Morley–Ellenbrook line

The Morley–Ellenbrook line is an under construction suburban railway line and service in Perth, Western Australia, which will be operated by the Public Transport Authority as part of the Transperth system. The line branches from the Midland line at Bayswater station and heads north-north-west to serve five new stations along a 21.3 km route to Ellenbrook. Morley–Ellenbrook line services will continue west of Bayswater station alongside Midland and Airport line services to terminate at Perth station in the central business district.

Land for a transit line to Ellenbrook was reserved in the 1990s during the first stages of the development of Ellenbrook as a "master planned community". A railway line to Ellenbrook was promised by both major political parties in the leadup to the 2008 state election, but it was cancelled by the Liberal government after winning the election. After the Labor Party won the 2017 state election, the Morley–Ellenbrook line began planning as part of the wider Metronet project. Enabling works within the Tonkin Highway median strip were undertaken by the Tonkin Gap project, which started construction in November 2020 and was completed in early 2024. The main Morley–Ellenbrook line contract was awarded to Laing O'Rourke in October 2020 and construction began in January 2022. The main contract's original budget was $1.123billion, which was increased in 2023 to $1.651billion. The first station was completed in March 2024 and the line is planned to open in late 2024.

Branching from the Midland line at Bayswater station, the Morley–Ellenbrook line enters a viaduct to exit the Midland line via a flying junction before entering the median strip of Tonkin Highway through a short tunnel. The line heads north from there, stopping at Morley and Noranda stations, before exiting the highway through another tunnel to reach Malaga station. The Morley–Ellenbrook line then runs east along the southern side of Whiteman Park before bending north to head between Whiteman Park and Drumpellier Drive to reach Whiteman Park station. North from there, the line enters Ellenbrook to terminate at Ellenbrook station.

The Morley–Ellenbrook line is planned to have a frequency of five trains per hour during peak, reducing to four trains per hour off peak, operated by B-series trains. Peak frequencies are planned to increase to six trains per hour by 2031, which will require upgrades to signalling to accommodate the Morley–Ellenbrook line alongside Airport and Midland line services. All stations along the branch are fully accessible and have 150 m platforms, but train lengths are limited by 100 m platforms between Perth and Bayswater. The branch is forecast to have 11,753 boardings per weekday upon opening, increasing to 18,070 boardings per weekday in 2031.

Proposals
The 1955 Plan for the Metropolitan Region, Perth and Fremantle, also known as the Stephenson–Hepburn Report, proposed a 7+1/2 mi railway line branching off the Eastern Railway (Midland line) at Bayswater, then heading north through Morley to reach Walter Road and then north-west to terminate near Wanneroo Road. The branch was planned to have six stations and projected to have 7,000 daily passengers. The report also proposed the Beechboro–Gosnells Highway, now known as Tonkin Highway. When the Metropolitan Region Scheme was adopted in 1963 though, the land for the proposed highway was reserved but the not the land for the proposed railway. Tonkin Highway between Railway Parade and Reid Highway was eventually opened in stages between 1984 and 1991.

The North-East Corridor Structure Plan, published in 1994, called for the rezoning of Ellenbrook for urban development and the reservation of a public transport corridor from the proposed Ellenbrook town centre and along Lord Street (now known as Drumpellier Drive) to Bassendean on the Midland line. The Metropolitan Region Scheme was amended later that year to reserve the corridor from Ellenbrook to as far as Reid Highway. The corridor south of Reid Highway was not reserved due to a large number of objections from nearby residents, which caused the government to commission the North East Corridor Transit Route Reserve Study to determine a route south of the Reid Highway/Lord Street junction. The study outlined four possible routes to the Midland line: to Bayswater via Tonkin Highway and Reid Highway, to Bassendean via Lord Street, to Midland via an extension of Benara Road through Caversham, and to Middle Swan via Reid Highway and Roe Highway. The route via Bayswater was chosen as the preferred option, so in 1996, land along the northern side of Reid Highway in Beechboro and along Tonkin Highway in Bayswater and Morley was reserved; the northern side of Reid Highway was chosen as the highway's median was not wide enough.

