Electrification – The Dawning of a New Era

in the mid-1980s the government of the state of Western Australia initiated a study into the future transport needs the Perth metropolitan area with the population of Perth topping the million Mark and the main corridors into the city becoming more congested We examined a series of options the commitment made was to provide future generations of Western Australians with an efficient up-to-date public transport system that will meet the needs of a rapidly expanding Metropolis well into the next century this resulted in the appointment of a steering committee for the Perth Urban electrification project what you are seeing now is the result of work by the planners and engineers in partnership with the wa government the dawning of a new era for public transport in Perth [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] the Advent of the electric train brings the dawning of a new era for public transport in Perth the new transperth electric rail system has been designed to cater for the mobility needs of Perth rapidly expanding population well into the 21st century it will form a backbone the rapid transit element of a fully integrated transport system [Music] at home the completion of electrifying perth's existing rail system is the most visible evidence to date of transperth's commitment to providing a cost-efficient service of the highest possible standard to the people of Perth electrification project and other major capital projects are giving priority to public transport we are committed to anticipating community Transport needs with an efficient integrated multimodal public transport system transparents will provide that system traditionally our role was to satisfy the mobility needs of those without access to cars a welfare service if you like now our vision goes beyond this our vision is to provide a quality service which offers the viable alternative to private transport [Music] Perth has grown so large this area now Rivals that of the great cities of the world like London over the next 30 years we can expect to see twice as many houses in our city government is meeting this challenge with a special commitment for public transport and its Center is half a billion dollars to be spent on the electrification of the first Railway system including construction of a new line to currambine north of doomland [Music] foreign [Music] the decision to Electrify the Suburban rail system was announced in 1987. this was based on the fact that it would be no more expensive than re-equipping with diesel power plus the fact that an electrified system is a lot cheaper to operate it's also environmentally friendlier [Music] on the advice of the urban rail steering committee enough funds were allocated to West rail to completely remodel Perth rail system with state-of-the-art equipment amenities and Rolling Stock the rail network will be the backbone of a fully integrated transport system that will take Perth into the 21st century [Music] thank you [Music] most of the design the signaling and Communications equipment as well as the mode of operation dated back to the 19th century this meant in effect the Suburban rail system had to be rebuilt from scratch [Music] this massive task was undertaken by the Perth Urban Rail electrification Project under the leadership of John horror 12th of August 1988 after nearly three years of planning the construction Engineers move in [Music] for location perth's busiest level crossing task to reconstruct the railway tracks to allow for the building of a new station at McIver [Music] the deadline because this is the busiest stretch of a Suburban Network and one of perth's busiest arterial roads the work has to be completed in one weekend this means working around the clock until the crossing can be reopened to Road and rail traffic further down the line under the barracks Street Bridge the tracks had to be lowered by up to one meter to allow room for the overhead wires the most visible part of the 160 million dollar construction program was completed over the next two years inevitably this caused disruption to train services and inconvenience to transport passengers some 140 kilometers of continuary power lines were installed supported by more than 3 000 tapered concrete masts with cantilevers all locally designed and manufactured everyone at perth's 49 Suburban stations underwent design changes will accommodate the new public transport system at Armadale a new bus train interchange was constructed foreign a totally new interchange was built near the carousel Shopping Center and at mcivor the first additional new station in the network in 16 years was built between Perth and claysbrook this new station now Services an expanding commercial area of East Perth and Royal Perth Hospital to say nothing of the Perth train station The Hub of the network into which the four main lines will feed [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Applause] [Music] [Music] thank you thank you [Music] power for the new electric train service is drawn from the state energy Commission of Western Australia to this new West rail substation at claysbrook where the power is transformed to 25 000 volts and is distributed via a feeder station to the network electricity to power the electric trains has the same priority as that guaranteed by sequa to Royal Perth Hospital this ensures a trouble-free service if the power supply is restricted [Music] as a safety measure backup generators have been installed at various points on the network should localize power Cuts cause the failure of signals and boom gates at level Crossings meanwhile 5000 kilometers across the country at maryborough in Queensland 43 new electric trains for the transperth electric rail system have been under construction the manufacturing contract for these state-of-the-art electric trains was awarded to the Consortium Walkers ABB the partnership consists of the international Consortium ABB and the Queensland company Walkers engineering the bogeys were manufactured and assembled at West rails Midland workshops each train costs nearly 3 million dollars to complete eighty percent of that cost was spent in Australia transperth specifications call for many features that would ensure the safety comfort and convenience of its customers foreign [Music] to make the 29 kilometer Journey from Perth to currambine with seven stops in under half an hour perth's new electric trains are capable of a top speed of 110 kilometers per hour with an impressive acceleration and deceleration performance thank you with manufacturer's trials complete the first train made the journey to Western Australia in September 1990. the electrification of the Armadale Midland and Fremantle lines is complete and work is underway on the Northern suburbs line we have taken delivery of a substantial number of the new electric trains and they are now operating throughout the existing Network foreign foreign [Music] as a whole will be substantial the motorists will experience less congestion on the roads and save both time and money as a result another benefit will be excellent cost savings both in human and financial terms then there is the environment up to 15 reduction of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere each year the major benefit though will be for the users of transport's integrated system shorter traveling times greater comfort and a more diverse bus service in the suburbs transperth has installed these simple to use ticket vending machines throughout the network this is the nerve center of the transperth rail network this high-tech computerized control panel at West rails East Perth headquarters displays the entire network and shows the precise location of all trains in the system this central control ensures safe continuing operation of services and in the event of delays enables the train controllers to take appropriate action [Music] it's from this Center that the announcements on the passenger information modules originate from here announcements can be activated at any or all of the stations on the network at the touch of a button on the station information modules passengers can hear details of when the next train is due its destination and stopping pattern details of any alterations to normal services are activated from central control [Music] amenities at every one of our Network's 49 stations have been improved better lighting signs and also better access for the disabled Community groups such as acrod had input into design features [Music] transperth's new electric trains are fully air conditioned big solar reflective windows allow the scenery to be appreciated while protecting passengers from excessive clear and Heat each electric train provides seating for approximately 150 passengers two Wheelchairs and up to 160 standing passengers [Music] the seating is designed to resist vandalism and the quality finishes graffiti resistant easy to clean materials have been used video cameras play an important role in ensuring passenger safety and comfort all trains are fitted with video recorders to deter anti-social Behavior [Music] each station has video cameras that survey the platforms the picture is transmitted to the driver's cab so the driver can see when it's safe to close the doors and move off [Music] the ride in this electric train is smooth silent fast and comfortable the electric rail network is the backbone of transperth's totally integrated transport system during peak hours a two-carriage train will be able to carry over 300 passengers from Fremantle to Perth in under 25 minutes or later when the northern suburbs transit system is open from currambine north of joondalup into Perth in under half an hour we expect to move as many people on that system as we do on the whole of the rest of the rail network [Music] transfer's commitment is to Quality in everything we do we recognize the importance of our customers and as an organization we are committed to becoming more people-oriented our vision is to provide services to the community which are so well regarded that we will become one of the world's great Transport Systems not the biggest but definitely one of the world's greatest [Music] foreign [Applause] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] FBA

Channel: Mitchell Freeway

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Length: 18min 50sec (1130 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 27 2023