Carlisle railway station is a suburban railway station on the Transperth network in Western Australia. It is in the Perth suburbs of Carlisle and East Victoria Park, and is predominantly served by Thornlie line services, although Armadale line services also stop at the station at night and on Sundays.
The station first opened in July 1912. It was known as Mint Street station at first, but it was renamed Victoria Park East station in October 1912 and to its present name in May 1919. It gained a station master in 1922, which lasted until 1971. Carlisle station had minor upgrades from 2002 to 2003 in preparation for the opening of the Thornlie line, which happened in 2005. It will undergo a complete rebuild as an elevated station from November 2023 to mid-2025 as part of the Victoria Park-Canning Level Crossing Removal Project to remove a nearby level crossing. During the rebuild, the station and railway line will be closed.
Description
Carlisle station is on the boundary of Carlisle and East Victoria Park, which are suburbs of Perth. The station is between Rutland Avenue to the east and Bank Street to the west and is south of the Mint Street/Archer Street level crossing. The station is along the South Western Railway, which links Perth and Bunbury, and is owned by the Public Transport Authority (PTA). Adjacent stations are Victoria Park station to the north-west and Oats Street station to the south-east. Carlisle station is from Perth station.
Carlisle station consists of a long island platform which is accessed by two pedestrian level crossings at each end of the platform. The steep ramps to access the platform make the station not fully accessible. To the north-west is a car park with 54 bays.
The surrounding area predominantly consists of low density residential development, although there is also the Carlisle Hotel and the Harold Hawthorne Community Centre.
History
Early history
The South Western Railway was opened between Perth and Pinjarra on 2 May 1893. A siding known as Haydon's Siding was soon constructed near the present-day Carlisle station, to serve a foundry.
The Victoria Park Council sent a deputation to the commissioner of railways in July 1910, requesting that trains stop at Mint Street. The commissioner denied the request, saying that he would not consider stopping trains there without a platform or any station facilities. According to a local resident, construction started on a station platform at Mint Street in September 1911 but stopped a few weeks thereafter. In December 1911, the local government sent another deputation to the minister for railways, Philip Collier, asking for several improvements to the railway line, including that trains stop at Mint Street despite any lack of platform or other facilities there. According to the local resident, construction restarted around March 1912, lasting a few more weeks before stopping. The station eventually opened on 2 July 1912. Names suggested for the station included Victoria Park East, Haydon, Bickford, or Mint Street. Victoria Park East was opposed by the commissioner of railways, who believed it would be misleading and cause confusion. At first, the station was named Mint Street, but it was renamed Victoria Park East in October 1912.
The area surrounding the station was initially known as Bickford, but ratepayers voted in April or May 1919 to rename it Carlisle, after the town in England of the same name. On 23 May 1919, the station was renamed Carlisle station following a request from the Perth City Council.
A station master was first appointed to Carlisle station on 1 September 1922. It became an unmanned station again on 1 June 1971.
2000s renovation
Westrail, the operator of railways in Perth at the time, planned to rebuild Carlisle station in the late 1990s, but that was deferred pending completion of planning for the Mandurah line. The original plans had the Mandurah line branch off the Armadale line at Kenwick, which would have meant an increase in trains at Carlisle station. The first South West Metropolitan Railway Master Plan, published in 1999, therefore proposed a rebuild of Carlisle station. The plan included rebuilding the station closer to the Mint Street/Archer Street level crossing with two side platforms. A pedestrian bridge would have been built, but the level crossing would not have been removed, unlike several other level crossings on the Armadale line. The tracks would have been realigned to allow for a future upgrade to four tracks, and the platforms would have been designed to allow for extension to .