Boom gate delays return to southern section of Armadale line after 18-month shutdown
Blast door outages on the Armadale train line continue to frustrate passengers after the line reopened following an 18-month closure.
Although six level crossings were removed between Victoria Park and Beckenham station, no public crossings were removed between Kenwick and Sherwood stations, leaving eight in this area.
On this section of the line, barrier gates remain closed for approximately two minutes per train on average, meaning an average of three hours of closure each day.
However, recent reports of barriers remaining closed for long periods after a train has passed appear to be the source of the greatest inconvenience for motorists.
The Public Transport Authority confirmed to PerthNow that in the first two weeks of operation after reopening, two incidents occurred along the line which resulted in barriers remaining closed for significant periods.
“On October 16, a truck struck a barrier gate at the Austin Boulevard grade crossing, causing the truck to remain in the closed position. PTA technicians quickly arrived on scene and repaired the affected barrier within an hour,” a PTA spokesperson said.
“Since the Armadale line reopened there has been a further fault due to an external power outage affecting two barrier gates. Both sets of barriers have been maneuvered into the down position.”
According to the Public Transport Authority, keeping the barrier down is the safe response to the intended failure.
“All PTA barrier gates are monitored by network control personnel who are alerted when a malfunction occurs,” they said.
“When a malfunction occurs, the barriers are designed to maneuver into a down position to protect vehicles and pedestrians.”
Seven of the eight remaining level crossings are in the City of Gosnells.
The lack of improvements while all seven stations in the city were closed further fueled residents’ frustration with the closure.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti thanked the community for enduring the closure and said the State Government continues to evaluate opportunities to remove more level crossings across Perth’s train network.
“Closing a train line for 18 months is not something we took lightly and we knew it would impact the community, especially those who use the train regularly,” Ms Saffioti said.
“I deeply appreciate the community’s patience in delivering this project. They understood the importance of this investment and got to work immediately.”
“The long-term goal is certainly to remove all level crossings from the network and we have made significant progress in recent years.”
Shadow transport minister Steve Martin said it was disappointing to hear that barriers were once again causing disruption to the line and criticized the State Government’s spending on public transport projects.
“Sustainable investments over time can help improve the flow and efficiency of our transport system, and removing level crossings is a means of doing this where economics, business scenarios and community benefit overlap,” Mr Martin said.
“However, Labour’s public transport capital spending is defined by extraordinary cost increases that are simply not sustainable.”
Through the State Government’s Metronet programme, 15 level crossings have been removed on the metropolitan passenger rail network since 2017.
Ms Saffioti said level crossings north of Kenwick were being prioritized due to increased train frequency in the northern section due to the new Thornlie-Cockburn Link.
“Due to the construction of the Thornlie-Cockburn line, level crossings on the inside of the Armadale line had to be removed,” he said.
“The addition of TCL significantly increased the number of trains running on the inner Armadale line and would have caused significant traffic disruption due to the barriers remaining closed for extended periods.”
A $140 million rail revitalization program has been undertaken, although no significant improvements have been made for commuters between Kenwick and Sherwood stations.
In the project, 15 km of roads were replaced, 25 pedestrian crossings and 10 level crossings were resurfaced, and drainage, overhead lines and communication systems were improved.