Following the success of the Mandurah line, which opened in late 2007, the premier of Western Australia, Alan Carpenter, announced a week before the September 2008 state election a commitment to built a railway line to Ellenbrook for A$850million if the Labor Party was re-elected, with construction starting in 2012 and finishing in 2015. Opposition and Liberal Party leader Colin Barnett also committed to building a railway to Ellenbrook, but following his election victory, he backpedalled on the promise, saying he had only committed to considering it if elected to a second term. In April 2009, the Public Transport Authority cancelled a route definition study into the Ellenbrook line commissioned by the Carpenter government, which the opposition only found out by a freedom of information request. Transport Minister Troy Buswell said in May 2011 that the Liberal Party only committed to the Ellenbrook line because it believed that the government had done a feasibility study, and that a subsequent study found that patronage would not be high enough for a rail line.

In July 2011, the government's Public Transport in Perth in 2031 plan instead committed to a bus rapid transit (BRT) service between Ellenbrook and Bassendean station, putting an end to plans for a rail line to Ellenbrook. By August 2012, the design of the BRT route was underway. Ahead of the March 2013 state election, Barnett again promised to build a rail line to Ellenbrook if re-elected, which he reiterated during an election debate on ABC News. In February 2013 though, Barnett reneged on that promise, saying that "when we looked at it and we took advice from the Department of Transport and others, it was clear that rail line was ahead of its time". Meanwhile, Labor leader Mark McGowan committed to building the Ellenbrook line as part of Labor's proposed Metronet project. Days before the election, Barnett announced that the BRT project had been cancelled due to costs increasing from $61million to $110million. The Liberals won the election.

In the May 2016 state budget, the Ellenbrook BRT project was revived with a cheaper route. Estimated to cost $49million, the new route was a 9 km dedicated busway along Lord Street between the Ellenbrook town centre and Marshall Road. There would have been bus stations in the Ellenbrook town centre, at Gnangara Road, and at Marshall Road, with a future station at Youle-Dean Road. The busway would have been grade separated at Gnangara Road, Park Street and Youle-Dean Road, and buses would have continued south of Marshall Road along regular streets to Bassendean and Midland stations. Sections of Lord Street would have been upgraded and realigned as well. A request for tenders was released in July 2016 and in November 2016, CPB Contractors was selected as the preferred proponent, with the cost having risen to $55million.

In February 2016, Transport Minister Dean Nalder revealed the government was considering an underground rail line from the Perth central business district to Morley via Edith Cowan University in Mount Lawley, with an eventual extension to Ellenbrook. Labor criticised the tunnel for being too expensive. The Transport@3.5 million plan, which was published in July 2016, said a railway line to Ellenbrook would not be needed until after 2050, with the tunnel from Perth to Morley to be built as the first stage of a line to East Wanneroo and that the Ellenbrook line would later be built as a spur off that line. A week later, Barnett backtracked, saying that a rail line to Ellenbrook would be constructed "well before" 2050. The final version of the Transport@3.5 million report, published in February 2017, said that a rail line to Ellenbrook would be needed before 2050. Meanwhile, Labor again promised to build the Morley–Ellenbrook line for $863million as part of its revised Metronet project, with construction beginning in 2019 and finishing in 2022.

The March 2017 state election resulted in the defeat of the Liberal Party and election of Labor to government. Soon after being elected to government, Premier Mark McGowan announced the cancellation of the Ellenbrook BRT project as it was redundant to the Ellenbrook line, and the contract with CPB would be renegotiated so that Lord Street could be realigned and upgraded to a four-lane dual carriageway. Upon the project's completion in April 2019, Lord Street was renamed Drumpellier Drive. As part of the NorthLink WA project, the intersections between Tonkin Highway and Collier Road, Morley Drive, Benara Road, and Reid Highway were grade separated and the highway was extended north, providing the corridor for the Morley–Ellenbrook line to be built. The first three grade separations, which made up stage one of NorthLink WA, were completed in January 2018, and the Reid Highway interchange and extension north, which made up stage two, opened in March 2019.

Planning
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull committed $500million in the April 2018 federal budget for the Morley–Ellenbrook line, subject to a favourable assessment by the independent statutory authority Infrastructure Australia.

The finalised route for the Morley–Ellenbrook line was revealed in August 2019, with the state government saying that it considered 100 possible routes. The main engineering challenge of the final alignment were the tunnels to enter and exit Tonkin Highway. The number and location of stations were finalised, with there being five stations: Morley, Noranda, Malaga, Whiteman Park, and Ellenbrook. It was also announced that the scope of an existing project to rebuild Bayswater station would be increased to add extra platforms for the Morley–Ellenbrook line. The expected opening date at the time was 2022–23.

