The opening day for Perth’s first east-west cross-line connection, part of the Metronet project, has been revealed.
The Thornlie-Cockburn Link is scheduled to open on Monday, June 9.
It includes two new stations, at Nicholson and Ranford roads, as well as upgrades for the Thornlie, Cockburn Central and Perth Stadium stations.
The link creates a direct connection from the Mandurah Line to Optus Stadium for the first time. Passengers previously had to travel to the city centre and change lines.
A vital connection as Perth’s suburbs grow, it has been estimated the trip from Nicholson Road Station to the city will take 27 minutes and 31 minutes from Ranford Road Station to the CBD.
“Thousands of people in Perth’s south will now, for the first time in decades, be able to travel east via rail, connecting them directly from Carousel in Cannington, Carlisle TAFE campus and Optus Stadium,” member for Burt and federal defence personnel minister Matt Keogh said.
There will also be new and amended bus routes to support the connections from other suburbs to the new stations.
The Public Transport Authority is considering community feedback on proposed routes. Finalised routes will be published ahead of the opening in June.
The link project used 85,000 sleepers and 180,000 tonnes of gravel to build the 35km of passenger rail and 22km of freight rail.
An inner section of the Armadale Line, including new elevated stations at Carlisle, Oats Street, Queens Park, Cannington and Beckenham, will reopen alongside the Thornlie-Cockburn Link.
The project also removed six level crossings, from the Victoria Park and Canning sections of the Armadale Line.
A 7km linear park, Long Park, has been created thanks to the elevation of the five new stations.
The remainder of the Armadale Line will reopen when the elevated Armadale and Byford stations are completed within the next few months.
Also to reopen at the time are the Sherwood, Challis, Kelmscott, Seaforth, Gosnells, Maddington and Kenwick stations.
The Armadale Line’s reopening is being done in stages due to revised construction schedules for the Metronet Byford Rail Extension.
Both the $1.3-billion Metronet Thornlie-Cockburn Link project and the $1.6-billion Victoria Park-Canning Level Crossing Removal project are jointly funded by the Federal and Western Australian Governments.
