19/12/97
Transport Minister Eric Charlton said today the new Transperth late-night train service had proved to be a resounding success on its first weekend of operation.
Mr Charlton said 3,600 people had used the service, 1,295 on Friday night and 2,305 on Saturday, with almost half the total number travelling on the Currambine line to the northern suburbs.
"Most importantly, feedback shows that customers were extremely happy with the service and behaviour standards were good," he said.
The new service operates Friday and Saturday night on the Midland, Fremantle, Armadale and Currambine lines, leaving Perth at 1am, 2am to 3am, stopping at all stations along the way. There is also a return timetable.
Mr Charlton said he expected passenger numbers on the late-night trains to increase as people became more familiar with the service. They replaced the NightRider bus services on all but the Morley and Mirrabooka routes where there were no train lines.
The Minister said the NightRider service had been generally poorly patronised with only 124 passengers taking the buses since the late-night trains came into service.
Information on the late-night train service can be obtained from Transperth Infoline 13 22 13 (TTY 9485 0485).
Media contact: Doug Cunningham 08 9321 7333
