Thousands of Perth commuters will soon be caught up in one of the largest rail shutdowns the state has ever seen.
From later this year, the Armadale line will close for 18 months to remove more than a dozen level crossings and raise 5.5 kilometres of track into the air.
It’s a “transformational” project, according to Transport Minister Rita Saffioti, who says it will be “one of the biggest investments in public transport that we can seen in this state”.
But it will come at a significant cost, especially for the 10,000 or so commuters who use the line each day.
So what’s the government doing to minimise that impact, and will it all be worth it?
When does this all start?
The government still hasn’t locked in a date but says services will end towards the end of November.
“We’re still going through the final process of locking down the exact dates to make sure we avoid some key functions or key concerts in that November period,” Ms Saffioti said.
With Coldplay set to perform at Perth Stadium on November 18 and 19, the shutdown will probably start sometime after that.
That means, if everything runs to schedule, the reopening of the line could be a nice Christmas present in December 2024.
The project has already been delayed though. It was due to start in early 2023.
How are they replacing the trains?
For most people, losing the Armadale line will mean catching a bus instead.
If you’re travelling from Armadale into the city, the government expects that trip will take between 15 and 30 minutes longer than it currently does on the train.
Going from Canning to Armadale is set to take an extra 10 minutes.
“We’re really trying to make sure that the travel times are as comparable as possible,” Ms Saffioti said.
“There will be limited stop, express buses, there will be different ways for people to get into the city.
“We’re keen to continue people on the public transport journey and we’re doing all we can both through infrastructure and also our bus routes to encourage that.”
In addition to connecting places like Armadale straight into the city, that could also mean running buses from Armadale to Cockburn Station.
But the government says it’s focused on minimising the extra time those bus trips will add to people’s journeys.
So how will they speed up buses?
There are a few things the government’s going to try to do to smooth things out.
About 1.2 kilometres of bus lanes will be built through Victoria Park to try and give them a smoother trip, with other alterations to roads being made so that buses can “jump the queue” at lights.
Bluetooth technology will be rolled out to monitor congestion along the routes, and traffic lights will be set up to detect when buses are approaching and give them green lights as much as possible.
“If they’re successful across this project, we’ll be rolling out [those approaches more broadly], because we see that efficiency of bus movement, in particular for your high-frequency buses, as very important in trying to get more people to choose buses,” Ms Saffioti said.
Three new bus interchanges will also be built in Victoria Park, Cannington and Armadale.
Transperth is also planning to put more transit guards onto buses, since they won’t be needed on trains.
It’s hoped between 80 and 85 per cent of current train passengers will make the switch to buses.
Why is all of this happening?
It’s all part of removing as many level crossings from the line as possible and raising a stretch of rail into the air.
The government says some boom gates in the area are down for six hours a day at the moment.
Getting rid of them should make things quicker and easier — as well as safer — for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists.
It’s also set to create six hectares of new public space, with things like playgrounds, fitness zones, basketball courts, skate parks and other community spaces all planned for around, and under, the line.
Seven new stations will be built and the line will be extended out to Byford.
It all comes at a cost of around $2 billion.
The government decided on a full shutdown of the line more than a year ago, saying it was quicker and safer than doing it in blocks.
What happens at the end of the shutdown?
Once the line is back open and works complete, the three temporary bus stations will be dismantled and the infrastructure reused on other projects.
“There will be canopies and all the infrastructure here, we’ll be picking it up and moving it to other parts,” Ms Saffioti said.
The land will then be used for other projects, and potentially sold off for housing.