min peak/30 interpeak). And similar across the inner north from the Joondalup to the Midland line.
The off peak frequencies Perth trains have are impressive and yes far better than most other capital cities. This is what helps make PT appealing to people. Perth seems to have quietly gone about expanding and improving its train system. It punches above it's weight with speed and efficiency. It even had the first cashless card system with SmartRider, long before Melbourne/Sydney or Brisbane came on board with their own.
Wow, didn't expect Perth to be covered tonight, a welcome surprise.
I don't catch the train much, but they're alright when I di
It's a nice system, just needed some time to cover it!
@@RMTransit Finally got around to watching this video, and you mentioned the possibilities of a rail loop in the future. 8:25
I'm surprised you didn't mention that there were already plans of this by the current Labor government (Metronet stage 2), released in the 2016 election campaign. Under that, there'd be two rail loops, linking Cockburn to Fremantle, Thornlie to Perth Airport, and Bayswater to Balcatta via a northern corridor, possibly along Reid Highway.
Hey Reece, I think it'd be cool to do a video ranking the rapid transit systems of Australia similalr to the videos you've done with America and Canada since their are actually a similar amount of sytems to Canada, it'd be interesting to hear your rankings and the pros of cons of each system (In your eyes).
Not a bad idea!
@@RMTransit I have bone to pick. You made statement regards the gauge of track, suggesting that 4.8' standard gauge would allow faster speeds. problem with that is NSW has 4.8' on their system, yet when I visited over there, their trains ran bloody SLOW. Like you, I expected them to be faster, very disappointed to see how slow they really were. I was told the slow speeds were due to the very poor track conditions, couldn't buy that though, because some sections were in good shape. Maybe next time you come here, you need to try a trip to Kalgoorlie on the Prospector, whole different ball game.
@@itchyvet stations are also much closer together. The trains simply cannot reach top speed if they are constantly stopping
I'm from Sydney but spent about 3 months living in Perth for work in the early 2000s. I used the free Cats (metro busses) when traveling around the CBD and trains when traveling to and from the suburbs. I get this was some time ago and only for a relatively short time. But I do remember thinking the public transport felt more reliable than Sydney's. Of course it was servicing a much smaller population in a much smaller geographical area. But I got by without a car living in West Perth (inner city) and Cannington (the burbs).
For what it's worth, I'm not downplaying Sydney's public transport. Our rail network is incredibly complex which is the result of it being much older and servicing a huge population. Sometimes I'm amazed at how well it does given the circumstances. But if you're in the suburbs of Sydney, your millage will vary. If your suburb has a train station and you're mainly traveling to the CBD or other large population area then you'll love our public transport. Otherwise, you'll probably need a car.
RM Transit-“Melbourne and Jakarta are the closest major cities to Perth”
Adelaide- “Am I a joke to you”
I was born and raised in WA, but I lived in Adelaide for 2 years (1995-1997). I gotta say I did love it, part of it's charm though is that it's not big and full of itself, it's got that old school charm. I'm heading back in a couple of weeks for a friends birthday, looking forward to catching up with my old Glenelg crew.
Seeing a structural analysis of Perth's public transport system from an international perspective definitely helps me appreciate what I have more! Perth people always complain about the public transport, possibly because lots of people here are from/have holidayed in Asia or England, and have Singapore and London to compare to. There's definitely unreliability as to bus punctuality and many suburbs aren't connected super well, but I suppose bus routes are all decided based on demand and patronage. But as for the suburban train system, it definitely helps to see from a third party view about how well designed it is!
Also -it throws me a bit when you say regional rail to refer to transit within a city, because here regional rail is out to the regions/regional towns, as opposed to between suburbs within a big city. What do you call train systems servicing regional/rural towns?
