The first 2.7km of track has been laid on the 14.5km Yanchep rail extension while the Yanchep station deck pour was completed in early April.

On Tuesday, Premier Mark McGowan said the Yanchep rail extension was due to be finished at the end of 2023, then undergo its testing and become operational in the new year.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said they were not predicting the opening date yet but were focused on finishing the rail extension.

Ms Saffioti also said the Mitchell Fwy extension was nearly completed.

She said the team of workers were working very hard to get the rail extension completed but there had been challenges along the way.

“We can go through them whether it be cost escalations that happened because of the invasion of Ukraine, some of the supply chain interruptions brought about by Covid, but they’ve been working really hard together with my team to work together to deliver this project,’’ she said.

Once the rail extension was built – it has taken about two months to lay the first 2.7km – then there was commissioning of the rail line, testing all the signalling and running the trains.

“Sometimes there is weeks if not months of training for the drivers and all that will be undertaken early next year.’’

The NEWest Alliance team is still working on the stations and also finishing bridges while Alkimos station had their escalators delivered during the past couple of weeks.

The government increased the budget for the project to $1.1 billion reflecting the higher costs in delivering projects around the state.

Mr McGowan said the general cost of labour had gone up 20 per cent and specialist train technicians by 52 per cent and there had been a 276 per cent increase in concrete and a 60 per cent in steel prices.

Ms Saffioti said the rail extension included three 30m wide fauna bridges.

“This’ll be the first time we’ll be delivering fauna bridges over a rail network,’’ she said.

“We’ve seen with the fauna bridge that was built over the Tonkin Hwy just north of Ellenbrook they’re very much used and very much a part of developing and delivering infrastructure to provide a safe way of crossing in the area.’’

Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King said the laying of the new track on the Yanchep rail extension was a game changer for people in Perth’s northern outer suburbs, contributing to the vision of better connecting major nearby population centres to the WA capital.

Pearce MHR Tracey Roberts said she thought of the rail extension as a community campaign from when there was only Wanneroo Rd and Marmion Ave, which was just a single lane.

“I remember when we started the Connect Wanneroo campaign and the community wholeheartedly got behind us for that campaign – the petitions, emails to the politicians – because at the time everybody understood the need for the rail to go through to Yanchep,’’ she said.

Butler MLA John Quigley said he wanted to thank the community once again for their patience while the government delivered the project.

“This is a massive milestone for the Yanchep rail extension project, which is going to deliver so many benefits to communities living in the north of Perth,” he said.

“Very soon, communities in Yanchep, Alkimos and Eglinton will be connected to our metropolitan rail network which will significantly improve the way people are able to get around.”

Opposition leader Shane Love said there had been cost blow outs and delays and the state government should be making timely reports to Parliament about the increasing cost of the project.

In November 2020 Mr McGowan said the Yanchep rail extension would be finished in 2021 and ready to transport passengers in 2022.

But in 2021 – when the budget for the Yanchep rail extension was $531.7m – in his first Budget as Treasurer Mr McGowan said the Yanchep rail extension had been delayed by one year and that it would be operational in late 2023.

Within the Ningana Bushland area, the first section of track required the installation of nearly 14,000 tonnes of ballast and close to 8000 sleepers.

Reaching that milestone involved laying ballast and sleepers, rail distribution, fastening, the installation of 124 masts with cantilevers and two signal bases over a seven-week period.

Once the fauna bridges are finished they will maintain habitat connectivity within the Ningana Bushland.

Vegetation chosen for the bridges will match the surrounding bushland and be planted in the cooler months.

This article appeared on Yanchep News Online on 20 May 2023.