Leederville railway station is a suburban railway station on the boundary of Leederville and West Leederville, suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. The station is on the Yanchep line and is part of the Transperth network. Located within the median strip of the Mitchell Freeway, Leederville station consists of an island platform connected to either side of the freeway by a footbridge.
The initial master plan for the Yanchep line (then known as the Joondalup line or Northern Suburbs Railway) gave provisions for Leederville station but stated it would not be constructed at first. The station was later added to the construction program to offset complaints from local residents about a widening of the Mitchell Freeway. The station opened to limited service on 20 December 1992 as one of three initial stations on the line. The remaining stations opened the following year and on 21 March 1993, full service on the Joondalup line commenced. The station has had minor upgrades since, with the platforms being extended in 2004 and a bus interchange opening in 2013.
Trains at Leederville station run at a five-minute frequency during peak hour, lowering to a fifteen-minute frequency off-peak and on weekends and public holidays. At night, trains are half-hourly or hourly. The journey to Perth Underground station takes three minutes. There are two bus routes that serve the station, including the Green CAT route.
Description
thumb|left|Leederville station viewed from the north|alt=Train station island platform with a curved metal shelter covering the platform and tracks
Leederville station is on the border of Leederville to the north-east and West Leederville to the south-west, which are suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. The station is within the median strip of the Mitchell Freeway and on the Yanchep line (formerly known as the Joondalup line), which is part of the Transperth system The next stations are Perth Underground to the south-east and Glendalough to the north. Leederville station is from Perth Underground station and is in fare zone one. It was forecast that there would be low demand for the station, but that it could become viable as more offices in West Perth were built in the future, with bus services to link there. The Northern Suburbs Transit System Master Plan, released in November 1989, decided that a station there would not be built initially and that provisions would be put in place for the station's construction in the future.
The expansion of the freeway encountered local resistance, with residents opposed to the impact on Lake Monger and Leederville, which had already been divided when the freeway was constructed in the 1970s. Newman said that it was unfair for Leederville residents to put up with the freeway widening without getting a railway station. His report recommended that the expansion be scaled down from five lanes in each direction to four, and for Leederville station to be built with the rest of the Northern Suburbs Railway. The government accepted those recommendations.
thumb|Oxford Street footbridge, which is the only access to Leederville station|alt=A cable-stayed footbridge across a freeway connecting with the station
Leederville station was designed by Westrail, the state's rail operator. The new northbound Mitchell Freeway carriageway opened on 21 June 1992, after eighteen months of construction. By the middle of 1992, the station's platform had reached completion. Due to the freeway duplication, the existing footbridge at Oxford Street had to be replaced, as it was not long enough. The new footbridge, a cable-stayed bridge which is the only access to Leederville station, was constructed alongside two other bridges elsewhere under a $5.3million contract by Leighton Contractors. The bridge opened in September 1992. By July 1992, a $1million contract for the construction of Leederville station had been awarded to John Holland Constructions. John Holland won an award at the state Master Builders Association's Excellence in Construction Awards in 1993 for the company's work on Leederville station.
thumb|Plaque commemorating the opening of Leederville station on 20 December 1992|alt=A metal plaque on a wall
Leederville station opened on 20 December 1992 as one of three initial stations on the Joondalup line, alongside Edgewater and Joondalup stations. From 21 December, train services ran under a limited service "discoveride" brand, meaning that train services had a limited frequency of every half-an-hour and only operated between 9:30am and 2:30pm. Full service commenced on 21 March 1993, which included peak hour services for the first time and an off-peak frequency increase.
Later upgrades
In 2003, the contract for extending the platforms on seven Joondalup line stations, including Leederville station, was awarded to Lakis Constructions for $4.8million. The platforms on these stations had to be extended by to accommodate six-car trains, which were planned to enter service as part of the extension to Clarkson station and construction of the Mandurah line. The platform edges were also upgraded to bring them into line with tactile paving standards. The project began with the extension of Leederville station, and work there was completed by April 2004.