Also: Joondalup is pronounced JOON-duh-LUP, same intonation as kangaroo
I have a new appreciation too! It definitely reframes a lot of complaints I've had. Though my complaints also stem from the buses usually. I live in the free transit zone in the city, my closest stop literally has 2 different cats buses run along it, and I still have to wait over 10 minutes for a bus
People forget that we have low density everywhere, even sydney and Melbourne is very low dense. Not many countries have cities of over 5 million (let alone 2 mill) that is mostly just low dense housing. Thankgod for the Australian dream aye haha. So PT is never gonna be on the scale as Europe or Asia. However if we compare it to other countries that are also very Low dense (US and Canada) we are far superior in that competition
As someone who spent most of my life in the United States, the public transit in Perth is something out of a dream for me. I hardly use my car at all. I only drive to go on a surf trip to Margaret river here and there.
I like how 60% Of comments are Perth residents, and I’m one of them.
Looking at urban rail across various Australian cities, it’s interesting that dedicated underground/metro lines only appeared recently and that regional trains (thinking Sydney) operate underground and almost metro like, reducing the need for transfers to other transport modes into the downtown core. To the Australians watching this video, would the cities of Perth and Sydney benefit from more underground rail transport or is surface regional rail sufficient enough?
In Brisbane I like surface rail because I like natural light beaming into the train, but in the CDB I’d expect to be mostly underground. Personally, any new train line/extension is good. I believe most cities would benefit from having suburban rail located more throughout a CBD.
@@samsam21amb and within the CBD, would it be better on elevated track or underground. And would service be better offered with a dedicated metro or just by utilizing existing regional rail, but with more stops closely spaced?
@@japanesetrainandtravel6168 The CBD's of Australian cities are a lot smaller than you seem to think they are. The two underground stations in Perth are only 2 minutes apart but are right on the northern and southern edges of the city. Density immediately drops once you leave the CBD so Metro style rail is pretty much pointless. Places outside of the CBD with higher density housing are built around the already existing rail network.
Hey, not Australian but anyways. In my country (China) the cities are high-density and there is no real distinction between a suburban residential area and an employment area; the cities are polycentric. Thus, there are underground systems here as underground systems require many dense areas of employment and residency that are connected. In Australia (I have visited once), the cities have a clear distinction between suburban housing zones and employment centers in the form of CBDs or industrial areas. Thus, the commuter rail should be enough in countries like Australia as most people commute from the suburbs into the central areas and there is lower demand for travel.
@@Tobez11 thanks for clearing that up! I am looking at the systems in Australia and comparing them to Toronto and now questioning if our regional rail could have had some through running underground with two stops underground. In Toronto, our urban planners love tunnelling even out to suburbs where metro trains could have run above ground at a cheaper cost (thinking about York U extension to Vaughan)
While stations in the middle of freeways look cool, I was surprised to find it a less than pleasant environment because of the noise of traffic, and fumes. The stations off the freeway are a much better waiting environment. What is cool is travelling on the train at 130 km/hr past cars limited to 110 km/hr, or less because of congestion.
Definitely agree that that can be an issue and so a smart design is really important, it would be good to encourage more ev adoption which would at least reduce the fumes.
Definitely a good point, but I'd like to see more cities doing it. Getting ROW is always a pain, and it provides great bus access.
Or develop the stations with TOD at that stations and on top of the platforms
@@williamerazo3921 Might be hard with freeway stations. Lots of noise, and not a lot of green space. But where possible I certainly support the idea.
Los Angeles has this same problem, as they have a lot of stations in the middle of freeways. Loud, windy, polluted, and almost nothing within walking distance because you have to walk across the freeway first.
Nice one! I love how Perth has taken a long term approach to transport planning. Things as simple as building the underpass off the Mandurah line north of Cockburn Central to enable the future Thornlie-Cockburn link - 15 years ago. Not to mention the beautiful integration of the Optus stadium with the rail system and active modes. Perth is a shining example of why "$city is too small for transit" or "$city is too sprawly for rail" arguments are nonsense. So many cities can learn from Perth.
