Westrail was the name of Western Australia’s public rail service between 1975 and 2000.
It had its origins in 1877 as the Department of Works and Railways. This became Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) in 1890 — a name that persisted for almost a century. WAGR became Westrail in 1975 and continued to manage both passenger and freight rail services in Western Australia until 18 December 2000.
At this time, Westrail’s freight business was sold for A$585 million dollars to Australian Western Railroad — a subsidiary of the Australian Railroad Group (ARG). Westrail’s freight rail lines were leased to WestNet Rail — another subsidiary of ARG. The public entity continues to own the track, but WestNet manages it under the terms of a 49-year lease.
The current name for the Western Australian railway authority is the Public Transport Authority.