A cause of even greater controversy was Court's decision to close the Perth-Fremantle railway service in 1980. His stated rationale was that buses would do the job better, being cheaper and more flexible. However, it soon emerged that the government intended to build a freeway on part of the rail reserve. A public protest group, "Friends of the Railways", campaigned against the closure in the period before the 1983 election contributing to the defeat of the Liberal government and the immediate reinstatement of the rail service by the succeeding Burke Labor government.