ACT Light Rail Stage Two is a light rail project that will run from Civic in Canberra to Woden in the southern suburbs, via the Parliamentary Triangle. This will provide an extension to Stage One, which runs from the Canberra CBD to Gungahlin in the northern suburbs.
The line will be 11 kilometres long, with 12 new stops along the route.
Stage Two has been split into two stages:
- Stage 2A: City to Commonwealth Park (1.7 kilometres), and
- Stage 2B: Commonwealth Park to Woden (nine kilometres) – including the Parliamentary Triangle.
Stage Two also includes:
- construction of five new ligh rail vehicles
- retrofitting 14 vehicles with onboard batteries, and
- building an expanded depot at Mitchell (expected completion early 2024).
Enabling road works for Stage Two also include the $60 million Raising London Circuit project, which involves a series of works to raise the southern portion of London Circuit by six metres to form an at-grade intersection with Commonwealth Avenue (expected completition late 2024).
Key Dates
| 2023 | Contract Award - Stage 2A |
| 2024 | Expected Construction Commencement |
| 2028 | Expected Operations Commencement - Stage 2A |
| Dec 2033 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
| Federal Government | |
| Federal Government | |
| ACT Government |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | ACT Government |
| Successful Tenderer: | Stage 2A: Canberra Metro consortium consisting of Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors, John Holland, UGL, Mitsubishi Corporation, Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments, DB Engineering & Consulting, CAF and MUFG |
| Procurement note: | Contract negotiations expected to be undertaken with Canberra Metro, the builder and operator of Light Rail Stage One. Canberra Metro is a consortium comprising Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors, John Holland, UGL, Mitsubishi Corporation, Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments, DB Engineering & Consulting (formerly Deutsche Bahn International), CAF, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| 2015 | ACT Light Rail Master Plan was released, which included Stage One and Stage Two among other future rail corridors. |
| 2016 | ACT Government made an election commitment to extend the light rail through to Woden. |
| 2017 | Four potential routes were identified for Stage Two. |
| 2018 | Preferred route (City-Parkes-Barton-Adelaide Ave-Woden) was announced. |
| 2018 | 2018-19 ACT Budget allocated $12.5 million to the project. |
| Jul 2018 | Planning approval for Stage Two is split in two to better deal with complex planning approval through the parliamentary triangle. |
| 2019 | 2019-20 ACT Budget allocates $18 million in capital expenditure for 2019-20. |
| Aug 2020 | In the 2020 ACT Jobs and Economic Recovery Plan, the ACT Government allocated $24 million over 2020-21, with provisions for another $312 million over the following three years for design and construction of Stage Two. |
| Feb 2021 | The 2020-21 ACT Budget allocated $29 million toward the ACT Light Rail Stage Two with provisions for additional funding. $1.3 million was also provided to assess the feasibility of extending the line from Woden to Mawson. |
| Feb 2021 | The Federal Government announced $132.5 million for Stage 2A. |
| Mar 2021 | Procurement process for Commercial Advisory Services closed on 18 March. |
| Apr 2021 | The ACT Government announced AECOM has been selected to facilitate the design and planning approvals for Stage 2A and 2B. |
| Aug 2022 | The ACT Government awarded a contract to the Canberra Metro consortium for $181 million to deliver and operate five additional light rail vehicles (LRVs), upgrade Canberra’s existing light rail fleet and expand the Mitchell depot. Under the contract, CAF will deliver five new LRVs from 2024, and upgrade the existing light rail fleet of 14 vehicles with onboard batteries to operate on the new ACT Light Rail Stage Two line. |
| Oct 2022 | The 2022-23 October Federal Budget allocated $218.4 million to Stage 2 of the project, an increase of $86 million in Commonwealth funding. |
| Dec 2023 | The main works contract for the delivery of Stage 2A of the project was awarded to Canberra Metro. |
ACT Infrastructure Plan update 2016-17
ACT Jobs and Economic Recovery Plan
