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Late-night trains back on track

Pyjama power has prevailed and Perth's late-night trains are back on.

Less than a month after the Barnett Government said all 1.15am and 2.15am trains would be cancelled, Transport Minister Dean Nalder has reversed the decision.

The backflip came just four days before hundreds of pyjama-wearing commuters were to gather in Forrest Place for a midnight protest.

Organisers have cancelled the event rather than hold a celebration.

Mr Nalder said he reversed the decision after speaking to city businesses and catching a late train last Friday - actions the Opposition says he should have done before the original decision.

And his backflip comes at a price.

The Public Transport Authority will now have to find $1.5 million in savings from other sources.

Mr Nalder blamed the PTA for the original decision, saying it was based on patronage figures that did not paint the full picture.

"I initially supported the PTA's decision based on the information it provided me," Mr Nalder said.

"However, I spent last Friday night speaking to a number of businesses in both the CBD and Northbridge before taking the Mandurah line train at 1.15am.

"It has become clear to me that these trains are far more utilised than I first thought and I have decided to overturn the decision to cancel the services."

Mr Nalder said he also asked the PTA to better advertise the free late-night train services.

Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said Mr Nalder "failed to do his homework" and did not investigate the impact of the move on patrons, community safety and businesses.

"This was always a terrible decision by a minister who is clearly not up to the task of managing the State's public transport system," Mr McGowan said.

"Had the minister been doing his job, this decision would never have happened in the first place."

Pyjama protest organiser Georgia Blackburn welcomed the backflip as a victory for common sense. "This Government needs to consider the implications of decisions before they make them, not after," she said.