Consideration was given to having the line travel along Tonkin Highway on the western side of Whiteman Park, but this route was not chosen as it would not allow for a station at the entrance to Whiteman Park or a station to serve Henley Brook, Dayton, Brabham or West Swan. The design allows for a branch to extend north along Tonkin Highway past Malaga though. Another option considered was tunnelling the Morley–Ellenbrook line between Bayswater station and Tonkin Highway instead of building a viaduct. Tunnelling was rejected due to the severe slopes required for a tunnel, the Bayswater Main Drain being in the way, disruption to the Airport and Midland lines, and the high cost of tunnelling. During further design, the height of the viaduct was reduced due to complains from nearby residents. The route through the southern and eastern parts of Whiteman was criticised by the shadow minister for transport, Libby Mettam, who said that it broke the terms of an agreement when Lew Whiteman and other landowners sold the land to the state government which said that the land must remain public open space. The state government retorted by saying that the previous Liberal government had planned for the land to become a cemetery and a sporting complex.

The environmental assessment was divided into two packages. The Bayswater to Malaga environmental assessment application was submitted to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in November 2019, which determined in December 2019 that the Bayswater to Malaga portion did not require assessment by the EPA. The Malaga to Ellenbrook environmental assessment application was submitted to the EPA in December 2019, which approved the application in November 2020. Important environmental considerations included the clearing of vegetation, impacts on Bennett Brook and nearby wetlands, and the habitat of Carter's freshwater mussels and black cockatoos.

In February 2020, the Parliament of Western Australia passed an enabling act for the Morley–Ellenbrook line, authorising the line's construction. Infrastructure Australia released its assessment of the Morley–Ellenbrook line in May 2020, adding the project to the Infrastructure Priority List as a "Priority Project", enabling it to receive $500million in federal funding. Infrastructure Australia described the project as a "marginal" case, saying that urban renewal would be crucial to the project achieving the desired patronage levels and that the government had overestimated projected patronage growth and travel times, but that the Morley–Ellenbrook corridor had high population growth and was one of Perth's only corridors without a railway line. In June 2020, the project definition plan was released, which said that the Morley–Ellenbrook line would be divided into four programs of work: the Bayswater station project, the Tonkin Gap project, the main Morley–Ellenbrook line works, and forward works.

Tonkin Gap project
Works to allow for the Morley–Ellenbrook line to run in the Tonkin Highway median strip were undertaken as part of an earlier project by Main Roads Western Australia, the Tonkin Gap project. This project's main purpose was to widen Tonkin Highway between Collier Road in Bayswater and Dunreath Drive in Redcliffe, but the associated works included building the tunnels and dive structures for the railway to enter and exit the highway at Bayswater and Ballajura, modifying drainage along the Morley–Ellenbrook line route, adding barriers between Tonkin Highway and the railway, rebuilding the Broun Avenue bridge to allow for a bus interchange at Morley station, and building railway bridges across Morley Drive. As a future railway line was not considered during the construction of NorthLink WA stage one, the associated works also included adding deflection walls to bridge piers and electrification screens to bridges.



The Tonkin Gap was constructed under an "alliance contract". The Tonkin Gap Alliance, consisting of BMD, Georgiou, WA Limestone, BG&E and GHD, was announced as the preferred proponent in May 2020,  and the $400million contract was signed in June 2020. Construction began in November 2020. The cost has since increased to $761million.

The two dive structures were built by shifting the affected Tonkin Highway carriageway out of the way. From May 2021, the northbound Tonkin Highway carriageway between Railway Parade and Collier Road was shifted east to allow for the construction of the southern dive structure. In December 2022, both carriageways were diverted to the western side of the dive structure, and in early 2023, the southbound carriageway was moved back to the eastern side of the dive structure. From September 2021, the southbound Tonkin Highway carriageway near Marshall Road was shifted west to allow for the construction of the northern dive structure. Piling works started that month and were completed in April 2022, after which, excavation and concrete pours commenced. In March 2023, the northern dive structure was completed and the southbound Tonkin Highway carriageway was moved back to the eastern side of the dive structure.

The Broun Avenue bridge was replaced because its clearance was not high enough and because the Morley station bus interchange was to be built on a bridge across Tonkin Highway. The old bridge was demolished in April 2022 and the new bridge was structurally complete by September 2022. In November 2022, it was announced that a footbridge across Tonkin Highway between Malaga station and Ballajura would be added to the scope of the Tonkin Gap project, in response to a community survey undertaken by Metronet in 2021.