That was mostly a happy accident, the OG plan for the Mandurah line was to be an extension of the Thornlie line.
yeah perth and future proofing is not something we're known for. the mandurah and joondalup lines were meant to be built at the same time (1990-92), but mandurah line got delayed due to changing the route 20000000 times and was opened in 2007.
@@MHubert_ Good to get a local's perspective! But as a visitor to Perth... damn that's a nice system you've got there.
I'm not sure if plans have changed since the initial pitch a few years ago but my understanding is that they are planning to make one giant ring around the city, or several smaller loops. I know one part will be to connect the Ellenbrook line to the Joondalup line probably through Reid highway and connecting through to either Stirling or Warwick station.
As far as I know that has been discussed as potentially part of MetroNet Part 2. Unfortunately very few details have been given so far. I expect we'll have to wait and see how things go with Part 1, as it has taken longer than originally planned.
That's exciting, having some circumferential rail would be very useful
@@silk1435 Yes, Ellenbrook is happening now along with the Yanchep extension. They are raising parts of the Armadale line to eliminate at grade crossings. The Thornlie line will connect to Cockburn Central and then the original plan was to connect that through to Fremantle. The Ellenbrook line is supposed to connect across to the Joondalup line via Reid Highway. The idea behind Metronet was originally to have two "circle lines" one north and one south of the river.
@@OberonOZ I like the idea of 2 circle lines, will be great for improving the reach and flexibility of the system I think. Hopefully we get that by 2035, or 2040, but planning these things alone does take ages, so I will just keep my fingers crossed.
The LINE actually already exists. It runs from the Bunbury line at Mundejong thru to Kwinana, there it accesses the Fremantle section, which then acceses the Midland via Perth, from Perth you go to Armadale, (currently working on extending to Byford) then thru again to Mundijong. One giant circle rail route.
I’m so glad you covered this system of Perth, Western Australia, Australia!
I often used studied the system over the last two years, the first time I ever started studying passenger train systems in Australia! I was quite impressed with the system in Perth, and given the size of the city and how the regional rail system operates, I think it’s quite an amazing system!
So fun to see my city featured on this channel! I catch Transperth trains and buses frequently, they're honestly the easiest and cheapest way to get to the city CBD. I'm hoping the Metronet promise for light-rail eventuates, as there are plenty of local councils with long-term plans for tram routes. Bit worried about the possibility of being stuck with trackless trams though, as a very influential transport planning figure over here (Peter Newman) has been pushing for them.
What is it with this guy? He should know better. Is he employed by the promoters ir independent?
Cheapest? Transperth is an absolute rip off compared to most cities around the world, who even has zones still, should be one fee per trip just like every other major city.
@@exhpv I didn’t say they were the cheapest service in the world mate. I said they were the cheapest way to get into the city (considering parking, fuel, etc).
Besides, Transperth appear to be phasing out zones; they’ve reduced the fare cap down to 2 zones just recently.
@@exhpv $5 to get from Butler to Mandurah is a rip off?
We only functionally have 2 zones at the moment..
The Perth network has become a classic S-Bahn, with suburban above-ground lines connecting through the city centre by tunnel. This is the ideal way to expand rail coverage of a large urban area which has generally suburban density, rather than building a metro. The S-Bahn concept that started in Germany has spread across the world. The video also shows that the 'Cape gauge' of 3 ft 6 in (1.067M) is able to deliver most of what a standard gauge railway offers - and has a long-term future, with WA (Perth Region) and Queensland taking up with Japan has done successfully for decades. The extra 3 inches over the metre-gauge (3ft 3 in, 1.0M) seems to make a real difference, enabling trains to be as heavy and wide as on standard gauge lines, though with lower maximum speed. ''Cape gauge' is one of the British Empire's legacies to the world.
Yep essentially the Perth rail network is mostly a suburban commuter one. In the inner suburbs of Perth rather than metros there are high frequency bus routes that run every 5-15 minutes during the day 7 days per week. The bus service in the inner suburb I live in is excellent and service frequency has improved dramatically with bus services in Perth in the last 20 years generally. In the 1990's the usual Sunday frequency of a bus route was EVERY 2 HOURS!! so we've come a long way.
