FREO’S ICONIC RAILWAY STATION

 

 

On my way to a meeting at Fremantle Port I noticed the early sunlight making the beautiful railway station look even more special.

Roel Loopers

GREETINGS FROM THE BIG SMOKE

 

 

Terrible noise from tradies in the unit above me drilling into bathroom tiles evicted me from my own home this morning, but my ears are still ringing after five hours, so proper warning should have been given in advance to protect my hearing.

Anyhow, I hopped on the train to Perth, where I had not been for five months or so and took the photos above.

Pathetic to see the cleaning attempts for Covid-19 by four young women at the Fremantle train station. Each of them with a wet wipe in each hand, but no spray, walking along the carriage and totally ignoring the individual hand loops that hang from the ceiling in the trains. The upright hand bars were also only cleaned as far as they good reach while standing upright. PTA get your act together!

Roel Loopers

FREMANTLE SCRAPS RED CAT BUS

 

As flagged on Freo’s View last weekend Fremantle Council wants to scrap half of the free CAT bus service, to make necessary budget savings.

On Wednesday evening Councillors agreed to ask the Public Transport Authority for a variation in contract and scrap the Red CAT that runs a loop from the Maritime Museum to the Fremantle Arts Centre.

Fremantle Council also wants to reduce the frequency of the Blue CAT that loops from the railway station to South Beach from one bus every ten minutes to one every 20 minutes.

If the PTA agrees to the contract changes it would save Fremantle $ 432,000 per year. The PTA pays 40% and the City of Fremantle 60% of the service.

Roel Loopers

FREMANTLE COUNCIL CAT NAB

 

 

Fremantle Council plans to half the free CAT bus service, by stopping the Red CAT bus service that runs from the Maritime Museum and past the Fremantle Arts Centre. It also wants to half the frequency of the Blue CAT bus, that runs along South Terrace to South Beach and back to the railway station, from a bus every 10 minutes to one every 20 minutes.

To do so the City of Fremantle would need agreement from the Public Transport Authority, which pays 40% of the cost of the CAT services, while the CoF pays 60%.

In 2018/19 678,107 people used the Blue CAT, while only 148,853 used the Red CAT service.

On Wednesday Council will decide if to ask the CEO to negotiate with the PTA to agree that for a 12 months period only the Blue CAT will be in service in Fremantle.

Fremantle Council will have to make some hard budget decisions to compensate for the loss of revenue this year, due to Covid19, and the CAT bus was always going to be one that would be considered, with concerns that Councillors would scrap the entire service. This is probably a sensible compromise.

Roel Loopers

FREMANTLE LINE TRAIN CHANGES

 

There will be changes to the Fremantle Line train services from July 21 with all trains stopping at all station from there on. I assume that means there won’t be any express trains to and from Fremantle anymore.

Transperth states that two B Series trains will be running Monday to Friday during the morning and afternoon peak period but I am not sure what B Series stands for and could not find the answer on the PTA website either.

So if you commute daily by train it is best to check out the changes and new timetable.

Roel Loopers

FREMANTLE TRAINS NOT RUNNING TODAY

 

Yesterday I saw a notice on Facebook by the PTA that Fremantle trains would not be running at night this weekend but a Roundhouse volunteer guide just told me she had to take a bus from Mosman Park because the trains are not running during the day either.

With WINTERWORLD just starting today it is amazing how the Public Transport Authority so often cancel Freo trains when festivals are on. Is there any collaboration with the City of Fremantle at all?

Roel Loopers

HARMLESS PARCEL CLOSES FREMANTLE RAILWAY STATION

 

 

The Fremantle railway station was closed for over two hours from 8am this morning when PTA transit guards found a suspicious package and the bomb squad was called in.

Traffic along Phillimore Street was diverted and some train and bus commuters experienced delays.

The parcel turned out to be harmless.

Roel Loopers

RAIL LINE PHOTOGRAPHY IS STUPIDITY

 

 

I just do not understand the fascination people have with rail lines and why they want to be photographed on them, when it is dangerous and illegal to do so.

Even wedding parties are being captured on the rails near the Fremantle Roundhouse, so what is the symbolism of it, I wonder?

I took this photo about an hour ago when these two young ladies walked a long way from the railway crossing to take photos. Pretty stupid as a lot of container freight trains come through there on their way to the port!

Roel Loopers

FREMANTLE TRAIN LINE NOT POPULAR

 

It is surprising to hear that passenger numbers on the Fremantle train line have again declined, with the seventh consecutive decline in 2018.

The number of passengers on the Fremantle-Perth line was down by 290,000 journeys last year.

This puts into question how realistic Fremantle Council is about pushing for light rail in the Fremantle area, when the existing rail services from Fremantle to Perth, Armadale, Joondalup, Midland and Rockingham are not popular with Freo commuters, and the numbers have been declining for seven long years now.

What needs to be done now by the State Government is to find out what the reasons are for the decline in people using the Freo line and maybe the City of Fremantle can also do a survey.

I know that many Fremantle residents drive to the Murdoch station to hop on the train, so that will be one of the reasons for the declining numbers from the Fremantle train station.

Roel Loopers

PUBLIC TRANSPORT ART IN FREMANTLE

 

The PTA has commissioned a new Aboriginal artwork on a switchbox at Little High Street in Fremantle, after local residents requested the beautification of the area opposite the Roundhouse.

I have no idea who the artists are, so if anyone knows, let me know please so I can credit them.

Roel Loopers