ACT Government Completes Station Canopies and Installs Wire-Free Green Track on Canberra Light Rail Stage 2A Linking City South to Commonwealth Park

Crucial Construction Milestones Reached Across the Nation’s Capital

CANBERRA, Australian Capital Territory — The ACT Government and delivery partner Canberra Metro have achieved major civil milestones on the Canberra Light Rail Stage 2A extension, as structural steel station canopies were permanently erected at the new City South and Commonwealth Park stops. Extending the successful Stage 1 network 1.7 kilometres south from the Alinga Street terminus, Stage 2A represents the vital first link connecting Canberra’s central civic precinct to the Lake Burley Griffin foreshore and the National Triangle.

Concurrent with station canopy fabrication, construction crews have completed deep subgrade leveling and track installations across the raised London Circuit and Commonwealth Avenue intersections, keeping the major infrastructure asset firmly on target for planned passenger operations in early 2028.

Wire-Free Battery Propulsion Protects Canberra’s Parliamentary Vista

A hallmark technological breakthrough of Stage 2A is the deployment of wire-free light rail operations. To preserve the iconic aesthetic and statutory heritage vistas designed by Walter Burley Griffin across the parliamentary triangle, overhead catenary wires have been completely eliminated from the alignment south of London Circuit.

The existing fleet of CAF Urbos light rail vehicles is being retrofitted with state-of-the-art On-Board Energy Storage Systems (OBESS) utilizing high-capacity lithium-ion battery modules. These onboard energy storage units recharge rapidly while docked at catenary-powered northern stops and via regenerative braking, allowing vehicles to traverse the southern corridor entirely under zero-emission battery power.

Innovative Living 'Green Track' and Revitalized Pedestrian Boulevards

In addition to wire-free overhead corridors, Stage 2A introduces Canberra's first sustainable 'green track' installations. Specially engineered turf and resilient native groundcovers are being planted between the steel rails, replacing traditional industrial concrete track slabs with living botanical strips that absorb acoustic vibrations, filter stormwater runoff, and reduce the urban heat island effect across the city centre.

Surrounding streetscapes are undergoing extensive public realm enhancements. Expanded, fully accessible pedestrian promenades have been opened in front of the historic Sydney and Melbourne heritage buildings, featuring energy-efficient architectural lighting, permeable paving bricks, and newly planted Australian native street trees that create sheltered walking and cycling avenues.

Connecting Civic Centres to the Lake Burley Griffin Waterfront

ACT transport ministers and urban planning authorities emphasized that Stage 2A serves as the indispensable stepping stone toward Stage 2B—the long-term extension crossing Lake Burley Griffin to Woden. By bringing dependable electric light rail directly to major cultural institutions, parklands, and event hubs around Commonwealth Park, the project stimulates tourism, decreases vehicle congestion on central bridges, and anchors sustainable transit-oriented urban growth for the capital's expanding population.