The Canberra light rail network, also known as Canberra Metro, is a
light rail system serving the city of
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
, Australia. The initial line links the northern town centre of
Gungahlin to the
city centre (Civic) and has 14 stops. Services commenced on 20 April 2019. The 14th stop at Sandford Street in Mitchell commenced operation in September 2021.
An extension of the line south to the
Woden Town Centre is currently being planned. Early works on the southern extension (Stage 2A to Commonwealth Park) are set to commence in 2021 with plans due for submission around October. Planning of the remainder of the extension (Stage 2B to Woden) will continue while construction of Stage 2A is underway. This political decision has made many older Canberrans continually upset for ruining the ‘Bush capital’ while majority understand infrastructure is an important part of growth.
History
Background
Walter Burley Griffin
Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876February 11, 1937) was an American architect and landscape architect. He is known for designing Canberra, Australia's capital city and the New South Wales towns of Griffith and Leeton. He has been cred ...
's master plan for
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
proposed the construction of a tram network. The proposal did not eventuate and the city was exclusively served by buses from 1926, when the
Canberra City Omnibus Service was introduced, until 2019.
While railways across Canberra, including one to
Belconnen
The District of Belconnen () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), used in land administration. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Belconne ...
were seriously considered until the mid-1960s, little discussion of a metropolitan tramway occurred until the 1990s. Prior to 1989, the ACT had been directly administered by the
Federal Government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...
thus any large public infrastructure expenditure in Canberra was subject to national scrutiny.
In the early 1990s, Canberra Land proposed a line from Canberra Racecourse via
Northbourne Avenue
Northbourne Avenue is a major road in Canberra, Australia. It extends from City Hill in the south, to the Federal Highway in the north.
It is a north–south running road which has three lanes for motorised traffic, and one lane for bicycl ...
to
Civic with
Melbourne tram B2089 displayed in February 1992.
A light rail connection for
Gungahlin was proposed as far back as 1992. An eight year old Canberran proposed the idea of a tram line to the newly announced, but undeveloped town centre of Gungahlin in April 1992. In October 1992 a syndicate of private land developers MBA Land and Consolidated Builders (together known as Canberra Land) incorporated rail into an urban village plan. The Gungahlin proposal followed a 1991
Murdoch University
Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...
report, ''Towards a More Sustainable Canberra'', which suggested the city was too car-oriented and should implement a light rail system along the Y-Plan. In 1993 a report by Maunsell-Denis Johnston and Associates found that a dedicated inter-town busway was a more viable transport option for Canberra than light rail.
In 1994, the
ACT Government
The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive authority of the Australian Capital Territory, one of the territories of Australia. The lead ...
commissioned a study into light rail, based on the findings of an independent report that light rail would be viable in Canberra by 1998. In its detailed report consultants
Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (informally Booz Allen) is the parent of Booz Allen Hamilton Inc., an American management and information technology consulting firm, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in Greater Washington, D.C., with ...
recommended a route from
Belconnen
The District of Belconnen () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), used in land administration. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Belconne ...
to
Barton via the
City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and
Kings Avenue Bridge be operating by 1998;
Woden
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, ...
to Barton by 2000;
Tuggeranong to Woden by 2002 and Gungahlin to City by 2004. Routes to
Canberra Airport and
Queanbeyan
Queanbeyan ( ) is a city in the south-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia, located adjacent to the Australian Capital Territory in the Southern Tablelands region. Located on the Queanbeyan River, the city is the council seat of the ...
received a lower priority. By January 1995 the then ACT Liberal Opposition Leader,
Kate Carnell
Anne Katherine Carnell (née Knowlman; born 30 May 1955) is an Australian businesswoman and former Liberal Party politician, who served as the third Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) from 1995 to 2000.
Early life and ...
, announced her party's opposition to the light rail proposal citing "suspect" patronage figures and questioned the report's projected population for Canberra-Queanbeyan of 474,000 by 2016. Projections in 2017 for the Canberra-Queanbeyan population, forecast the metropolitan area reaching 474,000 between 2020 and 2023, four to seven years later than the 1995 projections. In 1995, the ACT Liberal Party came to power and plans for a light rail system in Canberra were dropped.
In February 1998, the
ACT Government
The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive authority of the Australian Capital Territory, one of the territories of Australia. The lead ...
announced its support for the Federation Line, a proposed line from the
National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia, in the national capital Canberra, preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. It was formally established by the ''National Muse ...
via Civic to the
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving per ...
