Inner Armadale Line Level Crossing Removals

Planning is underway to remove up to another six vehicle level crossings on the Armadale Line. Work is already underway on the Denny Avenue Level Crossing Removal.

Removing the level crossings at Mint Street, Oats Street, Welshpool Road, Hamilton Street, Wharf Street and William Street will improve safety, create more connections, ease movements in the area, revitalise the corridor, modernise stations and create versatile public spaces for the community.

Potential solutions for removing these crossings are limited due to the built-up surrounding area and a lack of available land outside the rail corridor.

Extensive early planning and success of similar projects in the eastern states has informed the current preferred solution to elevate the rail for up to five of these crossings, except at Hamilton Street, where land on either side of the railways is reserved for a rail over road solution. Two options for removing the Wharf Street level crossing were initially put forward, elevating the rail or closing the crossing.

Based on initial stakeholder feedback on the Wharf Street options, an additional option is now being considered which would see elevated rail at both Hamilton Street and Wharf Street, including rebuilding Queens Park Station. The option to close the Wharf Street level crossing is not preferred.

Concept designs will be progressed for new, elevated Carlisle, Oats Street, Beckenham and potentially Queens Park stations. Welshpool Station will close, but Oats Street Station could be moved slightly closer to Welshpool Road to service the area.

As the project has only just started the early design phase, significant elements are yet to be confirmed, such as station location, additional connections, potential uses for the spaces under the rail and overall project design, including landscaping, public art, and facilities such as bike racks.

Register to stay informed on opportunities to be involved throughout the life of the project.

The level crossing removals at Mint Street, Oats Street and Welshpool Road was allocated $415 million in the 2019/20 State Budget.

For detailed information on the project, including maps, download the fact sheet.

Not only does an elevated rail solution for up to five of the inner Armadale Line level crossings help improve safety and ease traffic movements, it can also help revitalise the area by creating public spaces for a variety of civic purposes, as highlighted by Melbourne’s recent level crossing removal projects.

• Completely removes sections of rail from the ground level to significantly improve pedestrian, cyclist and motorist connections seamlessly and safely across the rail corridor
• Allows a number of level crossings to be removed as one cost-effective package
• Creates opportunities for new public and civic spaces that can be used for a variety of purposes
• Brings stations in line with modern public transport facilities that better meet passenger expectations and new platforms to cater for six-car trains

Provision of a new bus transfer station at Oats St Station will allow for an increase in bus services and improved connectivity.

Potentially, the space underneath the rail could include community facilities such as bike paths, sports courts and exercise stations. 

Images courtesy of Level Crossing Removal Victoria. 

Significant elements of the project are yet to be confirmed, such as station location, additional connections, potential uses for the spaces under the rail and overall project design, including landscaping, public art, and facilities such as bike racks.

For more information on fixed parameters and opportunity for input, download our fact sheet.

While CRG members will be tasked with representing the interests and views of the community and will help the project team identify local opportunities, issues and concerns and sharing project information with the wider community, we also encourage you to stay informed as the project progresses.

You can do this by:

• Registering for project updates
• Following METRONET on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube
• Emailing info@metronet.wa.gov.au or call 9326 3666 with your queries. 

Community Reference Group

Two Community Reference Groups (CRGs) have been established to help inform the concept design for up to six level crossing removals as part of the Inner Armadale Level Crossing Removal project. The ‘North’ group will cover Oats Street, Mint Street and Welshpool Road and the ‘South’ group will cover Wharf, Hamilton and William Streets.

While CRG members will be tasked with representing the interests and views of the community and will help the project team identify local opportunities, issues and concerns and sharing project information with the wider community, we also encourage you to stay informed as the project progresses. 

CRG North

Members: Philippe Cloatre, Celene Bridge, Toby Hawes, Heather Johnstone, Elizabeth Kane, Sjaan Ketting, Michael Mulholland, Michelle Olaithe, Dino Ronchi and Lynne Wajon.

The minutes of each meeting will be published below.

• Meeting 1 | September 1, 2020 - Minutes
• Meeting 2 | October 6, 2020 - Minutes
• Meeting 3 | November 10, 2020 - Minutes

CRG South

Members: Ryan Baker, Annette Bryant, Ashlee Campbell, Scott Caporn, Simon Harvey, Penny Haynes, Zel Iscel, James McElvaney, Francis Smith and Carolyn Wall

The minutes of each meeting will be published below.

• Meeting 1 | September 8, 2020 - Minutes
• Meeting 2 | September 29, 2020 - Minutes
• Meeting 3 | October 27, 2020 - Minutes

Past Consultations

Thanks to the 486 community members who completed our survey about how they use the level crossings and any opportunities/challenges they may see.

• View a summary of results here.

In July 2020, two online information sessions were held and attended by 148 people with 150 questions submitted across the sessions.  All question and answers can be downloaded below:

• 2 July 2020 - Mint Street, Oats Street and Welshpool Road:  Download question and answer
• 9 July 2020 - Hamilton Street, Wharf Street and William Street:  Download question and answer
• 15 August 2020 – Community Drop-in session (Oats Street)
• 22 August 2020 – Community Drop-in session (Wharf Street)

We are mindful of minimising impacts where possible. Given the project’s complexity some impacts to services and access are unavoidable during construction. These impacts will be determined after the contract is awarded in mid-2021.

Noise and Vibration

Noise is an important safety precaution at level crossings, with horns and bells designed to be noticed by anyone nearby. Removing the crossings means these disruptive sounds will be a thing of the past.

The elevated rail solution presents opportunities to address noise and vibration by designing and building mitigations into the structures themselves.

With elevated rail some areas may experience a decrease in train noise, while in other areas train noise may be heard where it was not before. However, it is unlikely noise levels will be higher than currently experienced by those closest to the existing rail line.

As the design progresses more information on the level and type of noise, and where the trains can be heard, will be explored through noise modelling to identify what, if any, other mitigations are needed to reduce the overall impacts.

The project will be required to comply with State Planning Policy 5.4 – Road and Rail Transport Noise, which sets targets and limits for noise. 

Generally elevated rail solutions tend to produce lower vibration levels compared to at-grade ballasted track. This will continue to be explored as the design progresses.

Noise Impacts

A frequently asked question is what the noise impact of elevated rail will be for the community.

With the rail at grade, train noise currently travels directly to surrounding buildings. Elevating the rail will change how noise is dissipated.

Noise Modelling

While the structure’s design and how it impacts noise levels is yet to be determined, we can provide some general information about what to expect from noise, based on early noise modelling completed of a typical elevated rail structure. *You can listen to noise modelling for Mint Street and Oats Street here:

*This noise simulation is based on very early elevated rail designs with no noise mitigation in place. It is an example of how much quieter the area will become without the level crossing as the sirens are gone, the sound of cars travelling over the tracks is gone and the trains are raised into structures that help to reduce noise.

As the designs progress, modelling will continue to identify what, if any, additional measures can be put in place to reduce train noise as much as possible. For the best listening experience we suggest listening through good quality over the ear headphones, as speakers and earbuds can distort the sound.

Mint Street noise modelling:

Oats Street noise modelling:

For more information on Noise Impacts, download our Fact Sheet.

Transmission Lines

Planning for the removal of these crossings is still in the early stages and while we do not yet have detailed information regarding transmission lines, we will work closely with Western Power to ensure the best outcomes for residents located near the project area.

Heritage

As a signatory to a Noongar Standard Heritage Agreement, and in compliance with the Aboriginal Heritage Act, we will follow relevant processes to ensure Aboriginal heritage is identified and protected during project planning, and management controls are documented and implemented during construction.