TEST trains have begun operating on the 14.5km Yanchep extension of the Joondalup Line in the Western Australian city of Perth.
The commuter rail extension runs north from Butler with three new stations at Alkimos, Eglinton and Yanchep.
Passenger services will officially start later this year, and will offer a Perth - Yanchep journey time of 49 minutes.
The extended line will connect more than 150,000 people in Perth’s growing northern corridor to the city’s commuter rail network for the first time, helping to stimulate new employment opportunities as well as residential and commercial development.
Approximately 41,085 sleepers and 90,000 tonnes of ballast have been used to build the extension, while three new wildlife bridges have been constructed, the first such structures on a rail project in Western Australia.
The $A 1.1bn project has been jointly funded by the federal and Western Australian governments. The cost has increased from an original budget of $A 531.7m ($US 358.3m) with completion also pushed back from the original target of 2021.
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