CORE 2008: the integration of rail transit and land use in Western Australia: the planning behind Perth's expanded rail system

The traditional understanding of mass transit rail is its application to serve high density settlement. This paper is about the application of mass / rapid transit rail to low density settlement in a city of just over 1.5 million people and rapidly expanding over a 135 kilometre long, narrow, corridor. The paper is also a case study of planning a transit system stretching 72 kilometres from the City of Mandurah to Perth over a period of ten years beginning in 1992. The paper discusses the importance of the master planning process, which quantifies the demand and then follows a logical process of scope definition to reduce uncertainty and give confidence to the cost estimates that result. The topical issue of transit oriented development is addressed in the paper and how that relates to Perth. A brief description is included of the new MetroRail project, the vehicle by which a A$1.65 billion expansion to the Perth suburban rail network was completed in December 2007. Finally, there is a short analysis of the performance of the Mandurah line, six months after commissioning. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E217264.