I particularly think it’s quite amazing how the regional passenger train system of Perth, a very isolated city of Australia, has a great system but not Adelaide, which is closer to several other major cities of Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
That said, Adelaide is the only remaining major city to not have a fully electric regional rail system, but Perth, given how isolated it is, has a fully electric regional rail system!
It is interesting to see how Perth is superior to Adelaide
@@worldatmyfeet7898 yeah true! It’s interesting indeed.
That too, the Perth metropolitan population is greater than that of Adelaide, though that’s probably not at all a contributing factor to the superiority of Perth’s regional passenger train network compared to that of Adelaide’s, but it is interesting indeed how Perth is ahead in terms of better regional trains than Adelaide.
*Me wiping a tear as a Perth'inian* 😅
Yeah, but proximity doesn't mean anything. Luck does. South Australia (no offence south Aussies, I thing you guys are very cool) is hemorrhaging money. Even before covid their economy was a little... Slow. They are half the size of even Perth. Which is a fifth of the size of Sydney. (probably very patriotic hot take) Perth is also the backbone of the entire Australian economy. We're the most productive state per capita, and supply a decent proportion of the world's iron ore, and a majority of Tesla (and the world's) lithium. In our previous state budget, we had a 5 billion dollar surplus. While all the other states were in deficit. We're forecast again to be in for another landmark surplus. We kept Australia's triple a credit rating, and arguably our economy was the best in the world during covid. It's not surprising then that we're bigger than south Australia in all respects.
The problem with SA is you guys continuously vote in dead-beat lefties as state premiers devoid of intelligence who cannot budget for peanuts.
Perth resident here. Interesting to see your take on our rail system however it still has a lot of issues. Our trains are fast but our stations are sparse and last mile public transit is an absolute nightmare in many parts of the city. Our city has a particularly low population density because most people live in large houses on large blocks of land and our urban planning has historically been centred around owning a car - very similar to American cities. The result is that unless you live close to a train station (most people don't), you will have to take a bus to your final destination and these buses are low in frequency (compared to many European cities), often out-of-sync with the train timetable and take a long time to reach their destination because of the distances they need to travel and the high frequency of stops needed to serve all of the areas on their routes. The urban sprawl also means that you may end up walking almost half a kilometre to get to the bus stop from your house. The result is that most people just chose to drive unless they are commuting to the central business district in peak hour, when there is nowhere to park. In peak hour, some people are able to make use of park 'n ride facilities but these aren't available at all stations (underground carparks might help solve this but they would cost the government a lot of money I don't think they are willing to spend).
There are also many suburbs where a rail line or a station with park 'n ride facilities is not within a reasonable distance which means a slow, frequently-stopping peak hour direct bus into the CBD is the fastest means of public transport. If I could drive to work, it would take me 12 minutes however on public transport, it takes 45 minutes! Cycling is an option but the distance is such that I would have to shower and change clothes at work due to the sweat which ultimately adds another 15 minutes to the effective time before I'm at my desk.
E-scooters are a way forward that not enough people are talking about. They have the potential to massively increase the accessibility radius of train stations, especially if appropriate infrastructure is built. Our trains are also wide enough to take plenty of folded e-scooters.
You get it. Well said
Yes. Just tried the Joondalup line and it was quite interesting that there is no station between Stirling and Warwick stations.
@@nmslstoneinty3131 Theres a nebulous planned station for Karrinyup road at some point in the future. (I dont think it falls into the Metronet plan, so would be quite some way off)
Bikes/Escooters are your friend. pretty much all stations have storage for them and great cycle path connections. if its inside 5 kms from the station theres a pretty good chance its faster than driving to the station, and MUCH faster than getting a bus.
