METRONET Ellenbrook line construction passes halfway mark on schedule

Construction of the METRONET Ellenbrook Line has passed the halfway mark and is tracking on schedule for a late 2026 opening, with tunnel boring machines having completed the underground section through Morley and above-ground civil works now underway across the Malaga and Ellenbrook sections.

The 21-kilometre extension from the existing Morley station to a new terminus at Ellenbrook will serve the north-eastern suburbs of Perth with a heavy rail connection for the first time, opening 11 new stations and directly serving a catchment of more than 180,000 residents who currently have no rail access to the metropolitan network. Four of the new stations will be park-and-ride facilities with a combined capacity of 3,800 spaces.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the Ellenbrook Line would be the most significant improvement in travel options for Perth's north-east corridor in the history of the metropolitan area. Journey times from Ellenbrook to Perth's CBD — currently up to 50 minutes by bus on a good day — will be reduced to 32 minutes by rail.

The METRONET program, WA's record $7.4 billion rail expansion investment, is progressing across multiple lines simultaneously for the first time in the state's history. Two other METRONET lines — the Thornlie-Cockburn Link and the Yanchep Extension — are at later stages of construction, with openings anticipated in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

Residential development along the Ellenbrook corridor is already responding to the rail extension, with rezoning applications for transit-oriented development at four of the new station locations approved in the past 12 months.

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