The Bayswater Subway (or Bayswater Bridge) was a road under rail subway in Perth, Western Australia. It was located immediately west of Bayswater railway station, and carried King William Street / Coode Street beneath the Midland line. [1] The subway was demolished in April 2023 as part of Metronet's rebuild of Bayswater station. [2]
In the later decades of its existence the bridge gained notoriety for it being frequently struck by tall vehicles due to its low clearance. [2] [3] Because of this it has been called an "infamous icon" of Perth. [4] [5] [6]
The bridge was first proposed in 1898, [7] but it was not until 14 February 1910 that it was opened. [8] It is different from the historic railway bridge over the Swan River that existed between 1897 and 1957, which at times had been referred to as the "Bayswater Bridge". [9]
As part of the conversion of the Eastern Railway from narrow gauge to dual gauge, the original two lane bridge was demolished in May 1969 and rebuilt with four lanes underneath. Bayswater railway station was rebuilt at the same time. [10] : 268–269
With a low clearance of 3.8 metres (12 ft 6 in), the bridge gained notoriety and received significant media coverage for being frequently struck by trucks and other tall vehicles. [3] [2] It inspired the creation of a website that tracked the number of days since the bridge had been last hit. [11] In September 2014, flashing low clearance signs were put on the bridge to deter drivers in tall vehicles from attempting to drive underneath the bridge. [12] Despite this, between 2014 (when the Public Transport Authority started counting) and May 2019, the Bayswater Subway was struck by 36 vehicles. [13] In May 2019, one of the low clearance signs fell off the bridge, landing on a vehicle and breaking its windscreen. [14] Despite, or because of, its infamy the bridge has been called a local icon by some, including Premier Mark McGowan. [5] [6]
In 2021, Metronet commenced a second rebuild of Bayswater station to accommodate new rail lines. As part of the rebuild the subway was replaced by a new 4.8-metre-high (16 ft) bridge which will also carry the new elevated station's platforms. [15] [16] In April 2023, the railway closed for four weeks to allow the existing railway line to be aligned to operate over the new bridge and for the old bridge to be demolished, which occurred between 14 and 17 April 2023. [17] [3] Due to the notoriety of the bridge and the public interest in its demolition, a temporary viewing platform was built for the public to view the bridge's removal, [3] and a farewell community event was held on 30 April 2023 at Bert Wright Park. [18] Parts of the bridge will be incorporated into landscaping around the new station area, while the low clearance signage will be repurposed into public art. [2] [18] Signage from the bridge will also be donated to the City of Bayswater, while one such sign was donated to a local café named after the old bridge's clearance. [2] [18]
Although it was the best-known bridge in Perth for being hit, the Bayswater Subway was not the lowest road-under-rail bridge in Perth. The Sutherland Street bridge, in West Perth has a clearance of 3.7 metres (12 ft 2 in), [19] and the Seventh Avenue Bridge, in Maylands had a clearance of 3.3 metres (10 ft 10 in) before it was rebuilt. [20]
The Midland line is a suburban rail service on the Transperth network in Perth, Western Australia. It runs on the Eastern Railway through Perth's eastern suburbs and connects Midland with Perth. Travelling from Midland, the trains terminate at Fremantle on the Fremantle line.
Mount Lawley railway station is 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) from Perth railway station, in Western Australia, on the Midland Line and Airport line on the Transperth commuter rail network.
Maylands railway station is a station in Maylands, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is on the Midland line and Airport line, between Mount Lawley station and Meltham station. It is 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi), or eight minutes by train, from Perth station. Services on each line run every 12 minutes during peak and every 15 minutes between peak for a combined frequency of a train every 6 minutes during peak and every 7.5 minutes outside peak.
Bayswater railway station is a temporarily closed station in Bayswater, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is on the Midland line and Airport line on the Transperth commuter rail network. Services on each line run every 12 minutes during peak and every 15 minutes between peak. The journey to Perth station is 6.7 kilometres (4.2 mi), and takes 12 minutes. The station is served by three regular bus routes.
Meltham railway station is a railway station in Bayswater, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is on the Midland line and Airport line, between Maylands and Bayswater. It is 5.5 kilometres, or 10 minutes by train, from Perth railway station Services run every 6 minutes during peak and every 7.5 minutes between peak.
Bayswater is a suburb 6 km (4 mi) north-east of the central business district (CBD) of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It is just north of the Swan River, within the City of Bayswater local government area. It is predominantly a low-density residential suburb consisting of single-family detached homes. However, there are several clusters of commercial buildings, most notably in the suburb's town centre, around the intersection of Whatley Crescent and King William Street and a light industrial area in the suburb's east.
Railways in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, have existed since 1881, when the Eastern Railway was opened between Fremantle and Guildford. Today, Perth has seven Transperth commuter rail lines and 76 stations.
The Airport line is a suburban railway line and service in Perth, Western Australia, operated by the Public Transport Authority as part of the Transperth system. The Airport line is a branch of the Midland line and runs underground between Bayswater and High Wycombe via Perth Airport. The Airport line branch is 8.6 kilometres (5.3 mi) long and has three stations: Redcliffe, Airport Central, and High Wycombe stations. Airport line services continue west of Bayswater along the Midland and Fremantle lines via Perth station to terminate at Claremont station.
Redcliffe railway station is a station for underground commuter rail services in Redcliffe, east of Perth, Western Australia. The station is one of three stations that were built as part of the Forrestfield–Airport Link project and is served by Transperth's Airport line services.
Byford railway station is located on the South Western Railway in Western Australia. It serves the south-eastern Perth suburb of Byford.
Nicholson Road railway station is an under construction station on the Thornlie–Cockburn Link in Perth, Western Australia as part of Metronet. It is planned to open in 2025.
Eglinton railway station is an under-construction commuter rail station in Eglinton, Western Australia. The station is being constructed as part of the Yanchep rail extension of Transperth's Joondalup line, and is planned to open in early-2024.
Yanchep railway station is an under-construction commuter rail station in Yanchep, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The station is being constructed as part of the Yanchep rail extension of Transperth's Joondalup line, and is planned to open in early-2024.
Metronet is a multi-government agency in Western Australia. It is responsible for managing extensions to Perth's rail network. It was formed to deliver commitments made by the McGowan Government during the 2017 election campaign.
The Morley–Ellenbrook line is a planned suburban rail service between the Perth central business district and Ellenbrook in Western Australia. Construction began in 2021 as part of Metronet.
Morley railway station is a bus and railway station under construction as part of the Metronet Morley–Ellenbrook Line, serving the Perth suburbs of Bayswater, Embleton and Morley. It is to be built in the median strip of Tonkin Highway at Broun Avenue.
The Montague Street Bridge is a railway bridge in South Melbourne, Australia, an inner suburb of Melbourne. The bridge is located at 83 Montague Street, between Woodgate Street and Gladstone Lane.
Whiteman Park railway station is a bus and railway station on the Morley–Ellenbrook railway line in Perth, Western Australia as part of Metronet, serving Whiteman Park and the suburbs of Henley Brook, Dayton, West Swan, and Brabham. The station is currently under construction, with opening scheduled for 2024.