Released 06/02/2020
Canberra’s light rail service is proving to be even more popular than ever expected. To keep up with demand, the peak travel periods in the morning and afternoon have now been expanded and further improvements are planned as part of the new public transport network the Government is introducing in term 2.
“More than 15,000 boardings are being made every day on light rail which is ahead of what we expected in 2021, let alone today,” said Minister for Transport, Chris Steel.
“Light rail has been a huge success, with 3.5 million boardings since it started last year and we want to encourage even more people to get on board.
“Due to its popularity, we are also seeing some crowding on light rail in both the morning and afternoons.”
“This is a good problem to have, but it is still a problem, and that’s why we are increasing the frequency of services during the morning peaks to every 5 minutes from term 2.
“To meet demand, we have extended frequent services in the mornings and afternoon peaks from this week with further extensions to come.
“More light rail services will help improve connections from buses at Dickson and other stops, and provide a more comfortable trip for passengers from Gungahlin to the City.”
This week the following changes have begun:
- a half hour extension of the southbound morning peak services (every 6-minutes) from 7am – 9.30am(previously7am – 9am); and
- afternoon peak services (every 6-minutes) have been extended from from 3pm – 6.30pm (northbound)(previously 4pm – 6pm) and from 3.30pm to 6pm (southbound) (previously 4pm - 5.30pm)
From term 2, further changes for light rail services will commence:
- frequency will be increased to every 5-minutes during the morning weekday peak;
- the afternoon weekday peak period (every 6 minutes) will be extended to 7pm northbound and 6.30pm southbound; and
- services will commence earlier on Sundays and public holidays from 7am (rather than 8 am).
With the expansion of peak periods and the move to a 5-minute timetable during morning peaks, a further 155 light rail services will be added every week, taking the total number of light rail services to more than 1600 every week.
These services will be delivered using the existing fleet of 14 light rail vehicles.
Member for Yerrabi Michael Pettersson MLA who has been advocating for the changes said he was pleased to see more services added, making it easier for people to travel between the City and Gungahlin.
“Light rail was a key election promise for our Government and it has been extremely popular since journeys began, a clear endorsement of our vision for Canberra.
“I heard from a lot of constituents that crowding on their commute was an issue and it’s great that light rail will now be even more accessible and comfortable for people to move around our city,” Mr Pettersson said.
- Statement ends -
Chris Steel, MLA | Media Releases