Midland line, Perth

Early history

The section of the Eastern Railway between Fremantle, Perth and Guildford was the first suburban railway line in Perth, opening on 1 March 1881.^[1][2]

The line was extended from Guildford to Chidlow's Well, opening in March 1884.^[3] 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 via the Swan View Tunnel, Parkerville and Stoneville.

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 1960s 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 a new Midland was constructed 200 metres (660 ft) 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).

In the early 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.^{[citation needed]}

Building better stations

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

Metronet

Route

Stations

Since 21 July 2019, all regular services stop at all stations on this line.^[19]

^[15]

Stopping patterns

Legend — Stopping Patterns

• ● – All trains stop
• ◐ – Some services do not stop
• | – Trains pass and do not stop

Patronage

Below is the annual patronage of Midland line from 2010 to 2024 financial year. Figures are provided as total boardings, which includes all fare-paying boardings and free travel on stations within the free transit zones as well as transfers between stations. The figures for rail replacement and special events services are not included in the total.^[25]

Current information

• Transperth
• Transperth Train Operations
• List of Transperth railway stations
• Bayswater Subway

Historical information

• Midland Railway of Western Australia