Bunbury’s iconic Australind train back on the tracks

• Two Australind railcars returned to service after maintenance outage
• Government committed to replacing the train as part of $1.6 billion Railcar Program

Bunbury's twice-daily Australind train is back in action after a significant maintenance overhaul.

The ageing railcar set, which has been in operation for more than 30 years, has experienced recurrent outages over several months.

After extensive fabrication and electrical works, two of the four railcars are now back in operation. The other two cars will be returned to service in the next month, which will improve the reliability of the service.

Transwa has operated a rail service to Bunbury since 1947, with the existing diesel rolling stock introduced in 1987.

Extensive maintenance has been required to keep the rolling stock operating while the Government procures a new train.

As part of the recent $700,000 maintenance program, engineers identified corrosion in a number of internal brackets and concealed panels, along with air conditioning, auxiliary engine and electrical/earthing issues.

A significant replacement program - complicated by the fact that many of the original components with which the train was built are now obsolete - has now enabled the train to be returned to service.

During the outage, Transwa passengers were still able to travel via road coaches, with additional options added in an effort to ensure overall journey times were not significantly impacted.

Perth-bound passengers had the option to alight the road coach at Kwinana Station and travel for free via an urban Transperth train into the Perth CBD, in an effort to minimise the inconvenience of traffic delays for passengers.

The next phase in the future of the Australind service is replacement, with a new railcar set to be delivered as part of the State Government's $1.6 billion Railcar Program.