$2.3b construction pipeline among light rail's benefits: analysis

A pipeline of $2.3 billion worth of construction work has been approved or proposed for the suburbs serviced by the first stage of light rail since 2016.

About 6100 dwellings, worth roughly $1.6 billion, has been approved or is being assessed for the corridor.

Car traffic on Northbourne Avenue is also now 18 per cent lower when compared to daily usage in 2016.

Twenty per cent of all ACT public transport patronage is now carried by light rail services, which run on time 99.98 per cent of the time.

The median distance passengers travel to a light rail stop is 600 metres, but data from mobile devices showed people were regularly travelling 1.2 kilometres to access a stop.

Light rail services also attracted more passengers to public transport, with 43 per cent of users reporting never previously using the bus network.

Transport Minister Chris Steel said the report supported the government's decision to continue work on future light rail stages.

"It's clear that this is the preferred mode of public transport that Canberrans wish to use, with more and more people in our city choosing to live along the alignment," Mr Steel said.

Between 2011 and 2023, unimproved land values in the light rail corridor grew 113 per cent for detached residential blocks, 25 percentage points higher than the ACT average.

Commercial unit block values grew 49 per cent, 15 percentage points higher than the average.

Residential unit unimproved values rose 78 per cent, 10 percentage points higher than the territory average.

The report noted the most notable rises in value occurred between 2011 and 2018, with increases between 2019 and 2023 broadly in line with the territory average.

"This is attributed to the announcement of light rail activating development in the corridor, with the land value increasing due to the replacement of existing land use with higher value use such as higher density residential unit and mixed residential commercial developments," the report said.

Land value growth steadied as developments were finished and light rail began operations.

The report said population growth in the light rail corridor was consistently higher than projections in the 2014 business case.

More than 22 per cent of all population growth for the ACT between 2011 and 2021 was centred in the corridor.

"Between 2011-2021, population density within residential areas has increased dramatically within the light rail corridor at 37.6 persons per hectare, compared to the 22.9 per hectare within the remainder of the territory," the report said.

Mr Steel said there was clear evidence both business and the community wanted light rail to proceed in further stages.

"Our first mass-transit system, through the delivery of stage 1 of light rail, represented a vision for Canberra as a connected, sustainable and vibrant city," he said.

"The evidence outlined in this report realises that vision and supports our decision to deliver future stages of the project."

The government has faced repeated criticism - including from the Auditor-General - over the way it incorporates wider economic benefits into the business cases for light rail.

The Canberra Liberals have vowed to cancel stage 2B, planned to link Commonwealth Park and Woden, if they form government after the October 19 territory election.

But the opposition would continue with stage 2A, a short link between the current Alinga Street terminus and Commonwealth Park.

Labor and the Greens have both committed to continuing the project, which is not expected to carry passengers to Commonwealth Park until 2027, or Woden until 2033.

However, the Greens' transport spokeswoman, Jo Clay, has said the project could be completed faster if it was given greater priority.

The light rail system marked five years of operations on April 20, having taken 16.5 million passenger trips across 4.5 million kilometres of travel.