The foundation stone for the George Temple-Poole designed Perth station was laid on 10 May 1880, with the station opening on 1 March 1881 part of the Eastern Railway from Fremantle to Guildford. It had one through platform with terminating bay platforms at either end. The Neoclassical style building had a second storey added in 1894 that became the headquarters of the Western Australian Government Railways until 1976. A planned third storey and clocktower were never built. The building has been renovated and expanded numerous times since being built, as well as the forecourt entrance area. The station was the centre of the Western Australian Government Railways system with most regional trains originating from the station. A collection of freight and administrative offices and tearooms were part of the railway station complex. The railway building has at times housed various commercial operations as well as police offices. The WA Craft Council was a tenant in the 1980s. For a considerable length of time the forecourt area was used for car parking. This is now very limited except for official vehicles. The building had the Barrack Street and William Street bridges as limiting factors to its development; patrons were able to gain direct access to the station by escalators and walkways, though with the introduction of SmartRider gates the William Street entrance was fenced off and its walkway and exit eventually removed.
Changes
As early as the 1950s, there were moves and suggestions for the redevelopment of the station area. Following the cessation of most regional services, the completion of standard gauge tracks to East Perth station, and the relocation of most administrative offices to the Westrail Centre alongside, by the late 1970s Perth station remained as a terminus for The Australind service to Bunbury, as well as Transperth suburban services. In connection with the electrification of the Armadale line, a ninth platform was added in 1992. As part of the New MetroRail project, the station was refurbished with new underground platforms built at a 90-degree angle to the existing platforms beneath Gordon Stephenson House to the east of William Street, between Wellington and Murray Streets. The new platforms opened on 15 October 2007. The underground platforms, numbered 1 and 2, are known as Perth Underground, but are considered part of the overall Perth station. The existing platforms were refurbished with the above ground platforms reduced from nine to seven. The underground platforms were linked to the original Perth station via a walkway under Wellington Street, and also via an entrance from the west end of the Murray Street pedestrian mall that opened on 19 December 2013. In September 2013, a new Platform 9 on the Roe Street side of the station opened. This new platform was temporarily used for special event services until mid-December 2013, before becoming part of the Midland line.
Plaques formerly in entrance area to station
The railway station entrance area had plaques to commemorate the following events:
11 April 1992 – commissioning of electric train services
25 March 1994 – centenary of railway station
Platforms & services
Platforms currently in use are as follows:
Transport links
Several Transperth bus routes stop adjacent to Perth station. Buses also operate from the nearby Perth Busport, and rail replacement services also depart from the nearby Perth Busport.
