Nearly three years on, the study – in its standalone, promised form – is nowhere to be seen. Department left in the dark on promise Freedom of Information documents obtained by WAtoday reveal Department of Transport planners in the unit tasked with looking at a light rail network were not aware of the commitment until August 2017; six months after Labor’s election win. One planner only found out about it through an inquiry from a member of the public. In response to the query, the planner said the study would be rolled into "multi-criteria analysis", which would look at all potential light rail routes in Perth.

A year later, the City of Armadale asked about the feasibility of trackless trams for the city; the department responded by saying it was in the early stages of planning for light rail but made no mention of a separate feasibility study. In October, the department was asked if an Armadale-Cockburn route had still not been looked at. A freedom of information request revealed transport planners were unaware of the commitment until a member of the public made an inquiry. “Our priority is our stage one Metronet projects and other projects such as this can be examined in the future,” a department spokesman responded. 'The voters were sold a lemon'

Before the 2017 vote count was even over, Mr Francis was being touted as a potential replacement for fallen Premier Colin Barnett. But those dreams were dashed when a massive swing cost Mr Francis his Jandakot seat by 512 votes to new Labor hopeful Yaz Mubarakai in a huge upset. The feasibility promise was met with eager interest by families in the new, road-locked southern suburbs of Harrisdale and Piara Waters, and splashed across the front page of local newspaper the Armadale Examiner. Mr Francis said it was disappointing to lose his seat by so few votes to a “handful of lies” and criticised the government for not fronting up the small sum of cash needed to make good on their promise. “The voters were sold a lemon if they haven't even spent a measly $40,000 in two and a half years on a feasibility study; it’s not an awful lot of money,” he said.

“I'm not the kind of bloke who would say 'I told you so' to voters, I believe that voters generally make the right choice and, to a large degree, they generally get the government they deserve." Mr Francis said he would like to see whether a light rail route was feasible down Armadale Road, but he preferred trackless trams. The voters were sold a lemon if they haven't even spent a measly $40,000 in two and a half years on a feasibility study. Joe Francis “It’s incredibly cheaper than light rail and you're going to move just as many people at 10 per cent of the cost without the infrastructure,” he said. A spokesman for Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the deparment had been aware of the commitment since it was made and listed it in their initial post-election briefings for the minister.

MAX was the former Barnett Government's broken light rail promise. “We have always been clear that stage one Metronet projects are our immediate focus, and that light rail will be considered as part of future stages of Metronet while preliminary consideration has been given to the feasibility of a potential Cockburn-Armadale light rail corridor as part of a broader review of existing light rail proposals and studies, in May 2017,” the spokesman said. “We will continue to undertake feasibility studies on light rail for Perth including the Cockburn-Armadale light rail corridor. “The purpose of the light rail study for Armadale-Cockburn was always to see if the project would qualify for stage two of Metronet.” The spokesman rebuked Mr Francis’ claims voters were "sold a lemon" and highlighted Labor's infrastructure record in the area.

“For example, under [Mr Francis'] watch, the Armadale Road duplication was not undertaken and no funds were allocated to the new Armadale Road to North Lake Road bridge,” he said. “He had eight years to deliver this vital infrastructure and he failed. In just over two years under Labor and the advocacy of Yaz Mubarakai, we have nearly completed the Armadale Road duplication project and work will commence soon on the Armadale Road to North Lake Road bridge.” Light rail curse This isn't the first time a light rail promise hasn't been followed through in WA politics. Mr Francis distanced himself from the MAX light rail broken promise debacle that plagued the Liberal Party in its second term in government. The Barnett government went to the 2013 election with a "fully costed, fully funded" promise to build a light rail route to Perth’s north, but by 2016 they had abandoned it thanks to the dire state of the budget.