Australind (train)

The Australind is a rural passenger train service in Western Australia operated by Transwa on the South Western Railway between Perth and Bunbury.

Australind
An Australind at Bunbury in January 2014
Overview
Service typePassenger train
StatusOperational
LocaleSouth West Western Australia
First service24 November 1947
Current operator(s)Transwa
Former operator(s)WAGR (1947-1975)
Westrail (1975-2000)
WAGR Commission (2000-2003)
Route
StartPerth
Stops13
EndBunbury
Distance travelled167 kilometres
Average journey time2 hours 30 minutes
Service frequencyTwice daily
Train number(s)9/10
Line(s) usedArmadale Line, South Western Railway, Western Australia
Technical
Rolling stockADP/ADQ class railcars
Track gauge1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Route map

History
The Australind departs Perth in March 1986 hauled by an X class

The Australind service began on 24 November 1947 and was hauled initially by U class steam locomotives.[1] With an average speed of 63 km/h (39 mph), it was the fastest narrow gauge passenger train in Australia.[2] 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 elongated stop at Pinjarra. On 16 November 1987, the current ADP/ADQ class railcars took over the service reducing journey times to 2 hours 30 minutes.[3][4][5][6]

Rolling stock
Original livery
2003 refurbished livery
2007 refurbished livery

When introduced, the train consisted of new carriages built by the Midland Railway Workshops.[4] 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.[7] Each carriage was powered by a Cummins KTA19 coupled to a Voith transmission. They usually operate as a three or four carriage set. Five carriage set operation is not possible due to the limited platform length available at Perth station.[5]

In July 2003, the DMUs were painted in a new livery in line with the formation of Transwa. In 2007, the DMUs were painted white as part of a refurbishment program. In 2010/11, new seats were fitted.[8] Six new Alstom built railcars are scheduled to be delivered in 2022.[9][10]

Route

The Australind departs from Perth traversing the metropolitan Armadale line to Armadale, then the South Western Railway to Bunbury.[11]

Stations

See also

References
  1. "The Australind - Fast Day Train to Bunbury". Kalgoorlie Miner. 26 November 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  2. Gunzburg, Adrian (1984). A History of WAGR Steam Locomotives. Perth: Australian Railway Historical Society. p. 128. ISBN 0-9599690-3-9.
  3. Gray, Bill; May, Andrew (2006). A History of WAGR Passenger Carriages. Perth: Bill Gray. pp. 183, 312, 314. ISBN 0-646-45902-3.
  4. Higham, Geoffrey (2007). Marble Bar to Mandurah: A history of passenger rail services in Western Australia. Bassendean: Rail Heritage WA. pp. 111, 113, 119. ISBN 978-0-9803922-0-3.
  5. Dunn, John C. (2013). "Perth-Bunbury Railcars". Comeng: A History of Commonwealth Engineering Volume 5, 1985-2012. Dural, NSW: Rosenberg Publishing. pp. 113–122. ISBN 9781925078046.
  6. "Australind Timetable" (PDF). Transwa. Public Transport Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  7. "Western Australia" Railway Digest September 1985 page 279
  8. Annual Report June 2011 Public Transport Authority
  9. Made in WA: Metronet railcars to be proudly built in WA Minister for Transport 18 August 2019
  10. Alstom to supply next generation of EMUs to Perth Metro Report International 20 August 2019
  11. "Our fleet". Public Transport Authority. Perth, WA: Government of Western Australia. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
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