❓ Question on Notice regarding the need, location, and impact of the proposed Thornlie railway station, particularly concerning its viability in the absence of the SWMR routing and its effect on existing bus services. The Minister's response defends the station's strategic location and integration with existing transport.
AnsweredQoN 2733Legislative Assembly
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(b) if so, by whom, what was the process by which the need for this railway station was re-assessed, what was the conclusion, and will the Minister table the report ; (c) if the need for the Thornlie railway station was not re-assessed, will the Minister advise why plans to build this station are proceeding, and at what cost; (d) in the absence of the SWMR routing, exactly what transport needs will this railway station meet; (e) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Kenwick Station; (f) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Maddington station; (g) what is the range of distances between railway stations that is considered desirable on a metropolitan railway line; (h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(c) if the need for the Thornlie railway station was not re-assessed, will the Minister advise why plans to build this station are proceeding, and at what cost; (d) in the absence of the SWMR routing, exactly what transport needs will this railway station meet; (e) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Kenwick Station; (f) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Maddington station; (g) what is the range of distances between railway stations that is considered desirable on a metropolitan railway line; (h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(d) in the absence of the SWMR routing, exactly what transport needs will this railway station meet; (e) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Kenwick Station; (f) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Maddington station; (g) what is the range of distances between railway stations that is considered desirable on a metropolitan railway line; (h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(e) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Kenwick Station; (f) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Maddington station; (g) what is the range of distances between railway stations that is considered desirable on a metropolitan railway line; (h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(f) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Maddington station; (g) what is the range of distances between railway stations that is considered desirable on a metropolitan railway line; (h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(g) what is the range of distances between railway stations that is considered desirable on a metropolitan railway line; (h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(c) Not applicable. (d) At the location selected on Spencer Road, Thornlie station is ideally placed. In the order of 25,000 vehicles travel past the station site in each direction each week day. Notwithstanding the stations on the Armadale line, a station on the site selected will form its own, new, catchment. A catchment defines the area surrounding the station from which people are prepared to travel to that station, be that by bus, car or any other means. Population distribution and density, good road access, the amenity of station infrastructure and type of service are all part of the equation that ultimately determines how big that catchment is, and what the level of patronage will be. Given its strategic location and level of amenity from the infrastructure produced, a station at Thornlie will generate a catchment with a higher level of accessibility that the stations on the Armadale line cannot provide. Please note that the model used to calculate patronage does not look at an individual station in isolation. A station’s yield and viability is only computed by the model after consideration of all possible trips and facilities throughout the entire metropolitan area, which includes existing railway stations. (e) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Kenwick railway stations is 2.5km. This statistic however is not considered to be the arbiter of station selection or viability. The issue is much more complex than that, as has been described above. It should be noted that many of the existing stations on the older railways in Perth were established over 100 years ago. They were established in an era of different population and travel patterns and the location, form and function of the stations and the railway service along these old lines may not be as appropriate to the modern age. Additionally the catchments of both Thornlie and Kenwick stations are separated by a natural barrier, the Canning River and there is not a natural overlap between the patronage populations for each station. (f) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Maddington railway stations is 4 km. The other comments made at (e) above are relevant in respect to Maddington. (g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth. (h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(d) At the location selected on Spencer Road, Thornlie station is ideally placed. In the order of 25,000 vehicles travel past the station site in each direction each week day. Notwithstanding the stations on the Armadale line, a station on the site selected will form its own, new, catchment. A catchment defines the area surrounding the station from which people are prepared to travel to that station, be that by bus, car or any other means. Population distribution and density, good road access, the amenity of station infrastructure and type of service are all part of the equation that ultimately determines how big that catchment is, and what the level of patronage will be. Given its strategic location and level of amenity from the infrastructure produced, a station at Thornlie will generate a catchment with a higher level of accessibility that the stations on the Armadale line cannot provide. Please note that the model used to calculate patronage does not look at an individual station in isolation. A station’s yield and viability is only computed by the model after consideration of all possible trips and facilities throughout the entire metropolitan area, which includes existing railway stations. (e) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Kenwick railway stations is 2.5km. This statistic however is not considered to be the arbiter of station selection or viability. The issue is much more complex than that, as has been described above. It should be noted that many of the existing stations on the older railways in Perth were established over 100 years ago. They were established in an era of different population and travel patterns and the location, form and function of the stations and the railway service along these old lines may not be as appropriate to the modern age. Additionally the catchments of both Thornlie and Kenwick stations are separated by a natural barrier, the Canning River and there is not a natural overlap between the patronage populations for each station. (f) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Maddington railway stations is 4 km. The other comments made at (e) above are relevant in respect to Maddington. (g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth. (h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(e) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Kenwick railway stations is 2.5km. This statistic however is not considered to be the arbiter of station selection or viability. The issue is much more complex than that, as has been described above. It should be noted that many of the existing stations on the older railways in Perth were established over 100 years ago. They were established in an era of different population and travel patterns and the location, form and function of the stations and the railway service along these old lines may not be as appropriate to the modern age. Additionally the catchments of both Thornlie and Kenwick stations are separated by a natural barrier, the Canning River and there is not a natural overlap between the patronage populations for each station. (f) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Maddington railway stations is 4 km. The other comments made at (e) above are relevant in respect to Maddington. (g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth. (h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(f) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Maddington railway stations is 4 km. The other comments made at (e) above are relevant in respect to Maddington. (g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth. (h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth. (h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(j) Not applicable.
