ACT Government Completes Raising London Circuit and Advances Track Laying on Canberra Light Rail Stage 2A

Engineering Breakthrough Unlocks Canberra's Southern Light Rail Corridor

CANBERRA, Australian Capital Territory — In a momentous civil engineering triumph for the nation's capital, the ACT Government and Major Projects Canberra have officially completed the monumental Raising London Circuit project, clearing the path for track laying on the transformative $575 million Canberra Light Rail Stage 2A extension from the City Centre to Commonwealth Park. The milestone marks the successful transformation of Canberra's central road geometry, paving the way for sustainable mass transit across the central civic basin.

Raising London Circuit required an intricate civil operation involving the placement of more than 60,000 cubic metres of engineered fill to raise the road level by up to six metres on the western side of Commonwealth Avenue. By replacing cloverleaf freeway ramps built in the 1960s with a grand, pedestrian-friendly signalized boulevard intersection, the project seamlessly unites Canberra’s City Centre with the lake foreshore, establishing a pedestrian-first gateway designed to Walter Burley Griffin’s historic civic vision.

Three Brand-New Stations and Wire-Free Onboard Energy Storage

Canberra Light Rail Stage 2A extends the highly successful Gungahlin-to-City line southwards by 1.7 kilometres, introducing three brand-new, architecturally bespoke passenger stops: Edinburgh Avenue, City South, and Commonwealth Park. Built to universal accessibility guidelines, the stations feature tactile guidance pavers, architectural timber-and-glass waiting canopies, passenger emergency call points, digital real-time timetable screens, and integrated ticket vending machines.

A standout technological feature of Stage 2A is the deployment of cutting-edge wire-free onboard battery energy storage systems (OESS) on the modern CAF Urbos 100 light rail vehicle fleet. Because the rail corridor traverses sensitive heritage vistas along Commonwealth Avenue, overhead catenary wires will be eliminated across this segment. Trams will automatically raise pantographs at designated charging stations to replenish lithium-ion battery modules in seconds, gliding quietly and without overhead wires across heritage landscapes.

Environmental Innovation with Living Green Turf Trackbeds

Delivered by civil construction consortium Canberra Metro, the rail alignment incorporates extensive stretches of 'green track' technology. Instead of traditional concrete or stone ballast, the steel rails are embedded within lush, living turf and drought-tolerant groundcover irrigated with non-potable rainwater harvesting systems.

Green tracks significantly dampen wheel-rail noise and operational vibrations, absorb stormwater runoff, and reduce the urban heat island effect across the city center. Construction crews are currently embedding precision continuous welded steel rails into engineered concrete track slabs along London Circuit, ensuring structural durability and ride comfort for decades to come.

Connecting Canberra's Cultural Heartland and Shaping the Stage 2B Extension

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Transport Minister leaders underscored that Stage 2A represents the essential stepping stone toward the long-envisioned Stage 2B extension across Lake Burley Griffin to the Parliamentary Triangle and Woden Town Centre. By providing reliable, rapid, zero-emission mass transit directly to major national events at Commonwealth Park—including the world-famous Floriade festival—Canberra Light Rail Stage 2A elevates civic connectivity, curtails roadway carbon emissions, and underpins the sustainable growth of Australia's capital.