❓ Question regarding a disruption to the Transperth train network caused by human error during the Perth City Link project, and the government's response and plans for increased resilience.
AnsweredQoN 101Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
METROPOLITAN
RAIL NETWORK — DISRUPTION
101. Dr M.D. NAHAN to the Minister for Transport:
Could the minister please —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Leader of the Opposition, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Warnbro, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Enable people to ask questions in here.
Dr M.D. NAHAN :
Could the minister please advise the house of the cause of last week's
disruption to the Transperth train network and the actions the Liberal–National
government is taking to increase the resilience of Perth's rail
network?
RAIL NETWORK — DISRUPTION
101. Dr M.D. NAHAN to the Minister for Transport:
Could the minister please —
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Leader of the Opposition, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Member for Warnbro, I formally call you to order for the first time
today. Enable people to ask questions in here.
Dr M.D. NAHAN :
Could the minister please advise the house of the cause of last week's
disruption to the Transperth train network and the actions the Liberal–National
government is taking to increase the resilience of Perth's rail
network?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. Last Tuesday there was a
serious electrical fault on the Perth rail network. I thought I would use the
opportunity during question time to outline the advice I have had around the
cause and what the government is doing to make the train network more
resilient. The preliminary advice I received is that there was obviously a
major electrical fault near the city. That electrical fault was caused by human
error, not by equipment error. The preliminary advice I have is that the error
was caused when a contractor incorrectly connected power cables, which caused
the shorting-out that led to the fire. That work was being done as part of the
Perth City Link project; in particular, the undergrounding of the train
station. Of course it was an unfortunate outcome. It led to a number of things—a
total loss of power on the Fremantle line, a partial loss of power on the
Armadale and Midland lines —
Mr F.M. Logan interjected.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Quite literally, my friend. It meant that trains had to stop at Cannington and
at Bassendean. In response, in the middle of the peak hour, Transperth was able
to mobilise 120 buses. As members would understand, we do not keep buses around
in sheds. It is very difficult to respond in that circumstance.
Ms
M.M. Quirk : Just train carriages!
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : Nor trains, member for Girrawheen.
Getting 120 buses, notwithstanding the inconvenience that was
obvious to the people of Perth, was an effective response. I will deal with
what we are doing to address it in a second. I was interested to read some of
the comments from the shadow Minister for Transport. As usual, he was quick to
open his mouth before the full current has been applied to the cranial process!
He said the government should have got extra buses from the private sector.
Guess what we did? Extra buses were obtained from the private sector. Nearly
every contractor in Perth was approached. Of the 120 buses that were used to
help deliver passengers, 40 came from the private sector. We exhausted all
avenues. The shadow minister went on to say that the incident occurred because
we are basically not spending enough money installing new equipment. The fact
here is that this was a human error. It is not a good enough outcome, but it
was not equipment failure—it was human error. The final thing he said
in his little tirade in the paper was that he was ''flabbergasted''
that I attended the launch of the bike plan which, a month before, he
criticised me for not launching. He then went on to say I should have a more
hands —
Mr M. McGowan : On
that day.
Mr R.H. Cook : It
was a public transport crisis.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Do members opposite know where the bike plan was launched? It was launched at
the Public Transport Authority headquarters! When I turned up —
Mr R.H. Cook : You
should have been dealing with the problem.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Hello! When I turned up at the public transport headquarters, who do you think
met me at the front door? The head of the Public Transport Authority, with the
director general of transport. We had an immediate briefing. When we finished
the bike launch —
Several members interjected.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
When there is a problem, we turn up and fix it, which is what we did.
I want to touch on a couple of other things. This document is
a bit hard to see; I might table it. It illustrates the key electrical
infrastructure on the Perth public transport system. I think it is important to
go through this. I can only offer a very high-level overview. We are making
some investments now that will help deal with some of the issues that arose
last week. Some investments now will mean that if there is a catastrophic power
failure —
Mr J.N. Hyde : You
just said it was human error!
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
If there is a catastrophic power failure, for whatever reason, member for
Perth, in the centre of the city, it will mean that the lines are not closed
down. A couple of things are happening. Firstly, a new substation will be
installed at City West. That is upwards of $20 million worth of investment.
That will reinforce power supply to the Joondalup–Mandurah line and
also supply an independent power source to the Fremantle line. That will mean
that if there is a catastrophic event, trains on the Fremantle line can travel
through to at least West Leederville, where the passengers will disembark. We
are also doing some work on the northern line which means that if there is a
catastrophic failure, passengers can travel through to the Leederville station.
It is a lot easier to get people from West Leederville or Leederville into the
city than it is from anywhere else down the Fremantle line.
A couple of other things, particularly for the members for
Midland and Armadale: one of the big issues is that that line is electrically
isolated at the city. The reason trains cannot come into the city is that there
is nowhere for them to turn around, other than at Cannington and Bassendean. I
was interested last week as to why those trains stopped so far out of the city.
