Light rail Stage 2 construction accelerates through Woden corridor

Construction on Canberra's light rail Stage 2 extension has intensified through the Woden corridor, with Transport Canberra reporting that civil works on the critical Commonwealth Avenue section are progressing on schedule after early delays caused by underground utility conflicts that required extended design resolution before tunnelling could proceed.

The Stage 2 extension will link the current Alinga Street terminus in the city centre to the Woden Town Centre, extending the network by 12.5 kilometres and adding ten new stations through the Parliamentary Triangle, through Barton, Kingston, and along Adelaide Avenue through Deakin to the Woden terminus.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr described the milestone as "transformational for southern Canberra connectivity," noting that Woden residents would, for the first time, have a direct light rail connection to the city centre that avoids the road congestion that makes bus travel on the Southern Cross Drive corridor unreliable during peak periods.

The project has attracted significant interest from property developers, with the planning applications for medium and high-density residential and commercial development along the Stage 2 corridor having grown substantially since the project's confirmed commencement. Planning authorities have noted the pipeline of transit-oriented development applications as consistent with the government's policy intent for the Stage 2 corridor.

Completion of Stage 2 is targeted for 2028, ahead of the planned commencement of Stage 2B that will extend the network to Tuggeranong. The full network, when complete, is intended to provide light rail connectivity between Tuggeranong in the south and the Gungahlin corridor in the north.

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