Railways in Western Australia were developed in the 19th century both by the

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia is the States and territories of Australia, Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government or the Western Australian Governmen ...

and a number of private companies. Today passenger rail services are controlled by the Public Transport Authority (a department of the Government of Western Australia) through

Transperth Transperth is the public transport system for Perth and surrounding areas in Western Australia. It is managed by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), a state government organisation, and consists of train, bus and ferry services. Bus operat ...

that operates public transport in

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

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 ...

that operates country passenger services.

Journey Beyond Journey Beyond is the trading name and brand deployed since 2017 by a succession of companies providing experiential tourism in Australia, including luxury trains (''The Ghan'', the ''Indian Pacific'', and the '' Great Southern'') and ''The Ov ...

operates the ''

Indian Pacific The ''Indian Pacific'' is a weekly experiential tourism-oriented passenger train service that runs in Australia's east–west rail corridor between Sydney, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the shore of the Indian Ocean – ...

''. The interstate standard gauge line east from

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

is owned by the

Australian Rail Track Corporation The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is an Australian Government-owned statutory corporation. It operates one of the largest rail networks in the nation, spanning across five states and 39 worksites. ARTC continues to expand the networ ...

, with most other lines leased by the state to

Arc Infrastructure Arc Infrastructure, formerly Brookfield Rail and WestNet Rail, is a rail infrastructure manager and access provider in Western Australia with a long-term lease on the network from the Government of Western Australia. It operates approximately 5 ...

. Freight rail was privatised in 2000. General intrastate freight is mainly operated by

Aurizon Aurizon Holdings Limited ( ) is a freight rail transport company in Australia, formerly named QR National Limited and branded QR National. In 2015, it was the world's largest rail transporter of coal from mine to port. Formerly a Queensland G ...

, while grain traffic is also operated by Aurizon under contract to the

CBH Group The CBH Group (commonly known as CBH, an acronym for Co-operative Bulk Handling) is a grain growers' cooperative that handles, markets and processes grain from the wheatbelt of Western Australia. History CBH was formed on 5 April 1933, at a ...

. Interstate traffic is operated by

Pacific National Pacific National is one of Australia's largest rail freight businesses. History In February 2002, National Rail Corporation, National Rail's freight operations and rollingstock, jointly owned by the Government of Australia, Federal, Governm ...

and

SCT Logistics SCT Logistics is an Australian interstate transport company operating rail and road haulage, with facilities in Brisbane, Sydney, Parkes, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. History SCT Logistics was founded in 1974 as Specialised Container T ...

. Aurizon also operate an interstate mineral sands service to Kwinana from

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

for

Tronox Tronox Limited is an American worldwide chemical company involved in the titanium products industry with approximately 6,500 employees. Following its acquisition of the mineral sands business formerly belonging to South Africa's Exxaro Resources, ...

. A number of private iron ore haulage railways also operate in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...

region of the state.

History

The Western Australian lines developed in narrow gauge from

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

(the port of

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri language, Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu language, Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West (Western Australia), Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. As of the , Geraldt ...

, Bunbury, Albany and Esperance, mainly for carrying grain and minerals, with the private

Midland Railway Company The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

and Great Southern Railway adding gauge lines in the Wheatbelt with the support of

land grants A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

. In 1907, the standard-gauge

Trans-Australian Railway The Trans-Australian Railway, opened in 1917, runs from Port Augusta railway station, Port Augusta in South Australia to Kalgoorlie railway station, Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, crossing the Nullarbor Plain in the process. Built to standa ...

from

Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

was authorised. Construction started in 1912, and it was completed in 1917. It was run by the

Commonwealth Railways The Commonwealth Railways were established in 1917 by the Government of Australia with the Commonwealth Railways Act to administer the Trans-Australian Railway, Trans-Australia and Adelaide-Darwin railway, Port Augusta to Darwin railways. In 1 ...

. In the 1960s standard () gauge lines penetrated to Perth and Esperance and long distance heavy-haul railways were built in the

region by major iron mining companies, particularly

BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

and Hamersley Iron. The Perth suburban lines were electrified and extended. Government railways were controlled by the ''Department of Works and Railways'' from 1877. The department became

Western Australian Government Railways 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 ...

