Light Rail Stage 2B: Commonwealth Park to Woden

On this page

• Project overview
• Planning and approvals
• Alignment
• Community and stakeholder input

Project overview

Light Rail Stage 2B: Commonwealth Park to Woden (Stage 2B) would extend Canberra’s light rail network to complete a north-south public transport link from Gungahlin, through the City centre and on to Woden.

Extending light rail further south would give more people more transport options, help reduce traffic congestion and support Canberra’s transition to a zero emissions future.

It aligns with planning work that has commenced on the Southern Gateway Corridor.

The development of the Southern Gateway Planning and Design Framework (the framework) will establish an integrated land-use and transport plan for the extension of Canberra’s mass-transit light rail line to Woden.

More housing, commercial activity, active travel and public transport connections as well as improvements to landscape, streets and public spaces are all being considered as part of the framework.

Stage 2B would deliver nine new stops between Commonwealth Park and Woden. Light rail vehicles will cross Lake Burley Griffin via a new bridge constructed between the existing Commonwealth Avenue bridges, travel through the National Triangle, and along Adelaide Avenue and Yarra Glen.

Light rail, as part of an integrated active travel network, would better connect Canberra’s north and south to meet the growing population’s future transport needs.

Planning and approvals

Design, planning and approvals work on Stage 2B is progressing.

Careful and considerate planning will help preserve the National Triangle’s cultural and heritage significance, maintain the well-known vistas that Canberra is known for, and ensure Canberran’s have access to a reliable and convenient transport option.

This complex project requires several Australian and ACT government environmental and planning approvals, including:

• Approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) for the whole project, because of potential impacts to significantly affect matters of national environmental significance protected under that Act
• Development approval under the Planning Act 2023 (ACT) (Planning Act) for works on Territory land
• Works Approval under the Planning and Land Management Act 1988 (Cth) (PaLM Act) for works in Designated Areas
• Approval under the Parliament Act 1974 (Cth) (Parliament Act) from both Houses of the Commonwealth Parliament for those parts of the Project within the Parliamentary Zone.

Environmental Impact Statement

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been prepared as a requirement of the assessment and approvals processes under the EPBC Act and the Planning Act. It provides an environmental assessment of the Project and seeks to comply with various legislative requirements.

In 2025, Infrastructure Canberra submitted a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to both the Australian and ACT governments for approval. The draft EIS was on exhibition for 45 business days between 7 July 2025 and 5 September 2025. Submissions will be used to inform revisions to the draft EIS, where appropriate.

Infrastructure Canberra is considering all submissions and will publish a submissions report alongside the revised, final EIS for consideration by both the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) and the Territory Planning Authority (TPA).

The final EIS will include a report that outlines:

• the submissions and representations
• the issues raised
• a response to the issues
• key project amendments made to the Draft EIS in response to submissions.

The final EIS will be lodged again to DCCEEW and TPA for consideration and approval. This process will determine if the project can proceed and if so, under what conditions.

The final EIS will be made publicly available, and Infrastructure Canberra will notify those who made submissions. At the time of submission, community members were provided with a submission ID which can be used to find the response to their submission in the report.

If the EIS is accepted under the Planning Act 2023 and approved with conditions under the EPBC Act, the project will progress a Development Application to the Territory Planning Authority, and a Works Approval submission to the National Capital Authority.

Visit the digital EIS platform to read the draft EIS or explore the interactive EIS map.

Alignment

The ACT Government confirmed the alignment for Light Rail to Woden: Stage 2B in May 2026.

This change moves the proposed Melbourne Avenue stop and tracks from the median of State Circle to the inner verge, helping to retain existing parking arrangements and reduce disruption to the road network and nearby residents and businesses.

The ACT Government is also proposing an ‘inner running’ arrangement on State Circle between Sydney Avenue and Adelaide Avenue.

Following the public exhibition of the Stage 2B draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in 2025 the State Circle East alignment was confirmed viable for delivering the light rail extension.

Proposed stops on Commonwealth Avenue and State Circle would be located within a 10-minute walk of key business, residential and cultural destinations.

The draft EIS assessed the ACT Government’s preferred alignment, State Circle East, and an alternative alignment through the National Triangle and Barton.

The State Circle East alignment features a direct route between the City and Woden, and the significant destinations in between, supporting more trips to the city, and is consistent with the National Capital Plan’s Inter-Town Public Transport System, offering a less complex approvals pathway for the project.

To inform the alignment decision, the ACT Government, as part of the EIS process, considered the project’s concept design, environmental and social benefits and impacts, and community and stakeholder feedback, for both alignments.

The alternative National Triangle-Barton alignment was considered to allow the project to progress if the preferred State Circle East alignment was ruled out. This alignment will be retired and will not progress through further approvals processes.