// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Australind train say? "I'm locomoted to Australia".
 Australind on approach to Harvey, June 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Service type | Passenger train | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Operational | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locale | South West Western Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First service | 24 November 1947 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current operator | Transwa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former operators |
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| Ridership | 77,810 (year to June 2023)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Termini | Perth Bunbury | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stops | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance travelled | 167 km (104 mi)[contradictory] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Average journey time | 2 hours 30 minutes[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service frequency | Four return services per week (until August 2026)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Train number | 9/10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line used | South Western Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | ADR/ADS class | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Australind is a rural passenger train service in Western Australia operated by Transwa on the South Western Railway between Perth and Bunbury.
History
[edit]
The Australind service began on 24 November 1947 and was hauled initially by U class steam locomotives.[3] With an average speed of 63 km/h (39 mph), it was the fastest narrow gauge passenger train in Australia.[4] It was named to commemorate the city of that name envisioned by Marshall Waller Clifton on Leschenault Inlet 100 years previously. The current hamlet of Australind, a satellite town of Bunbury, has never had a passenger rail service, nor even a railway line.
In February 1958, X class diesel locomotives took over. The service was relaunched on 1 October 1960 with onboard catering removing the need for an extended stop at Pinjarra. In November 1987, the ADP/ADQ class railcars took over the service, reducing the journey time to 2 hours 30 minutes.[5][6][7][8]
In November 2023 the service was suspended due to the shutdown of the Armadale line for upgrading.[9] The suspension also marked the retirement of the ADP/ADQ class trainsets, with the final two services – reserved for invited special guests – conducted on 18 and 19 November 2023.[10][full citation needed] The route was then temporarily replaced by coach bus services. Although originally scheduled to re-open in mid-2025, delays in the upgrade of the Armadale line pushed back the resumption of train services to June 2026, which also introduced new ADR/ADS class railcars based on the Transperth C-series train to the route.[11][12][13]
The resumed service was inaugurated on 28 June 2026, with a community event held at Bunbury Terminal; the first public service started operating on 29 June 2026.[2] The resumed service initially started operating with a limited timetable of four return services per week and only one ADR/ADS class railcar on the route, with replacement coach bus services to continue until a second railcar comes online in August, which will also see the regular timetable of two return services a day reinstated.[2]
Transwa plans to double the number of services from two return services to four return services a day in 2027.[2]
Rolling stock
[edit]
When introduced, the train consisted of new carriages built by the Midland Railway Workshops.[6] In August 1985, Westrail awarded Comeng, Bassendean a contract for five Westrail ADP/ADQ class railcars, three ADPs with driving cabs and two ADQs, using a similar body shell and interior fitout to the New South Wales XPT carriages.[14] Each carriage was powered by a Cummins KTA19 coupled to a Voith transmission. They usually operated as a three or four carriage set as five carriage set operation is not possible due to the limited platform length available at Perth station.[7]
In July 2003, the trains were painted in a new livery in line with the formation of Transwa. In 2007, the trains were painted white as part of a refurbishment program. In 2010/11, new seats were fitted.[15]
In 2019, two new ADR/ADS class railcars sets, each consisting of a three-car diesel multiple unit, were ordered for the Australind at a cost of $54 million. The trains were built by Alstom in Bellevue as diesel-powered variants of the Transperth C-series trains already under construction.[16][17][18] In January 2025 it was announced that two additional train sets would be procured for the route for $80 million; the new trains were obtained to increase reliability and future frequency of the service.[19] Testing for the new trains began in 2025.[11] The four new train sets, named Marley, Kwilena, Koombana and Linda following a public competition,[20] were gradually introduced to the service when the route resumed in 2026.[11]
Route
[edit]The Australind departs from Perth traversing the metropolitan Armadale line to Armadale, then the South Western Railway to Bunbury.[21]
Stations
[edit]The Australind stops at the following set of stations:[2]
Ridership
[edit]The Australind had 77,810 passengers in the year leading up to June 2023.[1]
In the year leading up to June 2025, 47,413 passengers used the service when it was operated by coach buses due to the suspension of rail services.[22]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 "Public Transport Authority Annual Report 2022-23" (PDF). Public Transport Authority. 2022. p. 25. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Loney, Georgia; Lynch, Jacqueline (28 June 2026). "Long-awaited Perth-to-Bunbury Train Service Reopens". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
- ↑ "The Australind. Fast Day Train to Bunbury". Kalgoorlie Miner. Vol. 53, no. 13148. Western Australia. 26 November 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 29 June 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
- ↑ Gunzburg, Adrian (1984). A History of WAGR Steam Locomotives. Perth: Australian Railway Historical Society. ISBN 0-9599690-3-9. OL 19634598M.
- ↑ May, Andrew S; Gray, Bill (2006). A History of WAGR Passenger Carriages. Midland, WA: Bill Gray. pp. 183, 312, 314. ISBN 0646459023.
- 1 2 Higham, Geoffrey (2007). Marble Bar to Mandurah: A History of Passenger Rail Services in Western Australia. Rail Heritage WA. pp. 111, 113, 119. ISBN 978-0-9599690-9-2.
- 1 2 Dunn, John C. (2013). Comeng: A History of Commonwealth Engineering Volume 5, 1985-2012. Dural, NSW: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 113–122. ISBN 9781925078046.
- ↑ "Australind Timetable" (PDF). Transwa. Public Transport Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ↑ "Australind service changes". Transwa. Public Transport Authority. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
- ↑ "End of an era: Australind train farewelled after 36 years serving communities between Bunbury and Perth". Harvey-Waroona Reporter. Retrieved 4 February 2024.[author missing]
- 1 2 3 "Joint media statement - Armadale line to reopen as Metronet Byford Rail Extension reaches final stages". WA.gov.au. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- ↑ "'Have to be patient' as Australind line expecting months-long delays waiting for Armadale line completion". South West Times. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
- ↑ "Australind train service set to return between Perth and Bunbury | Western Australian Government". www.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 22 April 2026.
- ↑ "Western Australia" Railway Digest September 1985 page 279
- ↑ Annual Report June 2011 Archived 27 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine Public Transport Authority
- ↑ Minister for Transport (18 August 2019). "Made in WA: Metronet railcars to be proudly built in WA". Archived from the original on 5 September 2019.
- ↑ "Alstom to supply next generation of EMUs to Perth". Metro Report International. 20 August 2019. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019.
- ↑ "New Australind Railcar Design Unveiled". Railway-News. 23 January 2020. Archived from the original on 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ↑ "Major boost for Bunbury and Peel region with Government to procure two more Australind trains". 23 January 2025. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
- ↑ "Four new Australind train names revealed ahead of service's resumption". Perth is OK!. 18 June 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Our fleet". Public Transport Authority. Perth, WA: Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
- ↑ "Annual Report 2024-2025". www.pta.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Transwa Australind at Wikimedia Commons- Perth Trains gallery (archived)
