ACT Light Rail Stage 2A takes shape, with services to Commonwealth Park due in early 2028

Canberra's light rail is on its way to the lake. Light Rail Stage 2A extends the line 1.7 kilometres from the current terminus at Alinga Street to Commonwealth Park, with three new stops at Edinburgh Avenue, City South and Commonwealth Park and a new light rail bridge over Parkes Way.

The extension is being built by Canberra Metro, the consortium that already runs the line from Gungahlin, with design and construction by a joint venture of CPB Contractors and John Holland. Construction began in February 2025. The ACT Government expects major construction to finish in early 2027, followed by testing and commissioning, with regular passenger services to Commonwealth Park starting in early 2028. In July 2026 the government said the project remained on schedule.

Project at a glance

What has been built so far

Track is in the ground. The first Stage 2A rails went in during a month-long construction blitz in January 2026, connecting the existing network to the extension at the Alinga Street and Northbourne Avenue intersection. Rail has since been laid across the London Circuit and Commonwealth Avenue intersection, and track slab and rail installation continued along Edinburgh Avenue through July and August. The concrete track slab keeps the rails aligned and evenly worn, and further slab and rail work on London Circuit West and Commonwealth Avenue is scheduled for the rest of 2026.

The stops are taking shape. Platforms are visible at street level and the structures and canopies at the future City South and Commonwealth Park stops have been completed, with work continuing at Edinburgh Avenue.

The Parkes Way bridge has its deck. Crews poured 600 cubic metres of concrete in February 2026 to form the deck of the new light rail bridge over Parkes Way. The structure, which Infrastructure Canberra describes as weighing 775 tonnes, will link the city with Commonwealth Park and the Acton Waterfront.

Utilities and streetscape are being renewed along the way. A new water main has been installed beneath Commonwealth Avenue, which involved excavating about 1,000 tonnes of spoil and lifting more than 10 tonnes of pipework into place as a single unit. Wider, accessible footpaths have opened on London Circuit in front of the Sydney and Melbourne buildings.

Trees are going in. More than 140 trees will be planted along the alignment, many of them already over four metres tall after being grown at Yarralumla Nursery. Planting began in late August 2026, with the aim of lifting tree canopy cover along the route to more than 30 per cent. Sections of "green track", where the rails sit in a bed of grass or low plants rather than concrete, will also feature on London Circuit and Commonwealth Avenue.

Wire-free trams for the city section

The whole extension will run without overhead wires, to meet National Capital Authority requirements for a future connection through the Parliamentary Triangle. That relies on onboard energy storage systems: batteries that charge on wired sections of track and through regenerative braking.

In July 2026 the ACT Government confirmed that all 14 of Canberra's original light rail vehicles had been retrofitted with these systems, the first time the technology has been retrofitted onto light rail vehicles in Australia, with the work done in Canberra. They join five new CAF-built vehicles that arrived pre-fitted with the same systems and are already carrying passengers.

How Stage 2A is being delivered

Rather than a new standalone contract, Stage 2A is an augmentation of the existing Stage One public private partnership (PPP) with Canberra Metro. An augmentation means the original long-term contract is amended to take in the extension, so the same parties build it, operate it and maintain it alongside the existing line.

The ACT Government ran a sole-source process with Canberra Metro. It issued an augmentation brief in December 2022, received a proposal in June 2023 and an updated proposal in September 2023, and assessed both through a Cabinet-approved process with an assessment panel and an independent probity adviser. Contracts were signed on 14 December 2023.

According to the ACT's published contract summary, the government chose this route because it:

• manages the interface risk between building a new section and running an operating railway
• keeps one operator across the network, giving passengers a single-seat journey from Gungahlin to Commonwealth Park
• avoids the cost and complexity of terminating and re-tendering the Stage One operations concession

Because the work was not put to an open tender, its price was tested through that negotiated assessment rather than through competing bids. The ACT Government concluded the proposal represented value for money.

The commercial structure has four main parts:

1. A separate delivery company. A new entity, Canberra Metro 2A, finances, designs, builds, tests and commissions the extension. This ring-fences the construction risk of Stage 2A from the day-to-day operation of the Stage One line.
2. Private finance during construction. Canberra Metro 2A raised debt from local and international banks, with equity from John Holland, Pacific Partnerships and Aberdeen Infrastructure.
3. A one-off government payment at completion. When Stage 2A reaches services completion, the ACT Government pays a Territory Contribution of A$519.1 million, sized to pay off the construction debt in full.
4. Higher monthly payments for operations. Once services start, the existing Stage One monthly payments to Canberra Metro increase to cover operating, maintenance, life-cycle and equity costs for the extension. The combined line then runs as one system from Gungahlin to Commonwealth Park until the existing 20-year operating term ends in August 2038.

Who is building it

The groundwork: raising London Circuit

Stage 2A follows an earlier enabling project. Under a contract signed in July 2022, Abergeldie Contractors raised London Circuit by about six metres so it meets Commonwealth Avenue at a level intersection, replacing the old cloverleaf ramps. The A$60 million project has reached practical completion: London Circuit East reopened to traffic in both directions in May 2025, and new footpaths and cycle lanes between Constitution Avenue and Edinburgh Avenue are complete. London Circuit West remains closed to traffic while the light rail is built.

Part of the line to Woden

Stage 2A is the first part of the ACT's plan to take light rail south to Woden. For Stage 2B, from Commonwealth Park to Woden, the ACT Government has confirmed an alignment through the National Triangle and along the east side of State Circle, with nine new stops. The revised, final environmental impact statement was lodged with the Australian and ACT governments in June 2026, with an outcome expected by the end of the year. The government's project page says Stage 2B construction is expected to start from around 2030, subject to approvals and its procurement strategy. Our earlier article covers the Stage 2B alignment decision.

What to watch

1. London Circuit East partially reopening to traffic, which the ACT Government expects later in 2026.
2. Completion of trackwork on London Circuit West and Commonwealth Avenue, and the remaining stop works at Edinburgh Avenue.
3. Testing and commissioning through 2027, including the first wire-free runs on the new track.
4. First passenger services to Commonwealth Park in early 2028, the point at which the Territory Contribution falls due and the combined network begins operating as one system.
5. Stage 2B's environmental approval, expected by the end of 2026, and the procurement approach that follows.

With track down and the bridge and stops taking shape, Canberra's light rail is now a little more than a year from reaching the lake.

Published 11 October 2026 · Updated 4 October 2026