This! I used to live in Ardross. To get to MU by car it would only take ike 10-12 minutes. By public transport though, it takes 40 minutes. The buses are infrequent and some mean standing at a nearby bus station in the hot sun for a long time. You can get around to most of Perth by public transport, but it takes an awfully long time. It's possible, but most of your time is spent waiting around or trying to reach your next bus or train station.
Great video on my home city , there is so much happening on our PT network it is hard to keep up with the projects. Some of the projects include rebuilding old sections as elevated rail. Perth is the poster child of how you can take a car dependent sprawling city and turn it into a pro train city. Perth came very close to losing its train network in the 1970’s to one that Perth people are now proud of.
It's hard to emphasise enough how much the Perth system relies on high speed.
In a low density city like Perth, the primary competition is the private car. So designing a system that forces riders to transfer from bus to train doesn't seem like the obvious solution (forced transfers in isolation are usually supposed to be an anti-ridership thing).
But two things about the Perth approach stand out. Firstly, the trains are fast. And secondly the transfers happen (generally) a good long distance from the CBD. By spending a large part of the journey on very fast vehicles the disadvantage of a forced transfer is entirely offset, and public transport becomes a compelling option.
It's often said that transfers can make your transit better. Perth is how.
I wouldn't view it as forced transfer. It just makes sense. most reasonable sized stations have a circle route or two around the suburb, with relatively high frequency and not overly long travel times. it makes the amount of population the train can service quite a large percentage. The ticket system is only based on how many Zones you've crossed, so there is no penalty for a new ticket. overall the system works very well, I've been using it for years.
You have to add in the compelling advert for public transit of the train whipping past slowed cars in a traffic jam. The more congested the traffic, the more compelling the train looks.
@@lindsaycole8409 traffic in perth is never as bad as the insanity you see in major us cities, london or china, but take the train on any above average traffic day and you will move past all the cars you can see long term. if you drive, see how long you can stay in front of the train for once you line up with it.
@@jonathanodude6660 That is my point, if there wasn't a good public transit option in Perth it would have horrendous traffic on the north-south freeways during rush hour and constant moaning to add ever more lanes etc. that happens in North America.
Having the railway as part of the freeway means that it becomes a combined travel corridor that is really only limited by the train capacity, not the freeway traffic capacity.
@@lindsaycole8409 it seemed like you were saying the converse affirmative, that traffic generates higher demand for transit, rather than transit directly reducing the traffic. Both are true, but I was only responding to our traffic not being as much of a driver towards trains as might be in North America. For example I take it because it’s convenient, cheaper than driving most of the time (for me) and doesn’t add enough time to the journeys to be not worth it.
The new work won’t reduce any of my existing trips, but it would mean that more areas are accessible by train than before.
Great overview! The Airport line is scheduled to go into operation by the 30th of June, and will run on B series trains from Claremont on the Fremantle Line through to the new High Wycombe station on the Airport Line. We are truly blessed to have such a nice transport system here in Perth and to have a government which supports funding for it!
Sure beats the crap out of what Emperor Barney Rubble was promising before Mr. McGoo ousted him from office..
You can thank the iron ore royalties for that.
@@pistolpete8539 I’m presuming you are American? I’m from Perth but have been living in Chicago. Interesting country, you have here.
dont bank on the airport line being completed in June - there was a mistake with construction because they installed the track switchers all wrong, so itll likely be opened in september (the line was going to be closed after a month or so anyway for more construction) - source from a guy working in Transperth
@@daleglenny1133 I'm Australian and live in Perth. The previous state government prior to Mr. McGoo spent SFA on modernising and expanding Perth's metropolitan train network. Perth requires an expanded and more efficient transport network for our city's future needs.
Excellent video Reece! Well researched and well detailed, and this is why your channel has become successful!
If you ever do a video on Adelaide, please get in touch! Cheers
(The guy who sent you the heap of Adelaide Timetables and Metrocard last year)
I've just requested an Adelaide video too.
@@davidbull7210 Two minutes and its all over.
@@pistolpete8539 As long as that?
Ok, glad you could pronounce Cockburn correctly but Joondalup needs work :D Great video none the less!
