Network Planning
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Tuesday, 16 June 2026

Network Planning

To ensure we continue to provide accessible, reliable and safe public transport into the future, the PTA undertakes long-term strategic network planning.

Planning for the future


Public transport plays a vital role in creating connected and thriving communities across Western Australia. It eases traffic congestion and road-related costs, cuts emissions, and provides affordable and accessible travel for everyone, helping to build more liveable cities.

During peak periods, one six‑car train, or twelve buses, can transport approximately 1,000 people – equivalent to removing around 920 cars from the road. The current signalling system on the Mandurah and Yanchep lines provides these rail lines with transport capacity equivalent to five lanes of freeway traffic, while reducing transport emissions by up to 88%. Once High-Capacity Signalling is commissioned, these rail lines will have a future capacity equivalent to up to 10 lanes of freeway lanes of traffic.

As Perth’s population grows, our transport services and infrastructure need to adapt and grow with it. We continuously assess our existing public transport network and plan for a future network that meets the needs of our growing population.

We work closely with other government agencies and stakeholders to ensure our long-term planning is carefully aligned with State planning strategies, including Perth and Peel @ 3.5 million. A clear vision for our future network enables us to preserve community liveability while supporting integrated, sustainable growth.

By analysing land-use data and population estimates, we can forecast long-term public transport demand decades ahead. This insight guides decisions on service frequency and type at each location, helping us prioritise the infrastructure changes needed to deliver them.

Understanding what is needed ahead of time ensures the government can plan for investment many years in advance

Our network planning strategy

Our strategy provides the direction for how we will develop and increase the capacity of our network to service a growing population.

Over the coming decades our strategy will focus on optimising our existing assets and improving network capacity through a range of initiatives including:

For the longer term, the PTA will continue to identify and investigate new transport corridors such as the Bunbury Faster Rail.

Project considerations

Significant planning goes into every decision about new infrastructure for our network. Whether it’s a car park, footbridge, station, bus interchange, or rail line, our rail planning team assesses a range of factors before developing a project, including:

  • population and patronage projections
  • future land use (housing, employment, other infrastructure)
  • network operations (how trains run on the network) and maintenance needs - both now and into the future
  • access to new infrastructure (how do passengers get there) – both now and into the future
  • infrastructure codes and other legislation (i.e. compliance with Disability Discrimination Act)
  • physical constraints (i.e. ground conditions, topography, existing infrastructure and utilities)
  • environmental impacts (natural habitats, noise)
  • cultural and heritage impacts (First Nations sites of significance)
  • longevity and sustainability- ensuring what is built now is going to meet current and future needs in a sustainable way

If a project satisfies enough of these requirements, we advance to detailed planning and, where necessary, seek government funding to move it through to delivery.

Project development

To develop high quality, value-for-money projects that meet the needs of our growing State, we undertake a thorough project development process.

A key part of this process is developing a business case, which outlines the needs for the project, its costs, and the options considered for recommendation. Projects are only considered for delivery once their benefits are established and can be demonstrated.

Depending on the project’s estimated cost, a business case is reviewed by relevant authorities or advisory bodies for their assessment and approval. The government uses these recommendations to inform their budgetary decisions, which may result in the project being funded for detailed design and construction.

Each authority or advisory body has their own detailed guidelines for what is required for a business case:

  • Expenditure Review Committee - For projects with an estimated cost of $5 million or more, we submit a business case to the Department of Treasury’s Strategic Asset Management Framework.
  • For projects with an estimated cost of $100 million or more, we submit a business case to Infrastructure WA.
  • For projects with an estimated cost of $250 million or more, we also submit a business case to Infrastructure Australia.

Stakeholder and community engagement

As we identify areas that require future network capacity, we consult with local government and stakeholders to inform the development of projects or initiatives.

Once we begin a process of project development, we engage and work closely with stakeholders to shape projects that integrate with future infrastructure plans to best serve passengers and the local community.

View our ‘Planned projects’ on the PTA Projects page.

The PTA acknowledges Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises  the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.   

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this site may contain images or names of people who are deceased.

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