Construction problems have delayed the reopening of two-thirds of the Armadale train line’s length, with thousands of commuters forced to wait an indefinite period for their service to return despite earlier promises by Transport Minsiter Rita Saffioti of “100 per cent” confidence it would open in time.
On Sunday, Saffioti announced the new $1.3 billion Thornlie-Cockburn Link would open on Monday, June 9, marking the latest major milestone in Metronet’s transformation of Perth.
Work on the Perth to Armadale rail line.Credit: Colin Murty
The “inner” part of the Armadale line, which is around 14 kilometres long from the city to Beckenham, will reopen on the same date, including sky rail stations at Carlisle, Oats Street, Queens Park and Cannington.
However, around 25 kilometres of the “outer” part of the line, from Kenwick to Byford, won’t reopen until a “few months later”.
“There were some construction issues, and we were anticipating to claw back that timeframe but unfortunately, we haven’t,” Saffioti said.
“We apologise to all of those passengers affected, but … the team is working really hard to get it open as soon as possible.”
Saffioti said the delay was due to issues with piers and beams which had to be replaced.
Armadale trains ground to a halt in November 20, 2023 for a record-breaking 18-month shutdown, pushing 13,000 regular users onto the roads.