Thanks for watching :)
I think Reece probably knows the pronunciation of Cockburn very well due to the presence of people with the surname Cockburn in his home country. One such person who comes to my mind is the great musician Bruce Cockburn.
With regards to the pronunciation of "Joondalup", he will do well to know that the emphasis is on the first syllable. Locals say /ˈdʒʉːndəˌlʌp/ (JUNE-da-luhp, the last syllable rhyming with "up")
I'm from Perth, by the way.
@@zerobi9468 i like how you even added the phonetic symbols like anyone is going to be able to read it😂
Relative to population size, Perth's heavy rail network is clearly ahead of Melbourne's, despite it lacking a city loop. Quite embarrassing that there's now going to be 2 smaller cities than Melbourne that are going to have an Airport link earlier.
Arguably a fully separated through-running cross is preferable to a loop; but it is a shame that Northbridge and North Perth are not on the network.
So true - Melbourne will still be waiting and debating after Adelaide and Auckland and Canberra have rail links to their airports. But please people do not despair we have the skybus - an argument that has been forced down our throats for decades.
Adelaide is without an airport rail link. There is an Airport Express Bus from the city but the only time I caught it, it left from the CBD at the same time as the regular J1 service through the airport, and arrived after it. Some express bus indeed. I can not see anywhere such a line could be placed and I doubt an underground line could be justified.
@@coweatsman Adelaide will probably have a tram link before Melbourne gets a rail link.
The track speed on the airport line is 130kp/h in the tunnels which is quite impressive
This is such a good video Reece. Really touches on the many features that makes the Transperth network so good.
It was also great that you touched on some impending issues Perth's rail network is about to face, with over-crowding on the Joondalup Line, and track congestion on the Bayswater group.
To relieve some of the pressure on the Joondalup Line, the State Government is investigating a 'second northern railway' to serve the future area of East Wanneroo. Branching from the Ellenbrook Line near Malaga. Some ideas for connecting this East Wanneroo Line to Perth, is to quad-track between Perth and Bayswater station (like you said), or dig a parallel tunnel about 2km to the north, that goes to Morley and Edith Cowan University. But both of these result in the East Wanneroo Line bypassing all of the existing suburbs such as Mirrabooka and Alexander Heights.
We have been advocating for the East Wanneroo Line to instead use a combination of tunnel and elevated rail (which we know you love), that runs through the middle of Perth's northern suburbs and then 'through-runs' to the Armadale Line. This proposal reduces the over-crowding on the Joondalup Line, reduces the track congestion on the Bayswater group, and increasing the frequency on the Armadale/Thornlie Lines as trains no longer terminate at Perth.
ECU is actually being moved to the CBD as part of the Perth CityLink project, and the land that ECU Mount Lawley currently sits on is being sold.
Very good, except for your pronunciation of Joondalup lol ;)
Next you've got to do Brisbane/Gold Coast, since you've done the other Australian big cities
I did! Talked about Cross River rail!
By spending money on an efficient rail system they're saving money on constructing/expanding highways.
Absolutely
THIS is what most North American light rail systems should have been.
Could not agree more
@@RMTransit North America just focused too much on inner city light rail than metropolitan s-trains, but the political setup in North America vs Australia also plays a role, like in North America, a metro area is made up of multiple independent cities with their own council with jurisdiction only in their part of metro area, while in Australia, a metro area counts as 1 city under 1 council
I live in Perth trust me our train system is terrible, trains stop running from 2am
@@thomasgrabkowski8283 I think 1 city under council really only counts for Brisbane. Perth has many different councils but than again they don't have the same power as American ones (mostly look after rubbish collection, parks and local roads).
I love how you somehow managed to pronounce cockburn central “correctly” yet butchered Joon-dal-up 😭😭😭 Hahaha. I grew up with this network and also think it’s awesome!
