Why Fast Trains Work: An Assessment of a Fast Regional Rail System in Perth, Australia

Abstract

Perth’s new 72 km long Southern Rail System opened in 2007. With a maximum speed of 137 km/hr and an average speed of almost 90 km/hr this system acts more like a new high speed rail than a suburban rail system, which in Australia typically averages around 40 km/hr for an all-stops services. The Southern Rail Line was very controversial when being planned as the urban areas served are not at all typical of those normally provided with rail but instead were highly car dependent and scattered low density land uses. Nevertheless it has been remarkably successful, carrying over 70,000 people per day (five times the patronage on the express buses it replaced) and has reached the patronage levels predicted for 2021 a decade ahead of time. The reasons for this success are analyzed and include well-designed interchanges, careful integration of bus services, the use of integrated ticketing and fares without transfer penalties and, crucially the high speed of the system when compared to competing car based trips. The Southern Rail Line in effect explodes the current paradigm of transfer penalties, exposing this as a myth. The lessons for transport planning in low density cities are significant, and are explored further in the paper.

Share and Cite:

J. McIntosh, P. Newman and G. Glazebrook, "Why Fast Trains Work: An Assessment of a Fast Regional Rail System in Perth, Australia," Journal of Transportation Technologies, Vol. 3 No. 2A, 2013, pp. 37-47. doi: 10.4236/jtts.2013.32A005.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] R. Waldock, P. Martinovich, A. Cartledge and R. Hamilton, “New Metro Rail Project—Lessons Learned May 2008,” Public Transport Authority, Perth, 2003. http://www.ceiid.wa.gov.au/Docs/KNF_200805/MAY08-NewMetroRailProject.pdf
[2] PATREC, Perth’s South West Metropolitan Railway— Balancing Benefits and Costs Report for the Public Trans port Authority of Western Australia by the Planning and Transport Research Centre, 2004.
[3] Western Australian Department of Planning, Directions 2031 and Beyond, Metropolitan Planning and Beyond the Horizon, 2013. http://www.planning.wa.gov.au/dop_pub_pdf/plan_directions2031_part1.pdf
[4] Western Australia Department of Transport, “Transperth Train Network,” Train Boardings by Station on an Average March Weekday, 2011.
[5] Vuchic, “Urban Transit—Operations, Planning and Economics,” John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, 2005, pp. 456-457.
[6] Google Earth Image, 2013.
[7] Transperth, 2011. http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/TicketsandFares.aspx
[8] Wikipedia, Murdock Railway Station Photos, 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murdoch_railway_station
[9] Western Australia Department of Transport, “Daily Rail Patronage Data from the Perth Rail network,” 2012.
[10] Google Earth, Image Downloaded from Google Earth, 2012.
[11] Australian Transport Council, “National Guidelines for Transport System Management in Australia, Volume 3— Appraisal of initiatives,” 2006. http://www.atcouncil.gov.au/documents/files/National_Guidelines_Volume_3.pdf
[12] Y. Crozet, “Time and Passenger Transport’ Round Table 127: Time and Transport,” 2005. http://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/19/45/83/PDF/ECMT_CROZET.pdf
[13] C. Papacostas and P. Prevedouros, “Mode Choice,” Transportation Engineering & Planning, pp. 391-399.
[14] Western Australia Department of Commerce and Finance, “Perth Fuel Prices,” 2012. http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/Corporate/Media/statements/2012/December/Perth_fuel_prices
_highest_in_2012.html
[15] RACWA, “RACWA Business Wise Congestion Survey,” 2012. http://rac.com.au/Motoring/Roadside-Assistance/For-your-business/~/media/Businesswise/Businesswise_congestion_survey2012_V2.ashx
[16] Western Australia Department of Transport, “Perth Parking Management Act, 1999,” 2013. http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/mediaFiles/DOT_R_ParkPol.pdf
[17] Wilson Parking, “Parking Rates for the Queens Complex in the Perth CBD,” 2013. http://www.wilsonparking.com.au/go/wilson-car-parks/wa/queens-complex
[18] D. Hensher, “A Bus-Based Transit Way or Light Rail? Continuing the Saga of Choice versus Blind Commit ment,” Road and Transport Research, Vol. 8, No. 3, 1999, pp. 3 21.
[19] G. Currie, “Research Perspectives on the Merits of Light Rail versus Bus,” Presentation from the BITRE Colloquium, 18-19 June 2009. http://www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/publications/files/LightRailVSBus.pdf

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.