Service type Passenger train First service 24 November 1947 | Status Operational Current operator(s) Transwa (since 2003) | |
 | ||
Locale South West Western Australia Former operator(s) WAGR (1947-1975)
Westrail (1975-2000)
WAGR Commission (2000-2003) | ||
The Australind is a passenger rail service operated by Transwa between Perth and Bunbury on the South Western Railway. The train 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.
Contents
The Australind is a narrow gauge service departing from Perth station. It is the only remaining narrow gauge regional passenger service in Western Australia, all other services operate on standard gauge lines from East Perth. The train traverses the metropolitan Armadale line to Armadale, then uses the South Western Railway to Bunbury.
History
The Australind service began on 24 November 1947 and was hauled initially by U class steam locomotives. With an average speed of 63 km/h, it was the fastest narrow gauge passenger train in Australia. 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.
Rolling stock
When introduced, the train consisted of new carriages built by the Midland Railway Workshops. 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. 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.
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.