Claremont railway station, Perth

Claremont station opened in 1881 as Butlers Swamp, being renamed Claremont in 1883. In 1886 a new station was constructed 300 metres to the east. The 1886 buildings are now the oldest extant railway station buildings in Perth.[1][2][3][4] It was the only station on the line to be built with a crossing loop.[5]

With the relocation of the Royal Perth Show to the Claremont Showground in 1905, a third platform was added with the station serving the show until Showgrounds station opened in 1954.[4] The station closed on 1 September 1979 along with the rest of the Fremantle line, re-opening on 29 July 1983 when services were restored.[6] The station building was restored at the same time. When the line was electrified in 1991, the station was cut back to one island platform and the original platform abandoned.

After the Town of Claremont's Council Chambers were gutted by fire in 2010, it relocated its administration to the former station master's building.[7] The former goods shed has been converted into a cultural centre and cafe.[8]

Claremont station is located in the middle of Claremont. The railway's right-of-way lies between two arterial roads: Shenton Road and Gugeri Street. There are two access points to the station from each street: a grade level track crossing through electrically activated gates at the eastern end of the station, and the original pedestrian bridge that provides access by stairs to the platform and to the elevated signal box. Additionally, a pedestrian underpass connects both streets west of the station.[13]

Claremont station is served by the Airport and Fremantle lines on the Transperth network. Services are operated by Transperth Train Operations, a division of the PTA.[14][15] The Fremantle line runs between Fremantle station and Perth station, continuing past Perth as the Midland line. The Airport line, which commenced regular services on 10 October 2022, goes between High Wycombe station and Claremont station.[16][17][18]

Airport line and Fremantle line trains stop at Claremont every 12 minutes each during peak hour for a combined frequency of a train every 6 minutes. Outside peak hour and on weekends and public holidays, each line has a train every 15 minutes for a combined frequency of 7.5 minutes. Late at night, each line has a half-hourly or hourly frequency.[17][18]

Claremont station saw 579,729 passengers in the 2013–14 financial year.[19]

Track layout
2 1
Source[20]

• A History of Claremont Station Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 599 September 1987 pp. 195–216

• Media related to Claremont railway station, Perth at Wikimedia Commons