(j) Not applicable.
(c) if the need for the Thornlie railway station was not re-assessed, will the Minister advise why plans to build this station are proceeding, and at what cost; (d) in the absence of the SWMR routing, exactly what transport needs will this railway station meet; (e) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Kenwick Station; (f) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Maddington station; (g) what is the range of distances between railway stations that is considered desirable on a metropolitan railway line; (h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(d) in the absence of the SWMR routing, exactly what transport needs will this railway station meet; (e) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Kenwick Station; (f) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Maddington station; (g) what is the range of distances between railway stations that is considered desirable on a metropolitan railway line; (h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(e) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Kenwick Station; (f) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Maddington station; (g) what is the range of distances between railway stations that is considered desirable on a metropolitan railway line; (h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(f) what is the distance between the proposed Thornlie station and the existing Maddington station; (g) what is the range of distances between railway stations that is considered desirable on a metropolitan railway line; (h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(g) what is the range of distances between railway stations that is considered desirable on a metropolitan railway line; (h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(h) in building this station, does the Minister intend to reduce local bus services, and force members of the local community onto multiple bus/train journeys to travel short distances; (i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(i) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what services will be lost and when; and (j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(j) if local bus services are expected to be reduced, will the Minister detail exactly what these services currently cost to provide?
(c) Not applicable. (d) At the location selected on Spencer Road, Thornlie station is ideally placed. In the order of 25,000 vehicles travel past the station site in each direction each week day. Notwithstanding the stations on the Armadale line, a station on the site selected will form its own, new, catchment. A catchment defines the area surrounding the station from which people are prepared to travel to that station, be that by bus, car or any other means. Population distribution and density, good road access, the amenity of station infrastructure and type of service are all part of the equation that ultimately determines how big that catchment is, and what the level of patronage will be. Given its strategic location and level of amenity from the infrastructure produced, a station at Thornlie will generate a catchment with a higher level of accessibility that the stations on the Armadale line cannot provide. Please note that the model used to calculate patronage does not look at an individual station in isolation. A station’s yield and viability is only computed by the model after consideration of all possible trips and facilities throughout the entire metropolitan area, which includes existing railway stations. (e) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Kenwick railway stations is 2.5km. This statistic however is not considered to be the arbiter of station selection or viability. The issue is much more complex than that, as has been described above. It should be noted that many of the existing stations on the older railways in Perth were established over 100 years ago. They were established in an era of different population and travel patterns and the location, form and function of the stations and the railway service along these old lines may not be as appropriate to the modern age. Additionally the catchments of both Thornlie and Kenwick stations are separated by a natural barrier, the Canning River and there is not a natural overlap between the patronage populations for each station. (f) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Maddington railway stations is 4 km. The other comments made at (e) above are relevant in respect to Maddington. (g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth. (h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(d) At the location selected on Spencer Road, Thornlie station is ideally placed. In the order of 25,000 vehicles travel past the station site in each direction each week day. Notwithstanding the stations on the Armadale line, a station on the site selected will form its own, new, catchment. A catchment defines the area surrounding the station from which people are prepared to travel to that station, be that by bus, car or any other means. Population distribution and density, good road access, the amenity of station infrastructure and type of service are all part of the equation that ultimately determines how big that catchment is, and what the level of patronage will be. Given its strategic location and level of amenity from the infrastructure produced, a station at Thornlie will generate a catchment with a higher level of accessibility that the stations on the Armadale line cannot provide. Please note that the model used to calculate patronage does not look at an individual station in isolation. A station’s yield and viability is only computed by the model after consideration of all possible trips and facilities throughout the entire metropolitan area, which includes existing railway stations. (e) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Kenwick railway stations is 2.5km. This statistic however