Perth Central Railway Station
The original Perth Central Station was designed by Richard Roach Jewell, the architect of other famous city buildings such as Perth Town Hall, and Pensioners’ Barracks. After 10 months of construction, the station was opened in 1881, along with the entirety of the Fremantle Guildford railway line. The station was designed with a single through platform, with bay platforms to the east and west. This design proved to be inadequate for the expanding rail network, so the decision was made to construct a new, larger station to the immediate south of the original one.
The new Perth Railway Station was designed by Government architect and engineer George Temple Poole in the neoclassical style similar to his other works including the State Buildings near Point Zero. The new station was built in the large space between Perth Central Station and Wellington Street, allowing the old station to remain in operation throughout construction. The new building was completed by 1893 and included offices for the Western Australian Government Railways in the second level. The old Central Station was then demolished.
Perth Central was the departure point for all metropolitan and intra-state trains up until the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway in 1969. As the standard gauge track was terminated at East Perth station, this then became the departure point for the Trans-Australian/Indian Pacific interstate service.
