The CBD and South East Light Rail is a light rail line running between Sydney's central business district (CBD) and the south-eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Construction commenced in October 2015, with services between Circular Quay and Randwick commencing on 14 December 2019 as the L2 Randwick Line, and between Circular Quay and Kingsford on 3 April 2020 as the L3 Kingsford Line. It is part of Sydney's light rail network.
Background and initial announcement
Since the light rail network's original line opened in 1997, a line through the Sydney central business district had been suggested numerous times but failed to achieve State Government support. This changed in February 2010 when the Keneally Government announced a new line from Haymarket to Circular Quay via Barangaroo. The final route was not decided, with the three options being to send the line north via George Street, Sussex Street or a loop using both.
When the O'Farrell Government took office in March 2011, it committed to building a line through the CBD to Barangaroo, with a preferred route along George Street. It also committed to conducting feasibility studies into the construction of lines from the City to Sydney University and the City to the University of New South Wales. On 8 December 2011, the government announced shortlisted potential routes for these extensions. In 2012, Transport for NSW (TfNSW) decided the routes to Sydney University and Barangaroo via The Rocks provided fewer customer benefits and were considered a lower priority. A route from Circular Quay to the University of New South Wales via Central station was seen as the best option.
On 13 December 2012, the government announced a commitment to build a $1.6 billion line from Circular Quay down George Street to Central station, then across to Moore Park and down Anzac Parade with branches to Kingsford and Randwick. Construction was expected to begin in 2014 and to take five to six years.
Design
The line services areas that were previously served by Sydney's former tram network. Some of the new route follows tram lines of the former network. The route is mostly on-street but includes an off-street section through Moore Park. The only major engineering works on the line were a new bridge over the Eastern Distributor and a tunnel under Moore Park and Anzac Parade. There will be between eight and ten new traffic light controlled intersections created along the route.
Several changes to the design were announced in December 2014. The major changes involve revising platform lengths at all stops to support an increase in the length of the trams from to , redesigning several stops, switching technologies for the delivery of the wire-free section and the removal of a proposed stop at World Square. It was also announced that the projected cost had increased from $1.6 billion to $2.2 billion. The government claimed the increase was due to the design modifications, but a 2016 report produced by the Audit Office of New South Wales found that the increase was largely due to TfNSW underestimating the cost of the project.
A pedestrian zone was established along approximately 40% of George Street, between Bathurst and Hunter Streets. The pedestrian zone is being extended southwards to Rawson Place in Haymarket (see Post-opening works).
The section between Town Hall and Circular Quay is wire-free, with trams using Alstom's proprietary APS technology to run instead. This was originally to have been achieved by equipping the trams with batteries and providing recharging facilities at stops.
The line is designed to handle special events in the Moore Park precinct and at Randwick Racecourse. Events at Moore Park were initially planned to be served using two coupled trams long, with double length platforms at the Central Station and Moore Park stops. Following the decision to make all tram vehicles operate in coupled pairs with a total length of , the plans to build double length platforms at Central and Moore Park were abandoned, and platforms of all stops were built to be long. This made the tram-sets the longest in the world under regular operation.
A depot for the trams was built at the north-western corner of Randwick Racecourse, providing stabling facilities and allowing light maintenance. Heavy maintenance is conducted at the Lilyfield Maintenance Depot at the site of the former Rozelle Yard. The maintenance depot will be accessed via the Inner West Light Rail.