is not considered to be the arbiter of station selection or viability. The issue is much more complex than that, as has been described above. It should be noted that many of the existing stations on the older railways in Perth were established over 100 years ago. They were established in an era of different population and travel patterns and the location, form and function of the stations and the railway service along these old lines may not be as appropriate to the modern age. Additionally the catchments of both Thornlie and Kenwick stations are separated by a natural barrier, the Canning River and there is not a natural overlap between the patronage populations for each station. (f) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Maddington railway stations is 4 km. The other comments made at (e) above are relevant in respect to Maddington. (g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth. (h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(e) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Kenwick railway stations is 2.5km. This statistic however is not considered to be the arbiter of station selection or viability. The issue is much more complex than that, as has been described above. It should be noted that many of the existing stations on the older railways in Perth were established over 100 years ago. They were established in an era of different population and travel patterns and the location, form and function of the stations and the railway service along these old lines may not be as appropriate to the modern age. Additionally the catchments of both Thornlie and Kenwick stations are separated by a natural barrier, the Canning River and there is not a natural overlap between the patronage populations for each station. (f) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Maddington railway stations is 4 km. The other comments made at (e) above are relevant in respect to Maddington. (g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth. (h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(f) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Maddington railway stations is 4 km. The other comments made at (e) above are relevant in respect to Maddington. (g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth. (h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth. (h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service. (i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared. Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins) All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate service train train service 1 service 2 Armadale to Cannington 20 20 17 17 20 Cannington to Perth 19 14 19 14 14 Total Armadale to Perth 39 34 36 31 34 Thornlie to Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23 (j) Not applicable.
(j) Not applicable.
(j) Not applicable.
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
15 June 2004
Responded by
Minister for Planning and Infrastructure
Response time
83 days
(a)&(b) The need for a station at Thornlie was confirmed under the previous Government’s Master Plan for the Kenwick Deviation and was reconfirmed under the Supplementary Master Plan for the Fast Direct Route.
(c) Not applicable.
(d) At the location selected on Spencer Road, Thornlie station is ideally placed. In the order of 25,000 vehicles travel past the station site in each direction each week day. Notwithstanding the stations on the Armadale line, a station on the site selected will form its own, new, catchment. A catchment defines the area surrounding the station from which people are prepared to travel to that station, be that by bus, car or any other means. Population distribution and density, good road access, the amenity of station infrastructure and type of service are all part of the equation that ultimately determines how big that catchment is, and what the level of patronage will be. Given its strategic location and level of amenity from the infrastructure produced, a station at Thornlie will generate a catchment with a higher level of accessibility that the stations on the Armadale line cannot provide. Please note that the model used to calculate patronage does not look at an individual station in isolation. A station’s yield and viability is only computed by the model after consideration of all possible trips and facilities throughout the entire metropolitan area, which includes existing railway stations.
(e) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Kenwick railway stations is 2.5km. This statistic however is not considered to be the arbiter of station selection or viability. The issue is much more complex than that, as has been described above. It should be noted that many of the existing stations on the older railways in Perth were established over 100 years ago. They were established in an era of different population and travel patterns and the location, form and function of the stations and the railway service along these old lines may not be as appropriate to the modern age. Additionally the catchments of both Thornlie and Kenwick stations are separated by a natural barrier, the Canning River and there is not a natural overlap between the patronage populations for each station.
(f) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Maddington railway stations is 4 km. The other comments made at (e) above are relevant in respect to Maddington.
(g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth.
(h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service.
(i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared.
Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins)
All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate
service train train service 1 service 2
Armadale to
Cannington 20 20 17 17 20
Cannington
to Perth 19 14 19 14 14
Total
Armadale to
Perth 39 34 36 31 34
Thornlie to
Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23
(j) Not applicable.
(c) Not applicable.
