Schoolchildren’s art to help make better, safer stations.

3/11/06

Murals designed and made by more than 1,500 children from schools along the Perth to Armadale train line are on display at Armadale Station today.

Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said that next week the 23 individual murals would be permanently fixed at 15 stations, each near the school where it was created.

Ms MacTiernan said the project was part of an ‘Adopt a Station’ program which aimed to encourage positive attitudes towards the rail system among the people who used it.

“’Adopt a Station’ is part of a large-scale campaign to prevent the incidence of dangerous risk taking and anti-social behaviour on the Armadale line,” she said.

“Each railway station is an important part of the community that surrounds it and we want the people who use the facility to feel that sense of ownership.

“Art can make connections where rules and laws do not, so with their own work on the station, the students and their families are bound to feel proud.

“Why would they then deface the station, or let anyone else do so?”

‘Adopt a Station’ is a joint exercise between the local communities and the Public Transport Authority and forms part of an education strategy currently being implemented along the Armadale line.