Whiteman Park Railway Station
Whiteman Park station consists of an island platform located on a viaduct. The contract for the construction of the Morley–Ellenbrook line was awarded to Laing O'Rourke in October 2020 and construction began in 2022. Throughout 2023, viaduct bridge beams were being installed, and during 2024, cladding and fit out occurred. The station is planned to open alongside the rest of the Morley–Ellenbrook line by the end of 2024.
There are planned to be five trains per hour stopping at Whiteman Park station during peak, reducing to four trains per hour outside peak. A journey to Perth station is expected to take 25 minutes. Feeder bus routes will serve the surrounding area, and a heritage tramway operated by the Perth Electric Tramway Society will run from the station into the core of Whiteman Park.
Description
Whiteman Park station is in Whiteman, a north-western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The station is located on the western side of Drumpellier Drive, just south of Whiteman Drive East, one of the main entrance roads to Whiteman Park. The station is on the Morley–Ellenbrook line, which is owned by the Public Transport Authority, a state government agency. It will be part of the Transperth system when the line opens in 2024. The adjacent stations are Ellenbrook station to the north and Malaga station to the south. The station is within fare zone two.
Whiteman Park station is located on a viaduct so that the Morley–Ellenbrook line can bridge over Whiteman Drive East. The station has a 150-metre long (490 ft) elevated island platform, long enough for a six-car B-series or C-series train. The platform is connected to ground level by lifts, escalators and stairs. The station was designed to architecturally fit in with the other four stations on the Morley–Ellenbrook branch, using the same design language, particularly with the roof geometry and materials used. West of the platforms is a ten-stand bus interchange, car park with approximately 900 bays, and tram platform for the heritage tramway to Whiteman Park. The car park's footprint was designed to reduce the number of trees cut down. East of the station is a pedestrian underpass passing under Drumpellier Drive which leads to a shared path in Brabham. Facilities at the station include toilets, a kiosk and a bike shelter. The station is fully wheelchair accessible.
Whiteman Park station will serve the nearby residential areas of Brabham, Dayton, Henley Brook, West Swan, and the nature reserve and tourism destination of Whiteman Park, which includes the Caversham Wildlife Park and various transport-related museums. The land directly east of the station on the other side of Drumpellier Drive is the former Caversham Airfield, which is intended to become a transit-oriented development. The land surrounding the station west of the railway line, which is part of Whiteman Park, is also planned to be developed for "cultural and tourism uses".
At Whiteman Park station will be three pieces of public art. The walls around the station's entrance will have a mural by Jack Bromell featuring three wedge-tailed eagles in flight and "abstract swamp and stout paperbark leaves and flowers". The walls of the Drumpellier Drive underpass will have a mural by Rohin Kickett and Haylee Fieldes representing the Bennett Brook and Whiteman Park's native flora and fauna. Surrounding the station will be two clusters of sculptures of freshwater mussels, referencing Whiteman Park's Mussell Pool and the Carter's freshwater mussel living within nearby wetlands.
History
Constructing the Morley–Ellenbrook line by 2023 as part of the Metronet project was committed to by the Labor Party before it won the 2017 state election. The route of the Morley–Ellenbrook line was officially confirmed in August 2019. It had the line running along the eastern side of Whiteman Park along Drumpellier Drive, with Whiteman Park station located at the eastern entrance to Whiteman Park. The A$753 million main construction contract for the Morley–Ellenbrook line was awarded to the MELconnx Consortium, consisting of Laing O'Rourke, in October 2020.
The first concept designs for Whiteman Park station were released in October 2021. By that stage, clearing of vegetation for the station was underway. The station was designed by lead architecture firm Woods Bagot. The first stage was the construction of the foundations for the viaduct. Piling was underway by July 2022 and complete by October 2022. From 19 July 2022 to February 2024, Drumpellier Drive was diverted via Isoodon Street to allow for the elevation of the road for the pedestrian underpass and the lifting of viaduct bridge beams. By June 2023, twelve out of forty viaduct beams had been lifted into place, and as of October 2023, three spans were yet to be completed. By March 2024, structural steel and concrete works were complete and cladding and fit out had commenced.
A 1.3-kilometre (0.81 mi) extension of the Perth Electric Tramway Society's heritage tramway to Whiteman Park station was announced in February 2024. It was funded by a $1 million contribution by the state government and constructed using 85 percent recycled materials from other Metronet projects and by North Metropolitan TAFE students. To celebrate the opening of the extension, the tram will be free until the end of 2025.
The Morley–Ellenbrook line is planned to open by the end of 2024.
Services
Whiteman Park station will be served by Morley–Ellenbrook line services, which will run between Ellenbrook station and Perth station. These services will be part of the Transperth network and will be operated by the Public Transport Authority. It is planned for there to be five trains per hour in each direction stopping at Whiteman Park station during peak, reducing to four trains per hour outside of peak. A journey to Perth station is expected to take 25 minutes. It is projected that Whiteman Park station will have 3,795 daily boardings by 2031.
Connecting services will include feeder bus routes and the heritage tram to Whiteman Park.