Free early morning travel for Joondalup line passengers

8/10/07

The State Government has announced that passengers will travel free tomorrow (Tuesday 9 October) on the Joondalup line to the city until 8am.

Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan today said the concession recognised that many passengers were inconvenienced after signalling failure at Stirling station caused delays of up to one and a half hours this morning.

“I have confidence that most Western Australians recognise that the temporary closure of the Fremantle line and partial closure of the Joondalup line are necessary to completing the Perth-Mandurah rail line,” Ms MacTiernan said.

“However, the problems experienced today were compounded by an unfortunate combination of rain and unanticipated signaling problems.

“The signaling problems were not predictable and had not been experienced before, as this is the first shut down since the Joondalup line was opened fifteen years ago.

“The Public Transport Authority is confident that the signaling problems have been resolved and won’t be repeated.

“All passengers who board their Joondalup line train by 8am on Tuesday will travel free. Smartrider users should not tag on and cash tickets do not need to be purchased.”

“In addition, Smartrider users on the Joondalup line who were charged a default fare as a result of the delays will have the charge reversed on their Smartrider account within the next few days.”