This was great! So good to see Perth! Coming up is soon is the elevation of most of the Armadale/Thornlie line which shuts next year for 18 months to facilitate construction. Some other missing pieces for Perth are inner city light rail along the historic main streets and an expanded ferry service to bring to life the river network. Joondalup is pronouced Dune-darh-lup btw (say it quickly no spaces :)
June-da-lup
@@ScareWest June dull up .... my son lives there
@@adriaandeleeuw8339 probably, can certainly agree not Dune unless you hav a wisp.
Exciting times! Hope they expansion continues in the medium term!
Also note that the emphasis is on the first syllable, not the second -- that's JUNE-da-luhp /ˈdʒʉːndəˌlʌp/
(The last syllable rhymes with "up")
Thanks for an informative and accurate explanation of the Perth Metronet system which is my home city. If I remember correctly many years ago when planing concepts were being considered there was a workimg party that specifically went to Canada to examine the majour city transport systems there to see if they could adapt some of their features here. Vancouver and Montriol were mentioned. The original designer of the Perth modern tail system was later employed to run the Sydney design and I believe now works in Canada.
I actually think Toronto seems like a more natural influence with the bus transfers!
The B Series trains also have a very silent sound, and when they leave and enter the station its sounds pretty important and cool. Although, the A series has doors to separate each car and kids trap themselves in there. I am super excited for the C series as the A series is really old and needs to be replaced.
As a driver operating these EMU's, never experienced kids trapping themselves between cars.
@@itchyvet Lol, that's cool, but like on the A series there is doors in the bogie.
@@itchyvet Ye just don't see em
the a series are still really great trains imo, i hope they dont just scrap them itd be a waste
I'm sure there have been studies on this, but i wonder if having railways right next to a road encourages more use of public transport. Sitting in traffic and seeing a train zoom past, uninterrupted, must be pretty convincing.
Trust me as someone who lives and works at opposite ends of Perth it is. Though the limited non-peak bus services make transferring from bus to train or train to bus less inviting, and hence the train less inviting. The issue is Perth's train network is highly radial. If you work in the CBD or near a train station it's great, but if you need to catch a bus to get to the station and then another bus at the other end it's not so great.
@@chrisdehaer1 This is a problem even in transit heavy parts of North America such as the Bay Area and Chicagoland. For uptown to uptown trips or suburb to suburb trips the multiple transfers involving not so frequent buses makes the journey cumbersome. Can share-ride taxis/vans/ Uber-share make a difference. Are they planning on circumferential lines for Perth?
Transperth have definitely capitalised on this. On the side of many B trains there is large writing that says "Take a break from driving". Definitely a good way to advertise
While it probably is, Perth (and Australia in general) has a huge car culture and it's a bit of a battle.
One of the issues was excessive pricing for the outer suburbs, however fares are now capped at 2-zone prices ($3ish I believe).
@@Trancheraa 2 zone fare (no concession, no smartrider) is 4.9 AUD, which is 3.45 USD.
Mate, thanks for sharing our awesome train network with the world!
I live along the armadale line, what's also really brilliant is that that line is undergoing grade separation works in 2023. Essentially the boom gates at each level crossing close for a total of about 4 hours a day, so it's absolutely a nessecary upgrade over the existing non-seperated level crossings. See the Denny Avenue grade separation in Kelmscott as a prime example of that in action.
Another note about the airport line, I am hoping that it opens in October, because at that point i'll be able to finally do what I did in Singapore and Sydney, and take the train to the airport for the first time ever. For reference, the 935 and 40 Bus routes are some of the busiest in perth!
Another crucial part of keeping car traffic off the roads is the CAT bus system, where it's a hop-on, hop-off bus system designed to loop the cities of Joondalup, (Pronounced JOON-d'-lup, not joon-DA-llup, btw.) Fremantle (their CATs are Orange!) and of course, Perth.
I'd love to see the crucial blue, Red and Yellow CATs of the CBD turned into light rail, or trolleybuses at least, especially considering how often these buses get used. it'd also make them way easier for wheelchair users to access as you could just use a low-floor tram or a raised platform.
