The final piece of the Western Australian government’s flagship Metronet project, the long-awaited Byford rail extension in Perth’s south-east, will open tomorrow, half a billion dollars over budget.
Community events were held today to celebrate the milestone, which extends the existing Armadale line 8 kilometres south to a new ground-level station in Byford.
The line will allow commuters to get from the new Byford train station, which features 400 parking bays, to Perth in 46 minutes.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said she felt proud and relieved to see the project come to fruition.
“We’ve opened the airport line, the Yanchep line, the Ellenbrook line and of course the Thornlie-Cockburn link — this is the last rail line to open as part of that Metronet vision,” she said.
“We’re seeing the explosion of Byford. Growing up in Roleystone and heading to the south-west, Byford was a rural township that you went through, now it’s a major housing precinct.”
The Byford Rail Extension was originally expected to cost $797 million, but has risen to $1.33 billion.
Ms Saffioti said the cost blowout was due to COVID, supply chain interruptions and an expanded scope.
“The first couple of years [of the project] was very, very tough. Basically you’ve got a massive agenda to deliver … getting the planning underway, negotiating the funding, then we went through COVID,” she said.
“It’s been a tough, tough era to deliver infrastructure. No-one could have foreseen some of the conflict through both Russia and the Middle East.”
A growing population
The Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale President Rob Coles said it was a significant development for the rapidly growing population.
“About 75 per cent of our residents leave the shire each day and go to work, and on average they travel about 23 kilometres one way,” he said.
“So this really is a game changer for our residents to be able to access employment.
“We are currently the fastest growing local government in WA and number three in Australia, the growth is rapid and things like the train station and other infrastructure really is so important.”
Businesses celebrate opening
The grand opening has been eagerly awaited by some residents and business owners in Byford, who have had to cope with a large section of the Armadale line being closed for almost two years.
Hair salon owner Sharlene Sandiana was looking forward to better transport links and potentially more customers.
“Transport around here has been pretty bad for the last few years, so it’ll be great,” she said.
“We’re already quite busy here as it is, so hopefully it’ll get a little bit busier; a bit of extra passing traffic, a bit of good exposure.”