Train Replacement Buses

Whenever we close the line for track works and maintenance, we always provide a train replacement bus service, which is designed to match the train service as closely as possible, so we’ll never leave you stranded. 

The buses will meet you on the street or station as signposted and will drop you as close to your destination station as possible. Just keep an eye out for signage pointing the way or check out your station access map beforehand.

Of course, buses aren’t quite like trains. For starters, you can’t take bikes or surfboards on them and there are some restrictions on travelling with your eRideable. 

Additionally, because they run on roads instead of dedicated tracks, they’re affected by traffic and traffic lights, so they run a little slower. This means you’ll always need to leave more time for your journey.

You can use our JourneyPlanner or App to plan your journey up to two weeks prior to travelling. When you plan your train journey during a planned disruption you will notice that the train will be replaced with a bus route and your trip will take longer.

Occasionally we have unplanned disruptions where trains need to be immediately cancelled, usually for a short period of time. When this happens, coordinating train replacement buses takes a little longer as our buses are also operating timetabled services throughout Perth.

As soon as we know there’s an issue on the line, Transperth staff immediately find any spare buses and drivers that can assist. Unfortunately, if the disruption occurs during peak periods, most Transperth buses are already serving other Transperth passengers, making it hard to get a large number of buses on the road in such a short period of time. When this happens, we also use non-Transperth buses to try to meet demand, but unfortunately delays will occur.

Depending on where you are traveling timetabled bus routes may also get you there check the Alternative Bus Routes page for more information.

Visit our Be Prepared page to find out what to do if you get caught on the system during an unplanned closure.