There's been a bit of discussion in the Perth forums lately about making a thread here regarding Perth's urban transit. Alas, most of us are lazy, so I thought I'd give it a go. Transperth oversees the runnings of the public transit system, and unlike a lot of other capital cities, the entire system is publicly owned. Perth's ticketing is largely based around the SmartRider, which works on all forms of public transport. 170,500 people ride the train system alone every day.
At the moment, the rail system currently has 5 lines, all named after their respective destinations (Fremantle, Thornlie, Armadale, Clarkson and Midland). When the Mandurah line is finished, there will be 6 lines and the entire size of the network will have been doubled. Plans are also in the works to create a new line to the International Airport in the East of the city. Our Planning and Infrastructure minister wants the domestic and international terminals to merge (as the domestic terminal can't currently handle the amount of traffic it takes) and for the line to be constructed within 5 to 10 years. The options are to either build the line under the airport, have the line follow the airport boundaries before entering to the south, or connect it to a possible light rail system.
Construction of the Mandurah line involved:
* 81.5 route kilometres and 163 track kilometres of narrow gauge railway
* 2.8 million cubic metres of earthworks
* 252,000 concrete sleepers
* 15,200 tonnes of 50kg rail track
* 650 tonnes of 60kg rail track
* 22 kilometres of slab track
* 145,000 cubic metres of ballast
* 1,690 precast concrete masts
* 163,000 cubic metres of concrete with 22,300 tonnes of reinforcement
* 20 bridges and structures
* 15 stations
* 5,400 car bays
* 40 lifts
* 40 escalators
* 3 electrical feeder stations (25KV a.c power)
Needless to say, the MetroRail is a massive piece of infrastructure.
Here's a few pictures/spiel about it. Addition information can be found at
http://www.newmetrorail.wa.gov.au
A video regarding the entire project can be found at:
http://www.newmetrorail.wa.gov.au/NMR/video/Video_NMR_web.wmv (7min 42sec)
The new william st platforms:
The platforms are under this building, which has just started construction:
one40william.
There'll also be a connection to this building that's going up
Raine Sq.
With the completion of the underground station, new developments will begin on the train yards beside Perth Central.
It's all got to do with the whole TOD mindset, which the WA government has become a big fan of. They want to make the city easily accessible, and hide the rail lines with new, eco friendly, dynamic developments.
Esplanade Station is also underground, when it's completed, it will provide transport to the proposed foreshore development as well as the PCEC.
I'll leave it to the other Perf forumers to carry on from what I've started...
At the moment, the rail system currently has 5 lines, all named after their respective destinations (Fremantle, Thornlie, Armadale, Clarkson and Midland). When the Mandurah line is finished, there will be 6 lines and the entire size of the network will have been doubled. Plans are also in the works to create a new line to the International Airport in the East of the city. Our Planning and Infrastructure minister wants the domestic and international terminals to merge (as the domestic terminal can't currently handle the amount of traffic it takes) and for the line to be constructed within 5 to 10 years. The options are to either build the line under the airport, have the line follow the airport boundaries before entering to the south, or connect it to a possible light rail system.
Construction of the Mandurah line involved:
* 81.5 route kilometres and 163 track kilometres of narrow gauge railway
* 2.8 million cubic metres of earthworks
* 252,000 concrete sleepers
* 15,200 tonnes of 50kg rail track
* 650 tonnes of 60kg rail track
* 22 kilometres of slab track
* 145,000 cubic metres of ballast
* 1,690 precast concrete masts
* 163,000 cubic metres of concrete with 22,300 tonnes of reinforcement
* 20 bridges and structures
* 15 stations
* 5,400 car bays
* 40 lifts
* 40 escalators
* 3 electrical feeder stations (25KV a.c power)
Needless to say, the MetroRail is a massive piece of infrastructure.
Here's a few pictures/spiel about it. Addition information can be found at
http://www.newmetrorail.wa.gov.au
A video regarding the entire project can be found at:
http://www.newmetrorail.wa.gov.au/NMR/video/Video_NMR_web.wmv (7min 42sec)
The new william st platforms:
The platforms are under this building, which has just started construction:
one40william.
There'll also be a connection to this building that's going up
Raine Sq.
With the completion of the underground station, new developments will begin on the train yards beside Perth Central.
It's all got to do with the whole TOD mindset, which the WA government has become a big fan of. They want to make the city easily accessible, and hide the rail lines with new, eco friendly, dynamic developments.
Esplanade Station is also underground, when it's completed, it will provide transport to the proposed foreshore development as well as the PCEC.
The government's also planning a light rail system for Perth, as it's desperately needed. The proposal's gaining momentum as it all fits in nicely with the government's 'Network City' plan, so I think we might just get it. At the moment our Mayor is in Canberra asking for the money to do it (along with all the other lord mayors who are also asking for money) -considering that Perth holds a lot of marginal seats, he really should cough up the cash.
I'll leave it to the other Perf forumers to carry on from what I've started...