Bayswater station project


Before the Morley–Ellenbrook line, Bayswater station was already planned to be rebuilt for the Forrestfield–Airport Link (Airport line), which was under construction at the time. The station was planned to be rebuilt as an elevated station with two platform faces and a turnback siding west of the station. The planned number of platform faces was increased to four upon the announcement of the Morley–Ellenbrook line's route. On 9 April 2020, the contract for the Bayswater station project, worth $253million, was awarded to the Evolve Bayswater Alliance, consisting of Coleman Rail and Decmil. Construction began in January 2021.

The May 2023 state budget revealed a cost blowout, taking the cost of the Bayswater station construction to $334.6million. The southern half of the new station opened on 8 October 2023. From 28 March to 8 April 2024, the Airport and Midland lines were shut down to realign the tracks through Bayswater station to their final alignment and construct the connection to the Morley–Ellenbrook line. The northern half of the station opened at the end of that shutdown. The outer two platforms have since been used for Airport and Midland line services; the middle two platforms will be used by the Morley–Ellenbrook line upon opening.

Morley–Ellenbrook line construction
The main Morley–Ellenbrook line project also used the "alliance contract" model. A request for proposal for the design and construction of the line was released in January 2020, and in April 2020, two alliances were shortlisted: the Ellenbrook Alliance, consisting of CPB Contractors and Downer EDI, and the MELconnx Consortium, consisting of U.K. company Laing O'Rourke. The MELconnx Consortium was shortlisted as the preferred proponent in September 2020. The following month, the contract with the MELconnx Consortium was signed for $700million, with the completion date delayed to 2023–24. The contract's total budget was $1.123billion when including contingency, escalation, and ancillary costs, with a further $233million for the Morley–Ellenbrook line portion of the Bayswater station and Tonkin Gap projects. The shadow minister for transport, Libby Mettam, criticised the decision to go with a foreign contractor over a local contractor, but Premier Mark McGowan defended the choice, saying "this is a massive project".

The MELconnx Consortium chose Woods Bagot to be the main architect for the five stations, alongside Taylor Robinson Chaney Broderick helping with Morley and Noranda stations, and UDLA and TCL doing the landscape architecture. The designs for each of the five stations were revealed progressively between July 2021 and April 2022.



Construction began on each station starting from the northernmost station and heading south from there due to the Tonkin Gap construction that was ongoing. Work started at Ellenbrook station in January 2022. Because the Morley–Ellenbrook line passes through the grounds of Ellenbrook Christian College, the state government funded a $2.8million pavilion for the school's sports oval, and built an underpass, which opened in March 2023. By that month, the first 1.5 km of track had been laid, between Whiteman Park station and Gnangara Road. By June 2023, the installation of beams for the Whiteman Park station viaduct had begun.

The May 2023 state budget revealed the main project's cost had increased by $528.1million, bringing the total cost to $1.651billion. The cost increase was blamed on issues with the supply of labour, equipment, and materials. By March 2024, 75 percent of tracklaying had been done, Ellenbrook station was complete, making it the first of the new stations to be complete, and the Bayswater viaduct structure had all major beams installed. Tracklaying was scheduled to be complete by the middle of 2024. In June 2024, construction of a bus depot at Henley Brook bus station commenced, with the bus station set to close upon the Morley–Ellenbrook line's opening. The line is scheduled to open in late 2024.

Description
The Morley–Ellenbrook branch uses narrow gauge track and has a maximum speed of 130 km/h. Trains are powered by overhead line equipment which is powered by a substation in Malaga. The Transperth network uses fixed block signalling. The tracks between Bayswater and Daglish are limited to 15 trains per hour, which makes for a maximum frequency of five trains per hour on the Morley–Ellenbrook branch. As part of the High Capacity Signalling Project, the rail network will be upgraded to moving block signalling using communications-based train control (CBTC), which would allow for higher frequencies. As of 2021, the CBTC system is planned to be implemented on the Morley–Ellenbrook line by June 2027.

Route


The Morley–Ellenbrook line will branch from the Midland line at Bayswater and run for 21.3 km to Ellenbrook. South-west of Bayswater station, Morley–Ellenbrook line services are planned to run along the Midland line to Perth station, where they will terminate and run empty to the siding west of Daglish station to turn around and travel back to Ellenbrook.

