Ellenbrook line

The Ellenbrook line, known as the Morley–Ellenbrook line during construction, is a suburban railway line in Perth, Western Australia, which is operated by the Public Transport Authority as part of the Transperth system. The line branches from the Midland line at Bayswater station and heads north-north-west to serve five stations along a 21.3-kilometre (13.2 mi) route to Ellenbrook. Ellenbrook line services continue west of Bayswater station alongside Midland and Airport line services to terminate at Perth station in the central business district.

Land for a transit line to Ellenbrook was reserved in the 1990s during the first stages of the development of Ellenbrook as a "master planned community". A railway line to Ellenbrook was promised by both major political parties in the leadup to the 2008 state election, but it was cancelled by the newly-elected Liberal government after the election. After the Labor Party won the 2017 state election, the Ellenbrook line began planning as part of the wider Metronet project. Enabling works within the Tonkin Highway median strip were undertaken by the Tonkin Gap project, which started construction in November 2020 and was completed in early 2024. The main Ellenbrook line contract was awarded to Laing O'Rourke in October 2020 and construction began in January 2022. The main contract's original budget was $1.123 billion, which blew out to $1.651 billion in 2023. Track laying was completed by July 2024, allowing the first train to enter the line in August. All stations were complete by November, allowing the Ellenbrook line to open on 8 December 2024.

Branching from the Midland line at Bayswater station, the Ellenbrook line enters a viaduct to exit the Midland line via a flying junction before entering the median strip of Tonkin Highway through a short tunnel. The line heads north from there, stopping at Morley and Noranda stations, before exiting the highway through another tunnel to reach Ballajura station. The Ellenbrook line then runs east along the southern side of Whiteman Park before bending north to head between Whiteman Park and Drumpellier Drive to reach Whiteman Park station. North from there, the line enters Ellenbrook to terminate at Ellenbrook station.

The Ellenbrook line has a frequency of five trains per hour during peak and four trains per hour off peak, operated by B-series trains. The travel time from Ellenbrook to Perth is 31 minutes. Peak frequencies are planned to increase to six trains per hour by 2031, which will require upgrades to signalling to accommodate the line alongside Airport and Midland line services. All stations along the branch are fully accessible and have 150-metre-long (490 ft) platforms; train lengths are limited by 100-metre (330 ft) platforms between Perth and Bayswater. The branch is forecast to have 11,753 boardings per weekday upon opening, increasing to 18,070 boardings per weekday in 2031.