Alkimos railway station

Alkimos railway station is a suburban rail station on the Yanchep line in Alkimos, Western Australia. The station opened on 14 July 2024 as part of the Yanchep Rail Extension.

Description
Alkimos station is in Alkimos, a suburb of Perth in Western Australia. It is located north of Romeo Road and east of Marmion Avenue in an area undeveloped as of construction. The station is 43.0 km from Perth Underground station and is in fare zone five. The adjacent stations are Butler to the south and Eglinton to the north.

The station consists of two side platforms sunk into a cutting. On top of the platforms is a large ground-level concourse, which will connect down to the platform by a set of lifts, escalators, and stairs. North of the station itself is a bus interchange with eight stands on top of the railway, and further north, on either side of the railway are two car parks with 600 bays in total. Other facilities include parking for bicycles and toilets. The station is fully accessible.

Unlike the other stations on the Yanchep Rail Extension, the land surrounding Alkimos station is government owned and will be developed by LandCorp. Alkimos and Eglinton combined are planned to have a population of 60,000 when they are fully developed, and the land around the station, known as Alkimos Central, is planned to become a city centre for the surrounding area, with 15,000 jobs.

Public art
On the station's interior concourse is an artwork titled Moon Over Ocean, Land Under Sun, by Caroline Christie-Coxon. This consists of two glazed discs either side of the entryway. On the ceiling is an artwork by Jarni McGuire representing the mythical Rainbow Serpent and inspired by the Melaleuca paperbark tree. On the platform walls is a mural by Chris Nixon using horizontal lines to represent the coastline and waves washing up on the beach.

History
The original stage of the Yanchep line, formerly known as the Joondalup line, began construction in November 1989. It was opened between Perth station and Joondalup station on 20 December 1992, and extended to Currambine station on 8 August 1993. An extension to Clarkson station opened on 4 October 2004 and an extension to Butler station opened on 21 September 2014.

To cater for continuous population growth in the northern suburbs of Perth, in 2017, the government initiated the Yanchep Rail Extension, an extension of the Joondalup line 14.5 km to Yanchep, with three new stations: Alkimos, Eglinton, and Yanchep. The Yanchep Rail Extension was part of the government's wider Metronet project to expand and upgrade Perth's rail network, and was delivered by the Public Transport Authority (PTA). The PTA chose to put the Yanchep Rail Extension under the same contract as the Thornlie–Cockburn Link. The contract for the Yanchep Rail Extension and the Thornlie–Cockburn Link was awarded to the NEWest Alliance, a joint venture of CPB Contractors and Downer.

Earthworks for the Yanchep Rail Extension began in mid-2020. Designs for Alkimos station were revealed in August 2020. The first major concrete pour for Alkimos station occurred in March 2021. By October 2022, construction of the platform and concourse had begun. By May 2023, the station's four escalators had been installed. By March 2024, the station's structure was complete and internal fittings and furniture was being installed. Landscaping was underway and the public art pieces were being installed.

Opening
The Yanchep Rail Extension was originally meant to open in late 2021. This was first delayed to 2022. After the September 2021 state budget, the extension was delayed to late 2023. After the May 2023 state budget, the government said that the Yanchep extension "is due for completion at the end of 2023, with services commencing in the new year". At the end of 2023, the Yanchep extension was still under construction and services were planned to commence in the first half of 2024. The actual opening date was revealed in April 2024. The station officially opened on 14 July 2024 with an opening ceremony and celebrations. Upon opening, the Joondalup line was renamed the Yanchep line. Regular train and bus services commenced the following day.

Services
Alkimos station is served by the Yanchep line on the Transperth network. Services are operated by the PTA. The line goes between Yanchep and Elizabeth Quay station in the Perth central business district, continuing south from there as the Mandurah line. Peak headways are five to ten minutes, dropping to fifteen minutes outside of peak and on weekends and public holidays. A train journey from Alkimos to Perth will take 41 minutes. It is projected that Alkimos station will have 3,616 boardings per day by 2031.

There are four bus routes serving Alkimos station. Routes 485 and 486 run south to Butler station. Routes 491 and 492 run north to Eglinton station. These routes have peak headways of 10 minutes, lowering to 30 minute headways between peaks and 60 minute headways on weekends and public holidays, except for route 492, which has 30 minute headways on Saturdays.