policy
Perth City Council Votes on Metronet Station Upgrades, Affecting Northern Suburbs Access
Perth residents north of the river gain earlier rail connections to the CBD while eastern corridor commuters face delayed station works under the approved funding split.
How we reported this
Perth City Council passed a motion on 6 July to direct $4.2 million in local rates revenue toward preliminary design work for two new Metronet stations on the Joondalup line, with construction slated to begin in 2027.
Meeting votes and funding allocation
The 11-4 decision allocates the money from the council's transport reserve, which receives a portion of state iron ore royalty distributions under the current federal-state revenue sharing agreement. The funds will support geotechnical surveys and community consultation for stations at Burns Beach and Iluka, while a competing proposal for an additional Midland line stop received no allocation.
This vote follows the state government's release of its 2026-27 budget papers, which project a $1.1 billion surplus partly funded by mineral royalties. Council documents show the northern stations were prioritised because they sit within existing Metronet corridor plans already under active state procurement.
Effects on Perth households and travel
Residents in the City of Joondalup will gain direct access to new platforms expected to cut peak-hour travel times to Perth CBD by 12 minutes once operational. Households in Armadale and Gosnells, by contrast, will continue relying on existing bus interchanges for at least three additional years before any equivalent station upgrades are considered in future budgets.
Local transport data from the Public Transport Authority indicates that 68,000 daily boardings occur on the Joondalup line between Whitfords and Clarkson, compared with 41,000 on the Midland line east of Bayswater. The approved works will therefore serve the higher-volume corridor first.
Next steps require the council to advertise the design contracts by September 2026 and submit a formal request to the state Department of Transport for matching capital contributions. Any shortfall would need to be addressed in the 2027-28 council budget deliberations.