The Australind is a rural passenger train service in Western Australia operated by Transwa on the South Western Railway between Perth and Bunbury.
An Australind at Bunbury in January 2014 | |||||
Overview | |||||
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Service type | Passenger train | ||||
Status | Operational | ||||
Locale | South West Western Australia | ||||
First service | 24 November 1947 | ||||
Current operator(s) | Transwa | ||||
Former operator(s) | WAGR (1947–1975) Westrail (1975–2000) WAGR Commission (2000–2003) | ||||
Route | |||||
Termini | Perth Bunbury | ||||
Stops | 13 | ||||
Distance travelled | 167 kilometres | ||||
Average journey time | 2 hours 30 minutes | ||||
Service frequency | Twice daily | ||||
Train number(s) | 9/10 | ||||
Line(s) used | South Western Railway | ||||
Technical | |||||
Rolling stock | ADP/ADQ class railcars | ||||
Track gauge | 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) | ||||
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The Australind service began on 24 November 1947 and was hauled initially by U class steam locomotives.[1] With an average speed of 63 km/h (39 mph), it was the fastest narrow gauge passenger train in Australia.[2] It was named to commemorate the city of that name envisioned by Marshall Waller Clifton on Leschenault Inlet 100 years previously. The current hamlet of Australind, a satellite town of Bunbury, has never had a passenger rail service, nor even a railway line.
In February 1958, X class diesel locomotives took over. The service was relaunched on 1 October 1960 with onboard catering removing the need for an elongated stop at Pinjarra. On 16 November 1987, the current ADP/ADQ class railcars took over the service reducing journey times to 2 hours 30 minutes.[3][4][5][6]
When introduced, the train consisted of new carriages built by the Midland Railway Workshops.[4] In August 1985, Westrail awarded Comeng, Bassendean a contract for five Westrail ADP/ADQ class railcars, three ADPs with driving cabs and two ADQs, using a similar body shell and interior fitout to the New South Wales XPT carriages.[7] Each carriage was powered by a Cummins KTA19 coupled to a Voith transmission. They usually operate as a three or four carriage set. Five carriage set operation is not possible due to the limited platform length available at Perth station.[5]
In July 2003, the DMUs were painted in a new livery in line with the formation of Transwa. In 2007, the DMUs were painted white as part of a refurbishment program. In 2010/11, new seats were fitted.[8] Two new Australind trains, each consisting of a three-car set, are scheduled to be delivered in 2022 to 2023 for a cost of $54 million Australian dollars.[9][10][11] The new diesel-multiple-units will be built by Alstom in Bellevue as part of the $1.25 billion Australian dollar contract to deliver 246 Transperth C-series carriages.
The Australind departs from Perth traversing the metropolitan Armadale line to Armadale, then the South Western Railway to Bunbury.[12]
Public Transport Authority of Western Australia railway stations | |||||
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