On 20 April, Canberra’s first light rail route was put into commercial operation on Gungahlin – City route, when the system transported 24,600 passengers. The 12-km LRT, served by 13 stops, links the northern town centre of Gungahlin with Canberra city centre, running along Northbourne Avenue, the Federal Highway and Flemington Road.
The PPP project was won by the Canberra Metro consortium under a contract for approximately 23 years that included the construction and operation of stage one of LRT network for 20 years. At the end of the contract term, the ACT Government will assume ownership of LRT network assets.
Canberra Metro is a consortium consisting of Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors, John Holland, UGL, Mitsubishi Corporation, Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments, DB Engineering & Consulting, CAF and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Ltd (MUFG).
The line is operated by Urbos trams, supplied by CAF which will also provide maintenance services. Under the contract, CAF delivered 14 Urbos 3 LRVs, made 5 modules based on the Urbos platform. These are 100% low floor bidirectional vehicles providing easy access and moving inside the tram for all users. The units are designed for the eventual retrofit of an on-board energy storage system which enables catenary-free running between stations.
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