Trains on the Midland line to Bassendean station were cancelled a day after the new Midland Train Station was opened to much fanfare.
However, Perth’s Public Transport Authority was quick to point out it had nothing to do with the new station opening.
Trains were cancelled for about 40 minutes during peak hour on Monday morning, causing confusion at the new station and forcing hundreds of passengers onto rail replacement buses.
The authority said the cancellation stemmed from moving the Prospector Perth to Kalgoorlie train between the PTA line to the ARC rail line, which prevented the trains from moving between Midland and Bassendean.
“The issue was quickly rectified with services resuming within 40 minutes,” a spokeswoman said.
“This was not an issue with the new station infrastructure. We apologise for the delays.”
The trains were back up and running on a delayed timetable before 10am.
WAtoday understands the issue was related to a network control problem rather than an issue with the Prospector train itself.
A disgruntled commuter, who asked to remain anonymous, said she arrived just after a train had left and saw the timetable said the next train was 30 minutes away, but passengers were reassured there would be a new train in eight minutes.
After that time passed, the staff member announced to the platform – which was now about seven people deep – that trains had been cancelled, she said.
“There was a collective angry, audible response from the crowd,” she said.
“Then there was a mass exodus of people making the eight-minute walk back to their car or trying to catch a rail replacement bus.”
The commuter, whose trip to work in the CBD took 2½ hours, said Monday morning’s issues were a kick in the guts for the communities disrupted by the new station works.
“We’ve had months of having to go either ride rail replacement buses or drive to Bassendean, plus we had issues last year when they were building the Ellenbrook line – all of our line was closed then as well,” she said.
“Today we were supposed to have all those issues behind us.”
The issue coinciding with the first weekday operation of the Midland station will take some of the shine off the new’s grand opening on Sunday.
Opposition transport spokesman Steve Martin jumped on the issue.
“The transport minister and premier were cutting ribbons on Sunday, and commuters were catching the bus on Monday,” he said.
“It’s very embarrassing for the transport minister, who is always keen to cut a ribbon. They cut a ribbon early on the Bussell Highway project and that was rushed, I hope they haven’t rushed the opening of this station for political gain.”
The station, which was first priced at $227 million in 2022 but blew out to $417 million, marks the end of the government’s Metronet pipeline of work.
Metronet has cost the taxpayer $12.5 billion – well over what was expected when plans were first announced.
It’s also the second time a Metronet project opening has been marred by issues days after their opening.
In December 2024, the Ellenbrook line was disrupted on its first two days of operation by separate police and technical issues.
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Hamish Hastie is WAtoday’s state political reporter and the winner of five WA Media Awards, including the 2023 Beck Prize for best political journalism.Connect via X or email.
