The federal government will spend almost $200 million on upgrades to Canberra’s light rail network.
Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said $181.2 million will be spent on a package which includes new light rail vehicles, retrofitting the existing fleet and expanding a depot.
The funding comes ahead of a likely extension of the light rail network across Lake Burley Griffin, through the parliamentary triangle and into Woden.
The new vehicles will arrive progressively from 2024, allowing the current ones to be upgraded without affecting the network.
Ms King said the funding showed the Commonwealth was committed to helping expand public transport in the nation’s capital.
“The Australian government understands the importance of investing in reliable and efficient transport to help commuters and travellers navigate their home,” she said.
“This is another significant step in a project that will reduce congestion and improve travel times.”
Of the $181 million, $129.6 million will be spent on the new light rail vehicles and expanding the depot.
The remaining $51.6 million has been allocated to operational and maintenance costs.
The existing light rail vehicles will be retrofitted with onboard batteries so they can travel on future wire-free sections of the network.
While the current network involves wires, extensions of the light rail are set to be wire-free.
ACT Transport Minister Chris Steel said the funding was a critical milestone.
“Moving to retrofit all existing light rail vehicles with onboard energy systems for wire-free running shows our commitment to delivering light rail,” he said.
“The five new vehicles will be built for Canberra’s future light rail system (and) will support the same high frequency services on the next stage that have been embraced by Canberrans on the first stage.”
Canberra’s light rail first opened to the public in 2019, running between Gungahlin in the ACT’s north and the city centre.
The federal government has already committed $132.5 million to the extension of the light rail from Civic to Commonwealth Park, which is expected to begin in 2024 and be completed by early 2026.
The light rail network is then expected to go across to Woden over Lake Burley Griffin, but would need to be approved by the National Capital Authority.
