Light rail in Canberra

Background

Walter Burley Griffin's master plan for Canberra proposed the construction of a tram network and a heavy rail line.^[5][6] However, excepting for the Canberra station, the city was exclusively served by buses from the 1926 introduction of the Canberra City Omnibus Service until the 2019 opening of light rail services.

In 1988, Comeng proposed a Light Rail system for Canberra.^[7] One line was proposed in three stages - Woden-City-Belconnen (about 18km), Woden-Tuggeranong (about 11.5km), and Belconnen-Kippax Centre (about 5.8km).^{[7]: 10 (PDF 14)}

Development and Stage 1

In the 2013/14 ACT budget, $5 million was allocated for early design work.^[18] In September 2014, the business case was approved by the government. The project, known as Capital Metro during planning, was developed by the government agency Capital Metro Agency (CMA). The line was to be delivered under a public-private partnership.^[19][20]

In February 2016, after a tender process, the government announced that Canberra Metro consortium was the preferred tenderer and finalised the contract in May that year.^[21][22][23] Under the contract, Canberra Metro will operate and maintain the line for 20 years, after which ownership will pass to the ACT Government.^[21][24]

Design and construction costs were budgeted at $707 million.^[21] The Federal Government contributed $67 million to the project.^[24] Commencement of construction was marked by a sod-turning in the northern suburb of Mitchell at the site of the depot on 12 July 2016.^[25] Major construction of the route itself began towards the end of the year.^[26][27][28]

The CMA was amalgamated into a new government directorate, the Transport Canberra & City Services (TCCS), on 1 July 2016, resulting in the responsibility for the project being transferred to the TCCS.^[29]

Testing of the line began in June 2018. A section in Gungahlin was electrified and one of the trams made trial runs.^[30] The last tram arrived in Canberra in September 2018 and it was hoped to have the project completed by the end of 2018.^[31] The light rail eventually opened on 20 April 2019, with the final construction cost for Stage 1 being $675 million, some $32 million under the original budget.^[32][33][34]

Stops

The Sandford Street light rail stop commenced construction in 2020 and opened on 16 September 2021.^[50][51][2]

Rolling stock

An Urbos 3 on Northbourne Avenue

Interior

14 CAF-built Urbos 3 trams operate on the system. CAF will also provide twenty years of maintenance for the fleet.^[57][58] The trams are 32.96 m (108 ft 1.64 in) long and consist of five modules. There are four doors on each side of the vehicle, two single-leaf and two double-leaf doors.^[59] The first tram was delivered in December 2017.^[60][61][62] The vehicles feature a red and grey livery, with a white reflective stripe in the middle.^[63] The depot is located in Mitchell.^[64]

Five additional light rail vehicles were ordered from CAF ahead of the construction of Stage 2A. These vehicles are capable of wire-free running, as required by the National Capital Authority within its defined area. Deliveries began during 2024 and by January 2025, four were operational, with two in regular service.^[65]

Control system

Tehnika's t-visor RAIL platform, also used on the Gold Coast Light Rail,^[66] provides the operators with a single, centralised control system. This encompasses the automatic vehicle location, traffic signalling priority, traction power & infrastructure SCADA, CCTV and passenger information systems, amongst others.^[67]

Background

The consortia participating in the procurement process for the initial line were asked to develop plans for an expanded route from the City Centre to the Defence headquarters in Russell via London Circuit and Constitution Avenue. This additional 3.2-kilometre (2.0 mi) section was estimated to boost the patronage of the line as a whole by more than 30%. The proposal highlighted the desire of the Federal Government's National Capital Authority to use wire-free technology to power the trams in areas of the city under the authority's management.^[68][69]

The ACT Government decided not to proceed with the expanded route but committed to releasing a plan for a second stage of the light rail network (known as Stage 2) before the October 2016 territory election. It was considering extending the line not only to Russell but to the broader parliamentary triangle, possibly including Canberra Airport and the Australian National University.^[70]

Development of route and funding

In July 2016, the government released a shortlist of four potential routes that could form the second stage of the light rail network. The routes were:^[71]

• City to Canberra Airport via Constitution Avenue and Parkes Way
• City to Belconnen Town Centre via Barry Drive past Calvary Hospital and the University of Canberra
• City to the Parliamentary Triangle via either Commonwealth Avenue or Kings Avenue
• City to Mawson via Woden.

In September 2016, the government selected a truncated version of the Mawson route that ends at Woden as its preferred second-stage project.^[72][73] At that stage, the only firm decisions the government had made about the route were that it would run from Alinga Street to the Woden Town Centre and use Commonwealth Avenue Bridge to cross Lake Burley Griffin.^[74]

In July 2019, the ACT Transport minister Chris Steel announced that Stage 2 would be divided into two parts: Stage 2A from Civic to Commonwealth Park just before Lake Burley Griffin, and Stage 2B to continue from Commonwealth Park to Woden across the lake.^[75]

Stage 2A

Ongoing construction

In November 2022, works to raise London Circuit commenced.^[83][84] These works reached "practical completion" in August 2025.^[85]

In late 2024, wire-free rail vehicles began to be used on the Stage 1 route, in preparation for their use once the Stage 2A extension becomes operational.^[65]

In February 2025, with the raising of London Circuit nearing completion, construction of the trackwork for Stage 2A commenced under a $577 million government contract with Capital Metro.^[86][87] The extension is expected to be operational by early 2028.^[88][3]

Stage 2B

Consideration of route options

Stage 2B, if pursued, will cross over Commonwealth Avenue Bridge and then travel to Woden predominately via Adelaide Avenue and Yarra Glen.

In May 2017, design options for several sections of the route (not yet divided between Stages 2A and 2B) were presented to the public for comment.^[89][90] There were two options for the section between Lake Burley Griffin and Adelaide Avenue: a deviation to Barton with proposed stops at Old Parliament House, Brisbane Avenue and Sydney Avenue; or a more direct route via the Capital Circle.^[91] An alternate terminus that would have extended the route to the Canberra Hospital was dropped in December 2017.

Route options for Stage 2 presented in May 2017

The longer route via Barton (Option 2) was selected by the ACT Government as the preferred route in April 2018.^[92] In March 2019, the Commonwealth Government offered its support for the extension to Woden, however, it favoured a different path around Capital Hill, arguing for a route along the State Circle (Option 1).^[93] A delay in the federal government response meant planning work for the line was postponed, though choosing to not pursue the Barton route could mean a simpler regulatory process.^[93]

In May 2026, following public consultation, the ACT Government announced that it had chosen the State Circle route (Option 1).^[94][95] This will include the construction of a tunnel from Commonwealth Avenue to ease the gradient and curve for light rail vehicles entering State Circle.^[96][97]

Stage 3: Belconnen to Canberra Airport

In October 2019, the ACT Government released its infrastructure plan which included stage 3 of light rail going from Belconnen to Canberra Airport via Civic, with the Civic–Belconnen section built first.^[102][103]

Stage 4: Woden to Tuggeranong

In October 2019, the ACT Government released its infrastructure plan which included stage 4 extending from Woden to Tuggeranong via Mawson.^[103]

Twenty-five-year vision

In October 2015, the ACT Government released a plan for a citywide light rail network that would be built over twenty-five years.^[104] The plan includes the following elements:^[105]