The ''Australind'' is a currently suspended rural passenger train service in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

operated by

Transwa Transwa is Western Australia's regional public transport provider, linking 240 destinations, from Kalbarri in the north to Augusta in the south west to Esperance in the south east. The Transwa system provides transport between Perth and the ...

on the

South Western Railway South Western Railway Limited, trading as South Western Railway (SWR), is the British state-owned train operating company that took over the services of the South Western Railway (2017–2025), operator of the same name from FirstGroup and MTR ...

between

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and Bunbury. The ''Australind'' was suspended in November 2023 due to the shutdown of the

Armadale line The Armadale line is a partially-closed suburban railway service in Perth, Western Australia, operated by the Public Transport Authority as part of the Transperth system. The Armadale line is long, and starts at Perth station, heading south ...

for upgrading, and pending retirement of the current rolling stock. The route has been replaced by coach bus services until mid-2025.

History

The ''Australind'' service began on 24 November 1947 and was hauled initially by U class steam locomotives. With an average speed of , it was the fastest narrow gauge passenger train in Australia. It was named to commemorate the city of that name envisioned by Marshall Waller Clifton on Leschenault Inlet 100 years previously. The current hamlet of

Australind Australind is a town in Western Australia, located 12 km north-east of Bunbury, Western Australia, Bunbury's central business district. Its Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area is the Shire of Harvey. At the 20 ...

, a

satellite town A satellite city or satellite town is a smaller municipality or settlement that is part of (or on the edge of) a larger metropolitan area and serves as a regional population and employment center. It differs from mere suburbs, subdivisions a ...

of Bunbury, has never had a passenger rail service, nor even a railway line. In February 1958, X class diesel locomotives took over. The service was relaunched on 1 October 1960 with onboard catering removing the need for an elongated stop at Pinjarra. On 16 November 1987, the current ADP/ADQ class railcars took over the service reducing journey times to 2 hours 30 minutes. In November 2023 the service was suspended due to the shutdown of the

for upgrading. The final two services on the current train sets - reserved for invited special guests - were conducted on 18 and 19 November 2023.

Rolling stock

When introduced, the train consisted of new carriages built by the

Midland Railway Workshops The Midland Railway Workshops in Midland, Western Australia, were the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) for over 80 years, (1904-1994). History The first railway workshops in Western Australia were located at ...

. In August 1985,

Westrail Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) was the state owned operator of railways in the state of Western Australia between October 1890 and June 2003. Owned by the state government, it was renamed a number of times to reflect extra respon ...

awarded Comeng, Bassendean a contract for five Westrail ADP/ADQ class railcars, three ADPs with driving cabs and two ADQs, using a similar body shell and interior fitout to the

New South Wales XPT The New South Wales XPT (short for eXpress Passenger Train) is a class of diesel locomotive, diesel-powered passenger trains built by Commonwealth Engineering, Comeng and ABB. Based on the British Rail-designed InterCity 125, High Speed Train, ...

carriages. Each carriage was powered by a

Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, electric vehicle components, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipmen ...

KTA19 coupled to a

Voith The Voith Group is a global technology company. With its broad portfolio of systems, products, services and digital applications, Voith trades in the markets of energy, paper, raw materials and transport. Founded in 1867, Voith today has aroun ...

transmission. They usually operate as a three or four carriage set. Five carriage set operation is not possible due to the limited platform length available at Perth station. In July 2003, the trains were painted in a new livery in line with the formation of

. In 2007, the trains were painted white as part of a refurbishment program. In 2010/11, new seats were fitted. In 2019, two new train sets, each consisting of a three-car diesel multiple unit, were ordered for the ''Australind'' at a cost of $54 million. The trains will be built by

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

as diesel-powered variants of the

Transperth C-series train The Transperth C-series trains are a class of electric multiple units part of Alstom's X'Trapolis family of trains for Transperth that are being delivered as part of Metronet (Western Australia), Metronet. The trains are operating on Railways i ...

s already under construction. The new train sets will be introduced to the service when the route resumes in 2025. In January 2025 it was announced that two additional train sets would be procured for the route for $80 million; the new trains were obtained to increase reliability and future frequency of the service.

Route

The ''Australind'' departs from

traversing the metropolitan

to Armadale, then the

to Bunbury.

Stations

* Armadale * Byford * Mundijong * Serpentine * North Dandalup * Pinjarra * Waroona * Yarloop * Cookernup * Harvey *

Brunswick Junction Brunswick is the historical English name for the German city of Braunschweig (Low German: ''Brunswiek'', Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek''). Brunswick may also refer to: Places and other topographs Australia *Brunswick, Victoria, a suburb of ...

* Bunbury

Ridership

The ''Australind'' had 77,810 passengers in the year leading up to June 2023.

References

External links

*
Perth Trains gallery
(archived) {{Public Transport Authority of Western Australia railway stations, Australind=y Named passenger trains of Western Australia Railway services introduced in 1947 1947 establishments in Australia