. The line was proposed to use heritage trams.
In September 2001, to try to garner support for the project,
Melbourne tram W249 and
Sydney tram R2001 were placed on display outside the Australian War Memorial, the latter operating on a 50-metre section of track and being powered by a diesel generator. In a further display in September 2003, W249 operated on an 80-metre section of track on
Parkes Way
Parkes Way is a major road in Canberra, Australia, which runs east-west between Kings Avenue and the Glenloch Interchange. At Glenloch Interchange it intersects with William Hovell Drive, Tuggeranong Parkway, and Caswell Drive ( Gungahlin Driv ...
.
In August 2012, an ACT Government submission to Infrastructure Australia estimated that bus rapid transit (BRT) had roughly twice the benefit-cost ratio of light rail transit (LRT) under a wide range of assumptions. However, the Government decided on light rail, relying partly on a triple bottom line evaluation by URS which found that light rail had higher social benefits and a better overall outcome. Capital Metro Minister Simon Corbell responded to criticism by stating "City building is about more than simply economic logarithms."
Development
The construction of the light rail line was part of a deal struck between the
Labor Party and
The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to:
Current political parties
*Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens''
* Greens of Andorra
* Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina
*Greens of Burkina
* Greens (Greece)
* Greens of Montenegro
* Greens of Serbia
* G ...
following the
2012 Australian Capital Territory Election, at which Labor required Greens support to form government. In the 2013/14 ACT budget, $5 million was allocated for early design work. 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
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichke ...
. Expressions of interest were received from the following consortia:
*ACTivate:
Downer Group
Downer Group is an integrated services company active in Australia and New Zealand.
Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and New Zealand Stock Exchange as Downer EDI (DOW), Downer is an ASX 100 company.
Downer Group employs approxima ...
,
Plenary Group
Plenary Group is an Australian infrastructure investment business specialising in public–private partnerships. It was founded in 2004 by three former ABN Amro employees, with Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simpl ...
,
Bombardier and
Keolis Downer
Keolis Downer is a joint venture between Keolis, the largest private sector French transport group, and Downer Rail, an Australian railway engineering company, that operates bus and tram services in Australia.
History
In June 2009, the Govern ...
*Canberra Metro:
Pacific Partnerships,
Mitsubishi Corporation
is Japan's largest trading company ( sogo shosha) and a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. As of 2022, Mitsubishi Corporation employs over 80,000 people and has ten business segments, including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemicals, ...
,
John Holland,
CAF,
Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the ...
,
Aberdeen Asset Management,
Leighton Contractors, and
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
is the largest bank in Japan. It was established on January 1, 2006, following the merger of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. and UFJ Bank Ltd. MUFG is one of the three so-called Japanese "megabanks" (along with SMBC and Mizuho). As such, ...
*CANGO:
Macquarie Capital Group,
Obrascon Huarte Lain,
SMRT International,
UGL Rail
UGL Rail is an Australian rail company specialising in building, maintaining and refurbishing diesel locomotives, diesel and electric multiple units and freight wagons. It is a subsidiary of UGL Limited and is based in Melbourne, with a staff of ...
and
Siemens
*Connecting Canberra: Capella Capital,
Transdev
Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020.
History
The group was formed by the merger of ...
,
Alstom
Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avel ...
and
Acciona Infrastructure
In March 2015, the government announced that ACTivate and Canberra Metro had been selected to move on to the Request for Proposal stage of the procurement process. The bidders submitted their final proposals for the
Gungahlin to the city route on 4 September and had an additional four weeks to submit their proposals for a potential expansion of the project, from the city to
Russell
Russell may refer to:
People
* Russell (given name)
* Russell (surname)
* Lady Russell (disambiguation)
* Lord Russell (disambiguation)
Places Australia
* Russell, Australian Capital Territory
* Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation)
...
. The Canberra Metro consortium was announced as the preferred tenderer in February 2016 and the contract was finalised in May.
Under the contract, Canberra Metro will operate and maintain the line for 20 years, after which ownership will pass to the ACT Government.
Design and construction costs was budgeted at $707 million.[ The Federal Government contributed $67 million to the project.][ 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. Major construction of the route itself began towards the end of the year.]
