New Thornlie-Cockburn Line opens

The new Thornlie-Cockburn Line and the elevated inner-section of the Armadale Line have been officially opened, giving communities in Perth's south-east world-class public transport and better connections to the wider Perth area.

The 17-kilometre Thornlie-Cockburn Line is Perth's first east-west cross line connection. It includes new stations at Nicholson Road and Ranford Road, along with major upgrades to the Thornlie, Cockburn Central, and Perth Stadium stations.

The new line will add significant resilience to the broader rail network, while also providing a direct route from the Mandurah Line to Optus Stadium for the first time.

It means more trains will be able to arrive and depart from Optus Stadium during major events and games.

Commuters will have about a 27-minute journey to Perth from Nicholson Road Station and about a 31-minute journey from Ranford Road Station.

There are 1,400 parking bays across the three stations, while more than 20 new bus routes have been added to support connectivity.

Eleven of these new bus routes will travel to and from the Ranford Road and Nicholson Road stations, giving passengers convenient access to the wider public transport network.

Connecting to the new Thornlie-Cockburn Line will be the new 8km elevated inner-section of the Armadale Line.

Five new modern stations at Carlisle, Oats Street, Queens Park, Cannington, and Beckenham are now operational, while finishing works around the stations, including on the new activated parkland area under the elevated rail, will be completed over the coming months.

The activated parkland area under the elevated rail will be known as 'Long Park' and will stretch 7km.

It will include a range of new facilities and amenities for the community.

The remainder of the Armadale Line will re-open in the coming months when the new Armadale and Byford stations are complete.

Stations at Sherwood, Challis, Kelmscott, Seaforth, Gosnells, Maddington, and Kenwick will also re-open.