Canberra Light Rail is the first part of the Australian Capital Territory’s light rail network connecting the northern suburb of Gungahlin to Civic along Flemington Road, the Federal Highway and Canberra’s major northern access, Northbourne Avenue. The 12km long route includes 13 stops linking current and future development along the corridor including the inner north commercial centre of Dickson and the integrated bus interchange.
AECOM was engaged to perform design services on behalf of a John Holland and CPB construction joint venture. These included the detailed design of the 12km of track alignment and track slab and all road infrastructure and furniture including drainage along the Federal Highway and Northbourne Avenue as well as utilities relocations, combined services routes, traction power sub-stations civil engineering, overhead wiring foundations and street lighting. AECOM also undertook the design of a buried bridge structure at Dickson and the mechanical, electrical and hydraulic building services within the depot.
Working closely with SMEC, Architectus, DSB Landscape Design and others, AECOM was instrumental in setting up efficient processes within the project. In addition to facing the challenge of working with known and unknown buried services and utilities, the team also had to adapt to a fast moving design environment with changing scope and timeframes. By working closely with the operator and the construction team, AECOM and its partners successfully overcame these challenges to provide solutions that met project requirements.
AECOM’s strong local Canberra experience delivering transport and infrastructure projects for the ACT Government was beneficial in understanding the overall transport and urban renewal strategy and being able to integrate improvements for the existing and aging infrastructure.
Canberra Light Rail provides the Canberra community with a fast, direct public transport outcome. The removal of buses from Northbourne Avenue has also provided a safer active travel environment for cyclists.
The project has been a catalyst for sustainable development along the Northbourne corridor.
The Canberra Metro was delivered under a consortium consisting of Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors, John Holland, UGL, Mitsubishi Corporation, Aberdeen Infrastructure Investments, DB Engineering, CAF and Mitsubishi. The first stage of the light rail opened for service in April 2019.