The opposition Liberal Party opposed the project, so did the Like Canberra and Sustainable Australia
The Sustainable Australia Party (officially registered as Sustainable Australia Party – Stop Overdevelopment / Corruption), formerly the Sustainable Population Party, is an Australian political party. Formed in 2010, it describes itself as being ...
parties. In April 2015, the party announced it would cancel any contracts for the light rail if it won the 2016 ACT election. A year out from the poll, the light rail project was already predicted to be the election's major issue. As predicted, the light rail project was the major issue of the campaign. The election saw the Labor government returned, with the party claiming the result as an endorsement of the project.
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 transferred to the TCCS.
Testing of the line began in June 2018. A section in Gungahlin was electrified and one of the trams made trial runs. All 14 trams have arrived in Canberra and it was hoped to have the project completed by the end of 2018. 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.
Route
The line has its northern terminus at Hibberson Street in Gungahlin, and follows Flemington Road, the Federal Highway Federal Highways and Federal Routes can be found in:
*Australia: Federal Highway
*Brazil: Brazilian Federal Highway and Brazilian Highway System
*Germany: ''Bundesstraßen''
*Malaysia: Federal Highway and Malaysian Federal Roads System
*Mexi ...
and Northbourne Avenue
Northbourne Avenue is a major road in Canberra, Australia. It extends from City Hill in the south, to the Federal Highway in the north.
It is a north–south running road which has three lanes for motorised traffic, and one lane for bicycl ...
to the southern terminus between Alinga and Rudd Streets in the City Centre
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fre ...
. It is double track for its full length.[ Emergency crossovers are located to the south of the Dickson Interchange stop, as well as the north of the Nullarbor Avenue stop.] There are 14 stops. The main bus interchanges are located at Gungahlin Place, Dickson Interchange and Alinga Street.[
,
]
Stops
The Sandford Street light rail stop commenced construction in 2020 and opened on 16 September 2021.[
]
Operation
The service is operated by Canberra Metro Operations (CMET), in association with Deutsche Bahn
The (; abbreviated as DB or DB AG) is the national railway company of Germany. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). The Federal Republic of Germany is its single shareholder.
describes itself as the ...
Engineering and Consulting, under a 20-year contract.[ CMET is a joint venture between John Holland and Pacific Partnerships, both of whom are part of the Canberra Metro consortium.
CMET holds the contract to operate the light rail until at least 2036.] Formed in 2016,[ASIC Company Registry; ACN 612 397 485] it is a partnership between John Holland and Pacific Partnerships in association with Deutsche Bahn Engineering and Consulting. CMET commenced operations on April 20, 2019 with the completion of the first stage of the project.
CMET is part of the Canberra Metro Consortium, acting as the operations component of the group, with both its owners also being equity providers. CMET does not actually contract with the ACT Government
The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive authority of the Australian Capital Territory, one of the territories of Australia. The lead ...
, rather it contracts with Canberra Metro PC Pty Limited (Canberra Metro) to provide service on its lines, who then contract with the Canberra Metro Agency to manage the project and provide services to the city.
The contract specifies the following minimum service levels for hours of operation and service frequency:[
]
Rolling stock
14 CAF built Urbos 3 trams operate on the system. CAF will also provide twenty years of maintenance for the fleet. The trams are long and consist of five modules. There are four doors on each side of the vehicle, two single leaf and two double leaf doors. The first tram was delivered in December 2017. The vehicles feature a red and grey livery, with white reflective stripe in the middle. The depot is located in Mitchell.
Control system
Tehnika's t-visor RAIL platform, also used on the Gold Coast Light Rail, provides the operators with a single, centralised control system. This encompasses the automatic vehicle location, traffic signalling priority, traction power & infrastructure SCADA
Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) is a control system architecture comprising computers, networked data communications and graphical user interfaces for high-level supervision of machines and processes. It also covers sensors and ...
, CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
and passenger information systems, amongst others.
Potential extensions
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
Russell may refer to:
People
* Russell (given name)
* Russell (surname)
* Lady Russell (disambiguation)
* Lord Russell (disambiguation)
Places Australia
* Russell, Australian Capital Territory
* Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation)
...
via London Circuit
London Circuit is a road in Canberra, Australia, which surrounds City Hill in Civic, the city centre. It has a hexagonal shape, and intersects with several main roads such as Northbourne Avenue (), Edinburgh Avenue (), Akuna Street (), Constit ...
and Constitution Avenue
Constitution Avenue is a major east–west street in the northwest and northeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was originally known as B Street, and its western section was greatly lengthened and widened bet ...
