MOUNT LAWLEY and Meltham train stations are not closing, with transport minister Dean Nalder quashing rumours of their demise this week.

Whispers about the stations closing stemmed from a meeting between Bayswater council and the public transport authority, where a state bureaucrat’s comment they were underperforming had the locals worried about their future.

Mt Lawley MP Michael Sutherland asked Mr Nalder for some certainty and the transport minister was clear: “I would like to allay your concerns and assure you that there are no plans or proposals before the government or my office to close these train stations.

“Indeed, both Meltham and Mount Lawley train stations were recently upgraded at a cost of $2 million each.”

He says the PTA is working with councils on “station access strategies”, which are still in the early stages, and haven’t got to the point of determining if there’ll be any station closures across the metropolitan area.

“This is all part of a bigger program to facilitate the railways meeting demands for the next 30 to 50 years,” Mr Nalder said.

Mount Lawley station is chronically underpopulated. The sculptures of three travellers wrought in metal outnumber the actual flesh and blood patrons most times of the day.

by DAVID BELL