About how much did Canberra City-to-Gungahlin light rail Stage 1 cost the ACT Government to design and build?
Canberra's first light-rail stage links Alinga Street in the city centre with Gungahlin Place. The 12 km line with 13 stops and 14 vehicles opened for public passenger service on 20 April 2019. The ACT Government's project delivery report gives approximately AUD 675 million as the Territory's actual design-and-construction cost, including contingency but excluding agency and independent-certifier costs. This is Stage 1 only, not the future city-wide light-rail network or its long-term operating payments.
Reported project cost
AUD 675 million
Approximately $469.24 million
Cost basis: 2019
The short answer
AUD 675 million
The ACT Government reports approximately AUD 675 million as its actual design-and-construction cost for the City-to-Gungahlin Stage 1 line. Its approved business-case estimate was AUD 783 million, and the anticipated contract-signing cost was AUD 707 million.
Cost evidence
Basis of the published figure
What the number includes
Cost scope
This amount covers Stage 1 design and construction costs to the Territory, including construction-phase contingency. The report excludes agency and independent-certifier costs. It does not price later network extensions or 20 years of operating payments.
Project metrics
Key dimensions
- Total lengthACT Government - City to Gungahlin Light Rail Project Delivery Report
- 12 km
Project record
Opened or launched
ACT Government - City to Gungahlin Light Rail Project Delivery Report20 April 2019
Project context
About Canberra light rail Stage 1 (City to Gungahlin)
The 12-km City-to-Gungahlin route opened for passengers on 20 April 2019 with 13 stops and 14 vehicles. It is the first phase of Canberra's planned wider light-rail network.
Reading the data
How to interpret the figure
The cost, scope, comparison figures, route length and opening date all come from the ACT Government's 2019 project delivery report. The nominal AUD amount is converted to USD using the World Bank 2019 annual-average official rate; no inflation adjustment is applied. The separate Wikidata line R1 item identifies this stage rather than the parent network.