I absolutely like the idea of your ring railroad connection though, it's probably doable seeing as there's freight lines that go through the kewdale-forrestfield-maida vale area that connect to the midland railway workshops and could provide some coverage to the industrial areas to the north of the city. Tonkin Highway also extends out to as far as Bullsbrook, where a lot of development will more than likely occur past 2050.
Also, our cycling network is also REALLY interesting, as a budding cyclist. The Principal Shared Path or PSP scheme essentially creates a cycling superhighway all across the city, with major links running through similar corridors that highly trafficked roads and rail lines use, on specially designed surfaces so that cyclists can use for maximum speed. the material uses way, way finer bitumen compounds and thus results in lower friction for cycle tires. Where there are breaks in the PSP there's also signage to direct riders to where other PSPs are, or where the recommended route is. It's definitely nowhere near as good as Denmark, but getting around on a bike, despite the size of the city is absolutely doable.
Our roads are also only as wide as they need to be. In suburbs the roads are quite narrow, and in more dense areas they are deliberately small to help calm traffic.
The other aspect of Metronet too is the development of areas _surrounding_ the train stations, i.e, what kind of property and businesses are going to be able to be built there. Essentially with Metronet, the idea is that each station's going to get turned into like, a metropolitan hub where there's medium density housing and businesses placed close to the train station.
Anyways, cheers for a great vid! If you ever do come live in sunny old Perth, we'll be happy to welcome you here :)
Lived next to the Denny Ave crossing for 7 years. Even before they installed the traffic signals on the Albany hwy side. I hated it. Horrible intersection at peak times. And when Kelmscott high school would knock off. The new over pass is a god send
@@NASGGamePlayz Nice to see some positive attitudes to all this work. The media have concentrated on people bleating about the Armadale line being closed for 18 months, as if rail replacement buses hadn't been considered. Short-term pain for massive overall gain. I'm up the Vic Park end, and the death of the 20-minute wait at the Welshpool Road crossing will be mourned by ... well... NOBODY. Especially since it's between me and the nearest BWS :D
@@NASGGamePlayz Oh I live in the area! Let me tell you getting to the local Woolies has gotten a lot faster. Used to take you about 10-15mins, now it takes you less than five.
I live a 2min drive away from my local traino for reference, so the reduction in time is a godsend. I can also now cycle to the shops if i need to as well thanks to all the upgraded paths. It also only takes me about 15mins to get to Armadale by bike :D
oh hey PGT, fancy seeing you here 😉
@@brendonovich Brendoooooooo! How are ya mate!
I was hoping for a clip of Warwick Station on the Joondalup line when talking about bus routes feeding stations in highway medians, because it has the bus station on the roof of the train station.
Lots of good examples for sure!
Is Warwick the one with the constantly broken escalator or was that Whitfords lmao
@@kandyburra I think all the escalators on that line are frickin' cursed lmao.
@@rtmpgt aye North of the river is just built differently bro 💀
G'Day from Perth, mate. Interesting overview of the rail network around the city and suburbs. Joondalup is pronounced "june -da-lup" - run them together and say it fast. Not "june-dal-up". Fun fact - any place name in 'Straya ending in 'up comes from the Aboriginal word meaning "near water". Oh, and you're more than welcome down here, you'll find the weather way better than what you get in Canada! 😁 Cheers cobber!
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it’s so weird that i’ve been violently drunk at most of these locations
Do Oslo please! I beg you, they have many new lines and stations planned. 😊
I'll need to find someone with footage
@@RMTransit I might have some footage
The buses, once transferred from a train, can still seem quite long in reaching adjacent destinations. This is in part due to the very s p r E a d apart nature of the land use. Walking, bring water and a hat.
Gotta say, bus services like the 525 and 526, that exist solely to wander through back streets and collect for/deliver from train stations are a godsend. Unfortunately they seem to exist in suburbs that, once you've disembarked, aren't very pedestrian-friendly, particularly at night.