History

The Belmont Railway Line—also known as the Belmont Spur, Belmont Branch, or Perth Racecourse Railway—was a short but significant branch line that operated from 1885 to 1956. It extended from the Eastern Railway at Bayswater, crossing the Swan River to the Perth Race Course at Belmont, near today’s Ascot Racecourse.

Timeline Highlights:

1885: Line opened to serve the racecourse with a ferry connection across the river.

1891: A narrow footbridge replaced the ferry service.

1897: The line was extended across the Swan with a new station built on the southern side of the track.

1926: Services suspended after major flooding.

1935: Nearby Garratt Road Bridge opened, replacing earlier road conversion plans for the rail bridge.

1956: Line permanently closed after a fire damaged the Swan River bridge.

1957: The bridge and all associated infrastructure were dismantled.

Despite ambitious early plans to link this line to southern centres like Bunbury and Busselton, the Belmont branch remained a standalone spur—its popularity tied closely to the racing calendar.

Today, nothing remains of the line, but its story lives on as a curious chapter in Perth’s railway heritage.