By Hamish Hastie and Jesinta Burton
The opposition has demanded the state government come clean about a taxpayer-funded cash splash to rebrand its flagship Metronet rail project, which was unveiled just months before the 2025 election.
The new Metronet logo has shed its colourful stripes in favour of a green colour scheme closer to that of state-run public transport operator Transperth.
It marks the third iteration of the trademark since WA Labor took the eponymous road and rail program to the election in 2017.
Major works are happening under the Metronet project across the city.Credit: WAtoday
With the $12 billion rail expansion project now entering its operational phase, a Metronet spokesperson confirmed new Metronet signage would gradually be rolled out across Perth’s train network on everything from station entrances and parking signs to rail system maps and the railcars.
It is understood the branding will be applied to five new stations on the long-awaited Ellenbrook train line by the election in March 2025.
“The rollout will be undertaken over the long term, starting with new train stations built under the Metronet program, before being progressively applied to existing stations,” the spokesperson said.
The new Metronet logo.Credit: Metronet
“The rollout to new Metronet stations will be delivered within existing projects budgets, while updated signage at existing stations will be delivered in line with regular maintenance and sign replacement schedules, with no new costs.”
The spokesperson insisted no changes would be made to the branding of Transperth or its regional counterpart TransWA.
The arm of the state’s Public Transport Authority declined to be drawn on the exact cost of the rebrand to taxpayers, stating only that the rollout would be delivered within existing project budgets.
However, a tender awarded earlier this year indicates the department forked out more than $62,000 outsourcing administrative services to adapt the brand for operational purposes.
It is understood the decision to overhaul the trademark was made by the state government.
Opposition leader Shane Love called on the state government to reveal how much it spent on the rebrand and rollout, which he claimed was akin to using public property as political advertising.
“I’d be considering the merit of whether or not there’s a need to rebrand the entire network with a Labor Party policy, which looks like pure political point scoring by the government [ahead of the election],” he said.
“What they want is for everybody who gets on a train to be hit with a name which is associated with their political party and that’s an exercise in free election advertising using government property.
“Rebrands aren’t cheap – they can involve spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and the government needs to be transparent.
“If Labor are serious about cost-of-living relief for West Australians, they should be focusing on getting the job finished and getting people using the trains, not playing around with colour palettes.”
But Minister Rita Saffioti hit back at the opposition for repeatedly “attacking and undermining” the state government’s transport agenda and brushed off claims the move constituted election advertising.
The deputy premier also pointed out other election commitments that had become ongoing government policy, including Medicare and the National Party’s Royalties for Regions.
“The claims of this being election advertising are completely laughable, given the branding will only be applied to five Metronet stations by early next year,” she said.
“Metronet is the recognised brand for passenger rail in this state, and is responsible for the biggest expansion ever delivered to our train network. Every existing line has been upgraded as a result of Metronet.
“The Metronet brand is in line with other rail network brands that exist across many cities around the world, where the train network has its own unique brand.”
It is understood there is not yet a timeline for the rollout of the new branding across the broader network.
The opposition has long criticised WA Labor’s major public transport plan, which comprises more than 70 kilometres of rail and 23 new train stations.
The total capital cost of the project is approaching $13 billion, a figure which has climbed annually since Labor promised it could be delivered for $3 billion in 2017.
The rebrand coincided with confirmation the Ellenbrook line would open in December and came just weeks after the state backflipped on plans for a $180,000 Metronet Christmas pageant float.
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