(WAGR) in 1890. WAGR became

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 ...

in 1975 and continued to manage both passenger and freight rail services in Western Australia until 2000, when the freight business was sold to the

Australian Railroad Group Australian Railroad Group (ARG) was an Australian rail freight operator. It began operations in Western Australia on 17 December 2000 following its purchase of the Westrail freight business. It was purchased by QR National in June 2006. The mai ...

who operated it under the Australian Western Railroad brand. This business was purchased by Queensland Rail in 2006 and rebranded

in 2013. Westrail’s freight rail lines were leased to WestNet Rail, another subsidiary of the Australian Railroad Group. This business was acquired by

Babcock & Brown Babcock & Brown LP (B&B) was a global investment and advisory firm, established in 1977, based in Sydney, Australia, that went into liquidation in 2009. Babcock & Brown Securities LLC is an active investment banking firm focused on equipment an ...

in 2006 and sold again in 2010 to

Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is a Canadian-American alternative asset manager. The company was founded in December 2022 as a spin-off of the asset management operations of Brookfield Corporation. At its inception, the company was headquarter ...

and rebranded Brookfield Rail. In July 2017 it was again rebranded as

. The WAGR's remaining functions, including owning the rail network and operating regional passenger services were transferred to the Western Australian Government Railways Commission. On 1 January 2003, the commission's functions were absorbed by the Public Transport Authority with passenger services operated under the

brand.

Timeline

The timeline can be considered in terms of events, or eras. May and Gray's History of Passenger Carriages chapters offer an insight into a set of decades or slightly longer stages of railway development. * * * * * * * *

By years

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

First lines

Private railways for carrying timber were built south of

from Lockville (just north of

Busselton Busselton is a city in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destin ...

) to Yoganup in 1871, and from Rockingham to Jarrahdale soon after. The first government railway in the State was a gauge line between

and

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

and was opened in 1879 to transport lead and copper to port. It closed in 1957. The WAGR opened the Eastern line from

and

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, England, around south-west of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The nam ...

in 1881. It was extended to Chidlow in 1884,

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

in 1885 and

Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...

in 1886. Branch lines were built to Belmont, Northam and Toodyay by 1888.

Southern lines

The Beverley line was extended to Albany in 1889 by the Great Southern Railway, which was taken over by WAGR in 1896. 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 ...

was built from Perth to Bunbury in 1893, with branches to

Collie Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Many type ...

(1898),

Flinders Bay Flinders Bay is a bay in western Australia, immediately south of the townsite of Augusta, Western Australia, Augusta, and close to the mouth of the Blackwood River. The bay lies to the north east of Cape Leeuwin which is the most south-westerly ...

(1925) and Northcliffe (1933).

Northern lines

The

opened a line from

Midland Junction Midland is a suburb and historic town of Perth, Western Australia, located northeast of Perth's central business district. It is the administrative seat and commercial centre of the City of Swan local government area. It is also a designate ...

to Walkaway in 1894, where it met the WAGR line from Geraldton opened in 1887. It was acquired by the WAGR in 1964.

Goldfields line

The Northam line was extended to

Southern Cross CRUX is a lightweight x86-64 Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system with BSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution. It also utilizes a ports system to ...

in 1894 and Coolgardie and

in 1896. This line connected with the standard gauge

to eastern Australia in 1917 at a

break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally canno ...

. The replacement standard gauge line opened in 1968.

Timber lines

Wheatbelt branch lines

Isolated branch lines

The

had two isolated branches: The isolated Marble Bar Railway was opened in July 1911. The last train to run out of

Port Hedland A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...

operated on 25 October 1951, with the railway closed on 31 October 1951. The

Hopetoun to Ravensthorpe railway line The Hopetoun to Ravensthorpe railway line was a railway line in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, connecting Hopetoun to Ravensthorpe. The line, long, was stand-alone, not connecting to any other railway line in the sta ...

was an isolated branch opened on 3 June 1909, and closed on 23 February 1935. The Hopetoun jetty line was handed over to the Harbour and Light Department on 1 January 1936. It was officially closed on 13 January 1946.

Operations

Perth suburban network

* In 1982, public protest led to the reopening of the Fremantle railway, beginning a new era of the metropolitan rail policy. In 1991

completed the electrification of its existing railway lines, utilising

electric multiple units An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number ...

and a

25 kV AC Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency (typically 50 or 60Hz), which simplifies traction substations. The dev ...

overhead power supply system. * In 1993, the Northern Suburbs Transit System commenced operations. * 2007 saw the completion of the

New MetroRail New MetroRail was a division of the Public Transport Authority in Western Australia. It was responsible for managing extensions to Perth's railway network. The project doubled Perth's rail network, which is operated by Transperth, and was com ...

project.

Regional passenger

controls public transport services outside of Perth, including passenger services from Perth to

, Northam and Bunbury. These trains are named the ''

Prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ra ...

'', ''

AvonLink The ''AvonLink'' is a rural passenger train service in Western Australia operated by Transwa between Midland railway station, Perth, Midland and Northam railway station, Western Australia, Northam. History The consideration of revitalising pa ...

'', and ''

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 ...