The Morley–Ellenbrook line will split from the Midland line just west of Bayswater station; the Morley–Ellenbrook line will use the two inner tracks at Bayswater station and the Airport and Midland line services will use the two outer tracks, allowing Morley–Ellenbrook line services to either terminate at Bayswater or continue to Perth station. East of Bayswater station, the Morley–Ellenbrook line will enter a viaduct for the flying junction, passing over the eastbound Midland line track and run parallel to the Midland line before curving north to pass over Railway Parade and Clavering Road, enter a tunnel under the Tonkin Highway northbound carriageway, and surface within the Tonkin Highway median strip.



From Bayswater, the Morley–Ellenbrook line will head north along Tonkin Highway for approximately 7 km until it reaches Ballajura. There will be two stations along this section: Morley station at Broun Avenue and Noranda station at Benara Road. North of Marshall Road, the Morley–Ellenbrook line will enter a short tunnel and bend east under the southbound Tonkin Highway carriageway. Within an undeveloped area of land bounded by Tonkin Highway, Beechboro Road North and Marshall Road will be Malaga station, which will be at ground level. Heading east from Malaga station, the Morley–Ellenbrook line will pass under a road-over-rail bridge at Beechboro Road North and then travel through land within the southern area of Whiteman Park, north of Marshall Road. The line will bridge over Bennett Brook and enter a rural part of Bennett Springs, where there will be a road-over-rail bridge at Dulwich Street. Between Dulwich Street and Cheltenham Street will be an area reserved for a future Bennett Springs station.



In Bennett Springs, the Morley–Ellenbrook line will bend north to travel along the western side of Drumpellier Drive, avoiding Horse Swamp, which is classed as a conservation category wetland. At Whiteman Drive East, one of the main entrance roads to Whiteman Park, will be Whiteman Park station. The station will be on a viaduct which will bridge over Whiteman Drive East. North of Whiteman Park station, the Morley–Ellenbrook line will continue parallel to Drumpellier Drive and then enter a tunnel to pass under the intersection between Gnangara Road and Drumpellier Drive, emerging on the eastern side of Drumpellier Drive. The railway will then diverge from Drumpellier Drive to enter Ellenbrook, passing through the Ellenbrook Christian College school grounds on an embankment to reach the Ellenbrook town centre, where the line will terminate at Ellenbrook station at ground level.

Stations


Morley–Ellenbrook line services will stop at 13 stations: eight from Perth to Bayswater and five on the Morley–Ellenbrook line branch. The stations from Perth to Bayswater are all in fare zone one, Morley, Noranda, Malaga and Whiteman Park stations will be in fare zone two and Ellenbrook station will be in fare zone three. All stations on the Morley–Ellenbrook line branch will be fully accessible and have 150 m island platforms, long enough for a six-car train. Most stations between Perth and Bayswater only have platforms long enough for four-car trains, limiting the length of trains that can run on the Morley–Ellenbrook line. The exceptions are Bayswater, East Perth and Perth stations. The Claisebrook, Maylands and Meltham station platforms are planned to be lengthened in the near future, with Mount Lawley and McIver platforms to be extended thereafter. Several stations between Perth and Bayswater are not fully accessible. Factors limiting accessibility include non-compliant ramps, a lack of tactile paving, large platform gaps, and pedestrian level crossings.

Services
Morley–Ellenbrook line frequencies are planned to be five trains per hour during peak and four trains per hour at other times. By 2031, it is planned for peak frequencies to increase to six trains per hour, which will require the CBTC system to be operational and an additional siding at Daglish. An end-to-end journey is predicted to take 30 minutes.

Rolling stock
Nine three-car Transperth B-series trains will operate Morley–Ellenbrook line services upon the line's opening. Trains will be stabled and maintained at Claisebrook railcar depot near the Perth central business district and the future Bellevue railcar depot at the end of the Midland line. Provisions have been made for a future depot along the Morley–Ellenbrook line in Henley Brook with capacity for twelve six-car trains.

Patronage
The Morley–Ellenbrook line branch is forecast to have 11,753 boardings per weekday upon opening, increasing to 18,070 boardings per weekday in 2031. The busiest station is forecast to be Ellenbrook station, with 8,016 boardings by 2031, followed by Whiteman Park station with 3,795 boardings, Malaga station with 3,084 boardings, Noranda station with 1,810 boardings, and Morley station with 1,365 boardings.