Barr says Canberra Hospital expansion shunted light rail to the siding, but it is happening

Chief Minister Andrew Barr has defended the slow pace of progress in extending light rail, saying all projects cannot be built at once and the Canberra Hospital expansion came first this term.

Asked how the government could maintain public support for light rail when the next leg, Stage 2A to Commonwealth Park, would not take passengers until 2028, Mr Barr said people had told the government that it should prioritise health infrastructure in this term and that research had backed up that belief.

“We had a choice: either we completely put all future public transport infrastructure on hold and just say no, that’s the Liberals’ path, or we recognise the reality of what can be delivered in any given year in the Territory,” he said.

“And so yes, we did prioritise the Canberra hospital expansion. And that project will be completed this year. It’s a big project. It’s bigger than light rail Stage 2A.”

Mr Barr acknowledged there was significant opposition to light rail but said a majority supported the extension of the line, eventually to Woden, and the construction of other routes.

The ACT faces another light rail election with the Canberra Liberals vowing to scrap Stage 2B to Woden and not pursue other lines in what is shaping as the pivotal issue of the campaign.

They are yet to announce an alternative public transport policy.

Mr Barr also said all jurisdictions in the East Coast infrastructure market were competing for resources and labour, so timing was important.

“We’re not the only jurisdiction seeking to procure hospitals [and] public transport infrastructure, so we’ve also had to be prudent about when we approach the market.”

Light rail also clearly needed assistance from the Commonwealth, and the government succeeded in securing a 50 per cent funding contribution, Mr Barr said.

“Then also there were enabling works [raising London Circuit] that needed to occur and they’re well underway. So, on light rail, people are seeing progress. They know we signed a contract. It’s happening.”

Mr Barr said track would be laid early in the next term and all the initial works were underway.

He said light rail should not be seen in isolation but in the context of other projects, such as the Acton Waterfront.

“What comes with this transport infrastructure investment obviously is new infrastructure, so it can represent our next step in the City to the Lake concept,” he said.

“We’ve funded the public park that will be built there [at Acton Waterfront] and have new light rail stops by 2028, and we’re undertaking the land release and some further pedestrian connectivity that will support that precinct.”

Light rail would also support a redesigned Commonwealth Park, which would be much more accessible for events and other uses.

The government remains convinced that light rail, electric buses and active travel were the right way to make a growing city easier to get around.

“It, together with electrifying the bus fleet, is the answer to Canberra’s medium and longer-term public transport needs,” he said.

“Light rail and buses are part of the solution. We need both. So we’ll get lots of calls for trackless trams and all the rest. We will have hundreds of such electrified vehicles running around the city. They won’t all be articulated. But some will.

“There will be standard-size electric buses as well. That’s part of the public transport provision.”

The cost and route of Stage 2B, through the Parliamentary Zone, is still not known, but design work is continuing, and the development of an environmental impact statement will go out to the public for feedback at the end of the year, at a cost of $50 million.

The ACT will be seeking 50:50 funding with the Commonwealth and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King has indicated that an application would be considered favourably.

Light rail and the other infrastructure projects in the pipeline are part of a big-picture vision for the ACT, which Mr Barr said people did want.

He acknowledged they also wanted outcomes in the short term.

“But the alternative is no bigger picture,” he said.

“The alternative government are saying no to most of these significant infrastructure projects.”