NEXT STAGES OF CANBERRA'S LIGHT RAIL RELEASED
23 Jul 2025
Canberra’s light rail route continues to expand with plans revealed to take the service around Parliament House and then south to a new university campus at Woden. Planning documents for Stage 2B have been released and detail precincts based around stops at Commonwealth Avenue, Parliament House, Inner South, Yarra Glen and Woden.
The plans include a new bridge between the existing Commonwealth Avenue bridges that will carry the light rail over Lake Burley Griffin. New stations are expected to be built at Woden Public Transport Interchange, Phillip Oval, Carruthers Street, Kent Street, Hopetoun Circuit, Melbourne Avenue and Sydney Avenue.
The vision shows how the roundabout connecting Woden to Yarra Glen will be transformed into a major intersection to allow the light rail to continue on. It also shows the line travelling around Parliament House via a tunnel.
Other modifications include improved lighting, a new pedestrian bridge and relocated "active travel path" near the Phillip Oval stop.
"It's a once-in-a-generation project for the ACT, so it's really important that the ACT community understand what we're proposing," explained Anthony Haraldson of Infrastructure Canberra.
The first stage of Canberra’s light rail from Gungahlin Place to Alinga Street in the city opened in 2019. The 1.7km Stage 2A is now under construction and expected to be complete by 2027. Once complete, construction on Stage 2B to Woden is expected to start and open in 2033, which will support “more housing, new public spaces and better multi-use precincts”, the Federal Government said.
