Which terminal you landed at
Perth Airport is split into two precincts that are not walkable between each other. T1 and T2 sit on one side of the runways; T3 and T4 sit on the other, and Perth Airport describes the drive between the two precincts as roughly 10 to 15 minutes.
Your boarding pass settles which one you are in. On Perth Airport's terminal guide, most international carriers and Qantas international use T1, Jetstar and Virgin Australia use T2, and T3 and T4 are Qantas and Airnorth operations.
This comparison shows what each precinct means for your route into the city.
| Landing at | Nearest station | What you do first |
|---|---|---|
| T1 or T2 | Airport Central | Follow Skybridge signs to the platform |
| T3 or T4 | Redcliffe | Board bus route 292 outside the terminal |
| T3 or T4, prefer one bus | Airport Central | Ride the free transfer bus to T1/T2 |
If your itinerary shows a connection between the two precincts, treat the transfer as its own leg with its own clock. Perth Airport says the free terminal transfer bus runs every 20 minutes between 06:00 and 22:00, and every 30 minutes between 22:00 and 06:00.
The train from Airport Central
Airport Central station serves Terminals 1 and 2 only. Perth Airport's public transport page tells arriving passengers to follow signs along the Skybridge walkway from the station to either terminal, so the whole connection is under cover and there is no road crossing with a suitcase.
The Airport Line runs from High Wycombe through Airport Central and Redcliffe, then in towards the city via Bayswater, Maylands, Mt Lawley, East Perth and Claisebrook before reaching McIver, Perth and Perth Underground. Trains carry on west through City West and Subiaco towards Claremont, so you do not have to change if your accommodation is on that side.
Perth Airport gives the Airport Central to Perth Station run as 18 minutes, and Redcliffe to the CBD as 15 minutes. Those are the scheduled train times only, so allow separately for the Skybridge walk and for waiting on the platform.
Getting to town from T3 and T4
Terminals 3 and 4 have no train station of their own, which is the single most common mistake on this route. Perth Airport directs T3 and T4 passengers to Redcliffe station and Transperth bus route 292, which the airport describes as running every 12 minutes at peak times.
Route 292 is a circular service via Perth Airport T3/T4 on the Transperth timetable effective 22 February 2026. On that timetable the first weekday departure in the Redcliffe-to-airport direction is 5:31 am and the last is 12:22 am, with weekend services from about 5:53 am to 12:32 am.
Your second option is to ignore Redcliffe entirely and take the free inter-terminal transfer bus to the T1/T2 precinct, then walk the Skybridge to Airport Central. That suits you if you would rather do one bus ride and then a single uninterrupted train, and it costs nothing extra, but it adds the transfer drive plus a wait of up to 20 or 30 minutes depending on the hour.
The trade-off is simple. Route 292 to Redcliffe is usually quicker and more frequent in the daytime; the transfer bus to Airport Central is the calmer choice if you have heavy luggage, small children, or a late-evening arrival when the 292 headway stretches out.
Paying: SmartRider or contactless
Transperth accepts three ways to pay, and the difference is money rather than access. A SmartRider card is the discounted option, contactless bank cards and phones are charged at the full cash rate, and paper cash tickets come from station machines or the bus driver, who gives no change.
Western Australia's fare zones no longer decide what you pay on a trip like this. Under the fares published as effective 1 January 2026, a journey longer than 3.2 kilometres is charged the Go Anywhere fare, which covers travel anywhere on the network within three hours.
Perth Airport says SmartRider cards are sold at Terminal 1. If you land at T2, T3 or T4 outside staffed hours, tapping a contactless card is the practical answer, and Transperth's ticket page notes you must tag on and tag off with the same card or device.
Once you are in the CBD, the free layer takes over. The five CAT bus routes are free with no ticket at all, with Perth Station served by the Blue, Red and Yellow CATs and Elizabeth Quay Bus Station by the Blue, Green and Purple CATs. There is also a train Free Transit Zone bounded by City West, Elizabeth Quay and Claisebrook stations, but it only applies when you start and finish inside it, so it does nothing for a journey that begins at the airport.
Taxis and rideshare
Taxi ranks sit at the front of all Perth Airport terminals, and the airport puts the drive to the city centre at about 20 minutes. Black & White Cabs and Swan Taxis are the main operators, and taxis are available around the clock.
Uber and DiDi both operate at Perth Airport, with dedicated pick-up bays for the T1/T2 precinct and a separate bay for T3/T4. The airport advises collecting your bags before you request the ride rather than booking on approach.
Perth Airport applies an airport access fee of AUD 4.50 to taxi and rideshare pick-ups from the terminals, on top of the metered or app fare. Taxi drivers may ask for payment in advance.
A car makes sense when you are arriving with more luggage than hands, travelling as a group of three or four where the train fares add up, or landing at an hour when the 292 has stopped. It costs considerably more than a train fare, and the airport publishes no fixed price to the city, so the meter or app quote is the only number you can rely on.
Late arrivals and early departures
Late-night arrivals are the case where the answer changes most, because the Airport Line does not run 24 hours. On the Transperth Airport Line timetable effective 13 October 2025, the first weekday departure from Airport Central towards the city is 5:28 am and the last is 12:03 am, with the last service from Perth Underground back towards High Wycombe shortly before midnight.
Timetables change, and Transperth also runs planned overnight track closures on the Airport Line where replacement buses cover part of the route. Check the Transperth service updates before you rely on a late train, especially if you are travelling on a Sunday to Thursday night.
For an early departure the safer sequence is to work backwards from your airline's check-in closing time, add the train ride, add the Skybridge walk, and then add a full headway of waiting for the 292 or the transfer bus if you are heading to T3 or T4.
Luggage and step-free access
Transperth sets no published suitcase size limit for ordinary luggage, but its rules on items carried on board require that nothing blocks aisles, doorways or the driver's view, and staff have discretion. Standard airline checked bags are routine on the Airport Line; the practical constraint is peak-hour crowding between Bayswater and the city, not a rule.
Confirm the grading for the specific stations you will use, including your city-end station, on Transperth's station facilities pages before you fly rather than in the arrivals hall.
Before you leave the arrivals hall
Check three things while you still have airport wi-fi. Confirm your terminal number against your boarding pass, not your airline's usual terminal; open the Transperth Journey Planner for a live departure rather than a printed timetable; and look at the Transperth service updates page for any overnight closure on the Airport Line.
Then decide on one question: are you at T1/T2 or T3/T4. Everything else on this route follows from that answer.