Of course that is a major problem. Together with the PTA, we are looking at
putting in train turnarounds at Belmont and East Perth stations. That means if
there is another catastrophic failure in the system in due course, those
passengers will be brought as close as possible to the city. The bussing effort
then becomes a lot easier. Yes, last week highlighted a problem, but with sound
investments and sound planning we will deal with that problem.
The SPEAKER : The
minister indicated he would table that document.
[See paper 4617.]
serious electrical fault on the Perth rail network. I thought I would use the
opportunity during question time to outline the advice I have had around the
cause and what the government is doing to make the train network more
resilient. The preliminary advice I received is that there was obviously a
major electrical fault near the city. That electrical fault was caused by human
error, not by equipment error. The preliminary advice I have is that the error
was caused when a contractor incorrectly connected power cables, which caused
the shorting-out that led to the fire. That work was being done as part of the
Perth City Link project; in particular, the undergrounding of the train
station. Of course it was an unfortunate outcome. It led to a number of things—a
total loss of power on the Fremantle line, a partial loss of power on the
Armadale and Midland lines —
Mr F.M. Logan interjected.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Quite literally, my friend. It meant that trains had to stop at Cannington and
at Bassendean. In response, in the middle of the peak hour, Transperth was able
to mobilise 120 buses. As members would understand, we do not keep buses around
in sheds. It is very difficult to respond in that circumstance.
Ms
M.M. Quirk : Just train carriages!
Mr
T.R. BUSWELL : Nor trains, member for Girrawheen.
Getting 120 buses, notwithstanding the inconvenience that was
obvious to the people of Perth, was an effective response. I will deal with
what we are doing to address it in a second. I was interested to read some of
the comments from the shadow Minister for Transport. As usual, he was quick to
open his mouth before the full current has been applied to the cranial process!
He said the government should have got extra buses from the private sector.
Guess what we did? Extra buses were obtained from the private sector. Nearly
every contractor in Perth was approached. Of the 120 buses that were used to
help deliver passengers, 40 came from the private sector. We exhausted all
avenues. The shadow minister went on to say that the incident occurred because
we are basically not spending enough money installing new equipment. The fact
here is that this was a human error. It is not a good enough outcome, but it
was not equipment failure—it was human error. The final thing he said
in his little tirade in the paper was that he was ''flabbergasted''
that I attended the launch of the bike plan which, a month before, he
criticised me for not launching. He then went on to say I should have a more
hands —
Mr M. McGowan : On
that day.
Mr R.H. Cook : It
was a public transport crisis.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Do members opposite know where the bike plan was launched? It was launched at
the Public Transport Authority headquarters! When I turned up —
Mr R.H. Cook : You
should have been dealing with the problem.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
Hello! When I turned up at the public transport headquarters, who do you think
met me at the front door? The head of the Public Transport Authority, with the
director general of transport. We had an immediate briefing. When we finished
the bike launch —
Several members interjected.
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
When there is a problem, we turn up and fix it, which is what we did.
I want to touch on a couple of other things. This document is
a bit hard to see; I might table it. It illustrates the key electrical
infrastructure on the Perth public transport system. I think it is important to
go through this. I can only offer a very high-level overview. We are making
some investments now that will help deal with some of the issues that arose
last week. Some investments now will mean that if there is a catastrophic power
failure —
Mr J.N. Hyde : You
just said it was human error!
Mr T.R. BUSWELL :
If there is a catastrophic power failure, for whatever reason, member for
Perth, in the centre of the city, it will mean that the lines are not closed
down. A couple of things are happening. Firstly, a new substation will be
installed at City West. That is upwards of $20 million worth of investment.
That will reinforce power supply to the Joondalup–Mandurah line and
also supply an independent power source to the Fremantle line. That will mean
that if there is a catastrophic event, trains on the Fremantle line can travel
through to at least West Leederville, where the passengers will disembark. We
are also doing some work on the northern line which means that if there is a
catastrophic failure, passengers can travel through to the Leederville station.
It is a lot easier to get people from West Leederville or Leederville into the
city than it is from anywhere else down the Fremantle line.
A couple of other things, particularly for the members for
Midland and Armadale: one of the big issues is that that line is electrically
isolated at the city. The reason trains cannot come into the city is that there
is nowhere for them to turn around, other than at Cannington and Bassendean. I
was interested last week as to why those trains stopped so far out of the city.
Of course that is a major problem. Together with the PTA, we are looking at
putting in train turnarounds at Belmont and East Perth stations. That means if
there is another catastrophic failure in the system in due course, those
passengers will be brought as close as possible to the city. The bussing effort
then becomes a lot easier. Yes, last week highlighted a problem, but with sound
investments and sound planning we will deal with that problem.
The SPEAKER : The
minister indicated he would table that document.
[See paper 4617.]
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