Midland railway line, Perth

Midland Line is a suburban railway line in Perth, Western Australia. It runs through Perth's eastern suburbs and connects Perth and Midland.

History

The line was a part of the first suburban railway line in Perth, opening on March 1, 1881. It originally operated as the Eastern Railway and ran between Fremantle and Guildford passing through Perth.

Throughout the 1880s, the "Eastern Railway" line was extended beyond Guildford and Midland Junction along its "first route" to Chidlow and Northam. The "second route" varied after Bellevue proceeding to Chidlow. The "third route" saw the removal of the Bellevue Railway station in its construction, with the new Midland railway terminus replacing the older Midland Junction railway station.

An anomaly of the Midland line timetables in the 1950s and 1960's was that Bellevue was nominally the terminus of the line until 1962. Koongamia, which was a new station prior to Greenmount on the original "first route", was the terminus from 1962 to 1966.

In 1966, the stations on the first two "Eastern Railway" routes as well as the old Midland Junction railway station were closed and the new Midland was constructed 200 metres to the west and became the new terminus.

Generally, changes from the 1970s saw a significant number of stations on the line moved or turned into island platform stations (to be compatible with the double track, dual-gauge track configuration between East Perth and Midland).

On July 24, 2004, Bassendean became the first station to be upgraded under the "Building Better Stations" project.

In the earlier decades of the twentieth century, a significant number of rail-crossing accidents between motor vehicles and trains occurred. Unattended crossings were provided with boom gates, flashing lights and bells to counter inattention or risk taking from drivers. Also crossings were reduced, and in a number of locations bridges were constructed.

In mid-February 2006, an express train from heading from Midland to Perth, was involved in an accident with a passenger car. Near Guildford a tourist, unfamiliar with the road layout illegally turned right at a set of traffic lights onto the wrong side of the road crossing the railway. This lane was not protected on the oncoming side with a boom gate as it was a one way lane. The train slammed into the vehicle, dragging it for a short distance. The accident resulted in the death of the car's driver but no fatalities or reported injuries to the passenger and driver of the train.

Airport Railway Connection

In the 1990s the Bayswater Council had put up a proposal for a rail connection with the airport Fact|date=May 2008.

The more recent 2024 Airport Masterplan calls for the completion of a rail link that will connect with the Midland Line between Bayswater Station and Ashfield Station at the Tonkin Highway. The proposed rail link will continue above ground along Tonkin Highway to Great Eastern Highway where it is believed to go underground along Brearley Avenue and to the terminals in operation at completion of the line.

Train Stations

During peak hours on weekdays, some stopping patterns exclude stations on this line.

*Red denotes city stations.
*Dark Red denotes Midland line stations.
*Black denotes terminuses.

topping Patterns

* All - all stops to Midland.
* A - stops at McIver, Claisebrook, express to Maylands, express to Bayswater, then all stations to Midland.
* B - all stops to Bayswater, then stops at Bassendean and Midland.
* E - "(to Perth only)" stops at McIver, Claisebrook, Maylands, Bayswater, Bassendean and Midland.

ee also

Current information

*Transperth
*Transperth Trains
*List of Perth railway stations

Historical information

*Midland Railway of Western Australia

Further reading

* Watson, Lindsay "The Railway History Of Midland Junction : Commemorating The Centenary Of Midland Junction, 1895-1995" Swan View, W.A : L & S Drafting in association with the Shire of Swan and the Western Australian Light Railway Preservation Association, 1995