. This additional 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. 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 prior to 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
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
.
Stage 2: Civic to Woden
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:
* City to Canberra Airport via Constitution Avenue
Constitution Avenue is a major east–west street in the northwest and northeast quadrants of the city of Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was originally known as B Street, and its western section was greatly lengthened and widened bet ...
& Parkes Way
Parkes Way is a major road in Canberra, Australia, which runs east-west between Kings Avenue and the Glenloch Interchange. At Glenloch Interchange it intersects with William Hovell Drive, Tuggeranong Parkway, and Caswell Drive ( Gungahlin Driv ...
* City to Belconnen Town Centre via Barry Drive past Calvary Hospital & the University of Canberra
The University of Canberra (UC) is a public research university with its main campus located in Bruce, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The campus is within walking distance of Westfield Belconnen, and from Canberra's Civic Centre. UC ...
* City to the Parliamentary Triangle
The National Triangle, which is referred to as the Parliamentary Triangle, is the ceremonial precinct of Canberra, containing some of Australia's most significant buildings. The National Triangle is formed by Commonwealth, Kings and Constitutio ...
via either Commonwealth Avenue or Kings Avenue
* City to Mawson via Woden
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, ...
.
In September 2016, the government selected a truncated version of the Mawson route that ends at Woden as its preferred second stage project. The route is around long. Tenders to design various aspects of the project were called in November. 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
The Commonwealth Avenue Bridge are two parallel pre-stressed concrete box girder road bridges that carry Commonwealth Avenue across Lake Burley Griffin, and connect and in Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
History
T ...
to cross Lake Burley Griffin
Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was completed in 1963 after the Molonglo River, which ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle, was dammed. It is named after Walt ...
. More concrete plans were released in May 2017. South of Lake Burley Griffin, the route will predominantly travel via Adelaide Avenue and Yarra Glen. Design options for several sections of the route that had yet to be locked in were presented to the public for comment. An option that would have extended the route to the Canberra Hospital was dropped in December 2017.
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. The longer route via Barton was selected by the ACT Government as the preferred route in April 2018. 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. 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. The ACT Government is now investigating the State Circle route, which involves some technical challenges due to steep gradients for light rail.
When construction of stage 1 began, construction of stage 2 was planned to begin shortly after the completion of the first stage. The Federal Government will be invited to make a contribution to the project as part of the government's City Deals program.
In July 2019, the new ACT Transport minister Chris Steel announced that stage 2 would be divided into 2 parts, 2A to stop before Lake Burley Griffin at Commonwealth Park and 2B to continue across the lake to Woden.
In mid July 2019, the ACT Government submitted a referral to the Australian Department of Environment and Energy for stage 2A, covering the extension from Civic to Commonwealth Park as well as an expansion of the depot in Mitchell. In September, the ACT Government approved the business case for stage 2A, confirming the three new stops on the route which will also require London Circuit
London Circuit is a road in Canberra, Australia, which surrounds City Hill in Civic, the city centre. It has a hexagonal shape, and intersects with several main roads such as Northbourne Avenue (), Edinburgh Avenue (), Akuna Street (), Constit ...
being raised at Commonwealth Avenue where the light rail will travel. According to the stage 2A business case, from the Alinga Street Stop to the Commonwealth Park Stop will be about 6 minutes. The signing of contracts for stage 2A was delayed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In mid July 2019, the ACT Government submitted a referral to the Australian Department of Environment and Energy for stage 2B, covering the extension from Commonwealth Park to Woden.
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
The District of Belconnen () is one of the original eighteen districts of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), used in land administration. The district is subdivided into 27 divisions (suburbs), sections and blocks. The district of Belconne ...
to Canberra Airport via Civic, with the Civic–Belconnen section built first.
Stage 4: Woden to Tuggeranong
In October 2019, the ACT Government released its infrastructure plan which included stage 4 extending from Woden
Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, ...
to Tuggeranong via Mawson.[
]
Twenty-five year vision
In October 2015, the ACT Government released a plan for a citywide light rail network that would be built over a period of twenty-five years. The plan includes the following elements:
References
External links
Transport Canberra - Light Rail
{{TramsAustralia
Deutsche Bahn
Light rail in Australia
Canberra Metro
Transport in Canberra
2019 establishments in Australia