This is worrying

Perth is already seeing an increase in public transport patronage due to oil prices… maybe.

Uh oh. First weekday for the new Midland station and there are technical issues

Why must our transport minister be so disdainful of light rail? archive.md/r0x4q

The New Midland Station opens tomorrow, and I'm a little sad because it means that for the first time since work on the Butler extension began in 2010, Perth doesn't have any rail extensions or new stations under construction or about to begin construction.

It was just announced that the Federal Government is selling off Irwin Barracks! This would make a great transit oriented development. Karrakatta station is right there and underutilised.

It was just announced that the Federal Government is selling off Irwin Barracks! This would make a great transit oriented development. Karrakatta station is right there and underutilised.

thewest.com.au/news/traffic... This is a reminder that induced demand works in both directions. If you remove roads, people adapt accordingly.

Which station do you think receive more weekly boardings? Without knowing anything else, a lot of people would guess incorrectly.

Which station do you think receive more weekly boardings? Without knowing anything else, a lot of people would guess incorrectly.

New on the blog! The official diagram of Transperth rail services has a lot of problems, but here's the two big ones:

This table is with a few problems fixed. Sydney now includes Newcastle and Wollongong in its population. Melbourne no longer includes regional train/bus/coach patronage. I know that V/line services part of suburban Melbourne, but I don't know if its possible to separate that from regional V/line.

I've created this table for the five largest Australian cities. Sydney and Melbourne are better than any US city except NY. South East Queensland and Adelaide are between Boston and Honolulu.

We don't compare well to Canada though. No reason we can't have ridership as good as Edmonton

Perth is in between Seattle and Miami for total ridership

Turns out the Greenbushes-Bunbury railway line will not be reopened for the Talison Lithium mine. A feasibility study found that it would not be "economically viable".

The contract for Perth's five new electric ferries has been awarded to Echo Marine. They will enter service in two years. www.wa.gov.au/government/m...

Transperth has begun accepting contactless payments today. These credit card symbols have seemingly appeared overnight on buses.

This is worth it solely for this reaction

Contactless payments are coming to Transperth this December! This will be particularly helpful to tourists and people who don't use public transport that often. www.wa.gov.au/government/m...

In situations like this, I feel like they should just leave the train there, and run Midland and Airport line services as normal, at least until the end of peak. The train is seemingly still stuck there, according to the Transperth website.

A Perthbound Ellenbrook line train had derailed at the junction leaving Bayswater station. Train replacement buses are running.

YES!! archive.md/tQ8gn

The final Metronet project is opening on 22 February!

The Floreat Precint Structure Plan has been approved, allowing up to 20 storeys at the Floreat Forum Shopping Centre!

Just a reminder that Basil is a Nimby archive.md/nB1JO

SmartRider? What's that?

These frequencies are driven by patronage forecasts, which will be anywhere from double to quadruple current levels in 2051 (again, these forecasts were done pre-Covid).

This is what Transperth's peak hour frequencies are planned to look like in 2051. This forecast was done pre-Covid (about 2019 or so), so this might not happen by 2051, but it does give a good idea of what the Public Transport Authority is aiming for. I'm excited that up to 24 TPH is planned.

Fremantle line usage is about to explode! www.watoday.com.au/national/wes...

Who says that elevated rail has to be ugly? Not me

Are these signs allowed outside election periods?

And here’s the same location today

Perth is not getting light rail for a very long time. thewest.com.au/politics/sta...

The 3-decade old A-series trains have a display in the drivers cab that links to on-platform cameras for use when closing doors. The C-series trains have thrown that system out the window, using train mounted cameras, which offer a far worse view and need regular cleaning, which is not being done.

I love royal show week. The trains are so busy!

Many Americans would call Australia’s suburban rail systems “light rail”.

It's confirmed. The Armadale line express services will not return when the Byford extension opens, which I'm happy about. It makes for higher frequencies on inner stations. I'm pretty sure this makes Perth the first city in Australia to permanently do away with express train services.

Not long to go until the Byford extension opens. Testing the displays at stations is happening today.

Now the Liberal Party is opposing the Matilda Bay ferry terminal. 🤦 archive.md/R3zub

New radio poles have been put up in Maylands. This is part of the new digital radio system for Transperth, which will be used by new CBTC signalling.

It surprises me that there are wooden sleepers on the Yanchep line (built 1990s)

My Say Transport is doing a survey on the Canning Bridge station upgrade. www.mysaytransport.wa.gov.au/cbbi Some new images have been released too.

Some movement on the proposed Murdoch station upgrade. The state government is doing a survey. www.mysaytransport.wa.gov.au/murdoch-stat...

This makes me want the WA government to build South Perth station. Its already quite dense around there, and is going to be even more so in the future.

The railway station at Woollahra, partly built with Sydney's Eastern Suburbs Railway in 1976, but never completed, will now be built, along with re-zoning the surrounding area for 10,000 new homes. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

I’m delighted to discover that the old tracks have been left imbedded in the footpath at Carlisle station.

Uh oh, NIMBYs are complaining about the future Applecross ferry terminal as well. When choosing between locating the terminal at a freeway interchange or right next to a bunch of apartment towers, I know which one I would choose. www.perthnow.com.au/news/applecr...

Transperth trains are now less reliable than Melbourne's 😱

Due to the limitations of comparing the Airport, Ellenbrook, Fremantle and Midland lines, I have combined the four lines' patronage for this graph. Its hard to make good comparisons due to COVID, but it looks like the Airport and Ellenbrook lines have added about 2 to 4 million passengers per year.