Project History


We have come a long way since Walter Burley Griffin envisaged a city with north-south mass transit spine nearly 100 years ago.

2000 - 2010

Canberra began planning for a more integrated city in the early 2000s with the Sustainable Transport Plan (2004) identifying corridors for high capacity public transport.

We started a community conversation about Canberra’s future transport network that included light rail in 2007 and we followed this with a submission to Infrastructure Australia identifying the concept of a city-wide light rail network in our developing activity corridors.

2011 - 2015

A commitment to plan, finance and develop the first stage of Canberra’s light rail network came in 2012. Feasibility studies and investigations followed and informed the first Light Rail Masterplan in 2013.

The rapid growth in Canberra’s north identified the Gungahlin to City corridor as an ideal first stage. In 2013 the Capital Metro Agency was established as a dedicated organisation to plan, design and deliver Canberra’s first light rail route.

Significant consultation activities were undertaken with the community of Canberra to develop the urban design elements for stops, seating, artwork and landscaping. In parallel, one of the largest Environmental Impact Statements in Canberra’s history was prepared, publicly displayed and submitted to support the management of the Gungahlin to City project.

The construction delivery was completed via a Public Private Partnership model and consortia were invited to bid in 2014. Four consortia responded and two were shortlisted to submit detailed proposals in 2015.

2016 - 2019

Canberra Metro, a consortium of Pacific Partnerships, CPB contractors, John Holland, Mitsubishi Corporation and Aberdeen Infrastructure Investment, was appointed in mid-2016 as preferred contractor for the construction of light rail from Gungahlin to the City.

Canberra Metro formed part of Transport Canberra and City Services in July 2016 to guide the delivery of light rail as part of an integrated transport network.

From late 2016, planning for the light rail network expansion began within Transport Canberra and City Services. At the same time, Canberra Metro broke ground for construction of the light rail depot and the 12-kilometre alignment from Gungahlin to the City.

Community consultation on the potential routes for the expansion of light rail to Woden began in mid-2017.

The next component of light rail to Woden was the subject of a Commonwealth Inquiry in 2018/2019 due to the identified need to pass through national land.

Canberra Metro completed heavy construction on the Gungahlin to City alignment in January 2019 with operational testing completed by April 2019. Operations started on 20 April 2019, with more than one million passenger boardings in the first three months.

NOW

Following the success of Stage 1 the ACT Government is progressing the next stage of light rail. Major Projects Canberra was formed on 1 July 2019 to lead the next phase of the network's development, and is currently delivering Stage 2 light rail to Woden.