(d) At the location selected on Spencer Road, Thornlie station is ideally placed. In the order of 25,000 vehicles travel past the station site in each direction each week day. Notwithstanding the stations on the Armadale line, a station on the site selected will form its own, new, catchment. A catchment defines the area surrounding the station from which people are prepared to travel to that station, be that by bus, car or any other means. Population distribution and density, good road access, the amenity of station infrastructure and type of service are all part of the equation that ultimately determines how big that catchment is, and what the level of patronage will be. Given its strategic location and level of amenity from the infrastructure produced, a station at Thornlie will generate a catchment with a higher level of accessibility that the stations on the Armadale line cannot provide. Please note that the model used to calculate patronage does not look at an individual station in isolation. A station’s yield and viability is only computed by the model after consideration of all possible trips and facilities throughout the entire metropolitan area, which includes existing railway stations.
(e) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Kenwick railway stations is 2.5km. This statistic however is not considered to be the arbiter of station selection or viability. The issue is much more complex than that, as has been described above. It should be noted that many of the existing stations on the older railways in Perth were established over 100 years ago. They were established in an era of different population and travel patterns and the location, form and function of the stations and the railway service along these old lines may not be as appropriate to the modern age. Additionally the catchments of both Thornlie and Kenwick stations are separated by a natural barrier, the Canning River and there is not a natural overlap between the patronage populations for each station.
(f) The most direct road distance between Thornlie and Maddington railway stations is 4 km. The other comments made at (e) above are relevant in respect to Maddington.
(g) The Transport Study carried out prior to the original Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan 1989 found that ideally, a new railway service should be constructed with stations located at intervals with a minimum separation of about 2.5km to ensure public transport competitiveness with private car travel. Section 3 of the previous government’s South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan and Figure 17 in particular show that the journey time for a system with stations spaced at one kilometre intervals is about 36% higher than if the stations were spaced two kilometres apart, and 80% higher than if stations were four kilometres apart on average. But that is the case in building new lines, and this was one of the problems of the Kenwick route which attempted to overlay a truly rapid transit service over an existing short station interval, stopping pattern between Cannington and Perth.
(h) When a transit station is built, local bus services are redirected to feed into the station. Despite historical concerns that the transfer from bus to rail was a significant deterrent or trip penalty, the evidence gained from experience of the Northern Suburbs Transit System is that the overall standard of the total level of service is superior and well accepted by the community. The provision of good Park’n’Ride and drop off facilities for car passengers further improves the choice for potential patrons to use the service.
(i) The level of bus services will be improved. The level of rail services in this south eastern corridor will also be improved. The New MetroRail project works on the Perth to Thornlie section involves the closure of Lathlain station, infrastructure improvements between Perth and Beckenham and the new single track spur to Thornlie. The new railway services have been designed to maximise the opportunity for patronage increases on the whole of the South East corridor plus the new line to Thornlie. The existing Armadale train services are to be changed to provide a simpler, faster series of train services. The new Armadale services will consist of an all stop service between Armadale and Cannington with partial express from Cannington to Perth, plus a partial express between Armadale and Cannington with partial express between Cannington and Perth. These will be supplemented by an all-day 15 minute frequency service form Thornlie, stopping at Cannington and all stations to Perth. The Thornlie trains will be interspersed between the Armadale trains to provide the greatest opportunity to meet demand and grow the service on the Armadale line and to meet the projected patronage on the Thornlie line. Currently in the morning peak period, there are 8 trains per hour between Armadale and Perth. With the start of the Thornlie service, there will be an additional 4 trains per hour in the morning peak on the section between Perth and Cannington, making a total of 12 trains per hour. This is a 50% increase in the service frequency of trains between Cannington and Perth. The morning and afternoon peak train travel times are shown below and indicate that there is an improvement in travel times of between 34 minutes (currently) to 31 minutes (proposed) and 36 minutes (currently) to 34 (proposed) which is a time saving of between 10% and 20% for people travelling from Armadale to Perth, depending on which train service is being compared.
Existing Travel in Peak Time (mins) Future Travel Time (mins)
All stop ‘C’ Pattern ‘D’ Pattern Alternative Alternate
service train train service 1 service 2
Armadale to
Cannington 20 20 17 17 20
Cannington
to Perth 19 14 19 14 14
Total
Armadale to
Perth 39 34 36 31 34
Thornlie to
Perth N/A N/A N/A 23 23
(j) Not applicable.
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