''. Great Southern Rail operates the ''

'' from Perth to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Pilbara iron ore lines

Four isolated heavy duty railways for the cartage of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

in the

region have always been private concerns operated as part of the production line between mine and port. These lines have pushed the limit of the wheel to rail interface which has led to much useful research of value to railways worldwide. In April 2008,

Fortescue Fortescue may refer to: People * Fortescue (surname), a list of people with the name * Fortescue Ash (1882–1956), Anglican bishop in Australia * Fortescue Graham (1794–1880), British Royal Marines general Places * Fortescue, Missouri, United ...

opened the

Hancock Prospecting Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd is an Australian-owned mining and agricultural business run by Executive Chairwoman Gina Rinehart and CEO Garry Korte. At various stages of its trading history, the company has been known as Hancock Prospecting Ltd ...

opened a line from Roy Hill. Another iron ore line has been proposed to the port of Oakajee, this will have open access to any iron ore mine wishing to use it. A

dual gauge Dual gauge railroad track has three or four rails, allowing vehicles of two track gauges to run on it. Signalling and sidings are more expensive to install on dual gauge tracks than on two single gauge tracks. Dual gauge is used when there i ...

network based on the new Oakajee Port north of

has been proposed by the Department of Transport. In 2010, Rio Tinto announced plans to expand capacity on the railway line linking its iron ore mines to Dampier; this would increase capacity to per year, to meet increasing demand for iron ore. The railway lines are: * Hamersley & Robe River railway line (Rio Tinto) * Mount Newman railway line (BHP) * Goldsworthy railway line (BHP) *

Fortescue railway line The Fortescue railway, owned and operated by Fortescue Metals Group (FMG), is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It opened in 2008.Infrastructure Planning and Land Services Division, Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (2010)'THE HUB: Master Plan for the Lowering of the Fremantle Lines', funded by the State of

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 ...

, The Australian Government and the City of Perth, March 2010, , electronic resource retrieved 15 May 2011; http://www.pta.wa.gov.au/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=z63cggiG7gM=&tabid=330&mid=973&language=en-US The rail system in Perth has not always attracted the level of government resources and support from the community which it now receives (evinced in the recent Master Plans targeting its expansion). As recently as the early 80s, Perth's rail system was embattled, with a rail corridor linking the city with a nearby port and residential district closing in 1979, to prepare for the development of a major road in its place. This minor war between road and rail over land reserve in Perth culminated in 1983 with a group of people, including Professor Peter Newman, defending the public transport corridor. They managed to stop the reallocation of the Perth to Fremantle rail reserve to road reserve, and the rail line which had been closed in 1979 to make room for the major highway was reopened to the public shortly after, in 1983. 3 years later, in 1986, the first Master Plan for the rail system was prepared, and in 1988, the public, planners and policy-makers were outspoken in their preference for a new rail system to link Perth to the Northern suburbs, instead of the decidedly short-term solution of a bus-way advocated by the consultants commissioned to find the most affordable transit solution.Hoare, J. F. (1989) 'Introduction' in 'Electrification Project and Future Development of Urban Rail Transport in Perth', published online by Institution of Railway Signal Engineers Australasia, electronic resource retrieved 14 May 2011; http://irse.org.au/images/stories/technical_papers/1989/April%20-%20Perth/2.%20Hoare%20-%20Electrification%20Project%20&%20Future%20Development%20of%20Ur.pdf Five railway Master Plans have since been produced, and in the 2010 report these plans are credited for ensuring the provision of infrastructure and rolling stock to improve and expand the suburban rail system in Perth. Patronage of the Perth to Fremantle train line, which had initially been shut down in 1979 to prepare for the development of a highway on the site, has grown substantially between the 1980s and 2010, with current daily patronage levels for this single rail line (approximately 23,000 journeys per day) coming close to the total patronage of the rail line in 1989 going through the city station (approximately 25,000 ).Public Transport Authority, 2010, 'Transperth Patronage, Midland Line', Government of Western Australia, electronic resource retrieved 15 May 2011 from; http://www.pta.wa.gov.au/NewsandMedia/TransperthPatronage/tabid/218/Default.aspx The progression of public, planner and policy-maker attitudes in Perth, away from automobile and road infrastructure dependence, according to one researcher, has led to the following familiar scene in the city: Far from the segregation of land uses advertised by Hoyt in 1943, the turn toward the expansion of the Perth rail system has also been accompanied by the advancing of

New Urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating Walkability, walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has ...

leaning "Liveable Neighbourhood" policies, promoting mixed density development, walkable communities and sustainable transportation, potentially demarcating a departure from automotive city planning features for the city.Hoyt, H. (1943) 'The Structure of American Cities in the Post-War Era', in The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 48, No. 4 (Jan 1943), published by The University of Chicago Press. pp. 475–481

References

External links

Pilbara Railways
– rail enthusiast site

Rail Freight Network Map
Arc Infrastructure {{Australian rail