COMMUNITY BRIEFING NOTE 10
Can the ferry timetable follow the train timetable?
A simple Canning Bridge–JoJo’s shuttle could be designed around the existing Mandurah Line timetable, with a 15-minute off-peak ferry service and a 10-minute peak service.
Damien Smith ·
23 September 2026
The alternative vessel
I was a tenderer for PTA250023, the design and construction of the new electric passenger ferries.
My submission included an Alternative Offer based on a lower-speed, double-ended electric ferry designed specifically for the Swan River.
The vessel was intended to operate at about 10.5 knots. Being double-ended, it could arrive at a terminal and depart again in the opposite direction without having to turn around.
One possible application is a direct shuttle across Melville Water between Canning Bridge and JoJo’s, at the southern end of Broadway.The water distance is approximately 4.3 km Using the alternative vessel, a reasonable working allowance is about 14 minutes berth to berth.
Put the interchange at Canning Bridge
Instead of locating the ferry terminal at Applecross and asking passengers to make their way between the ferry and the railway, the ferry could interchange directly with the Mandurah Line at Canning Bridge. The ferry timetable could then be designed around the train timetable.
Current Transperth timetables show a basic 15-minute off-peak pattern on the Mandurah Line through Canning Bridge.[i]
During peak periods, through Mandurah services operate at approximately 10-minute intervals, with additional Cockburn services interleaved between them.[i]
That suggests two natural ferry frequencies:
Off peak: 15 minutes
A 15-minute ferry service would match the basic 15-minute off-peak Mandurah Line timetable.
A possible vessel cycle is:
- 7 minutes at Canning Bridge for train interchange and charging
- 14 minutes Canning Bridge to JoJo’s
- 10 minutes at JoJo’s for passenger interchange and timetable recovery
- 14 minutes JoJo’s to Canning Bridge
Total cycle time: 45 minutes. Three ferries would therefore provide a 15-minute service.
The seven-minute Canning Bridge dwell could be positioned around the train movements.
For example, the ferry could arrive shortly before the southbound train departs and remain until shortly after the northbound train from Mandurah arrives.
Passengers travelling south could transfer from ferry to train, while passengers arriving from Mandurah, Cockburn, Murdoch and Bull Creek could transfer from train to ferry.
The vessel could also charge during the same seven-minute stop. With an automated charging connection, charging becomes part of the normal passenger interchange rather than an additional timetable activity.
Peak: 10 minutes
If the Government’s forecasts of substantial ferry demand are correct, additional capacity could be provided during the peaks.
The current Mandurah Line timetable includes through Mandurah services at approximately 10-minute intervals during peak periods, with additional Cockburn services between them.[i]
A 10-minute ferry timetable could therefore be aligned with the through Mandurah trains.
A possible peak operating cycle is:
- 7 minutes at Canning Bridge for passenger interchange and charging
- 14 minutes Canning Bridge to JoJo’s
- 5 minutes at JoJo’s
- 14 minutes JoJo’s to Canning Bridge
Total cycle time: 40 minutes.
Four ferries would provide a 10-minute service.
This would allow the ferry timetable to be aligned with the 10-minute through Mandurah train pattern. The additional Cockburn services would provide further connection opportunities.
UWA and QEII connections
JoJo’s should not be considered simply as a ferry terminal from which passengers would be expected to walk across the university.
The existing public transport network already circulates buses between UWA, Broadway and QEII. The Purple CAT currently serves UWA and QEII, while other Transperth services also connect the university and medical centre.[ii]
A connecting bus could therefore operate from JoJo’s through UWA South, the Business School, central and northern UWA and QEII.
The bus timetable could be synchronised with ferry arrivals and departures in the same way as the ferry is synchronised with the trains at Canning Bridge.
Why this matters
As of writing, the Government has not published a final operating timetable or service frequency for Stage 1. It is still unclear whether the service will operate at around 25 minutes, 30 minutes or something else, what speed exemptions would be required, and what operating constraints would be imposed on other river users.
Those are fundamental system-design questions.
By comparison, this alternative can be described as an integrated public transport system: 10 or 15-minute ferry frequencies matched to the Mandurah Line, a timed UWA and QEII bus connection, charging during the Canning Bridge interchange, and operation within existing speed limits.
The double-ended vessel is important to making that timetable work. A conventional ferry turn takes at least two minutes. Removing that manoeuvre allows the short terminal times needed for the 10 and 15-minute service patterns.
The point is not that this is necessarily the final answer. It is that a ferry system should be designed around the connections passengers need, with the vessel, timetable, charging, terminals and operating limits worked out as one system.
About the author
Prepared by Damien Smith, Perth naval architect and Director of Damien Smith Design Pty Ltd.
Disclosures: Damien Smith Design was a tenderer for the Swan River ferry project and submitted both a conforming offer and an Alternative Offer. Damien is also a member of the Management Committee of Mounts Bay Sailing Club and a member of the Australian Labor Party. These interests are openly disclosed.
The views expressed in this note are Damien Smith’s own and do not represent Mounts Bay Sailing Club, the Australian Labor Party, or any other organisation.
This note draws on publicly available Transperth timetable information and Damien Smith Design’s own alternative vessel and operational modelling.
Sources and supporting documents
[i] Transperth, Mandurah Line timetable. Current timetable information shows the basic off-peak service pattern through Canning Bridge and the more frequent peak pattern, including through Mandurah and interleaved Cockburn services.
[ii] Transperth, University and TAFE Services and CAT timetables. Current services include Route 950, Route 97 and the Purple CAT serving UWA and/or QEII.
[iii] Damien Smith Design, PTA250023 Alternative Offer. Alternative double-ended electric ferry developed for lower-speed operation on the Swan River, with reduced turning and charging requirements.
