While Capital Metro says the initial link from Gungahlin to Civic will cost $783 million, the conference will be told the ACT government has spent more than $1 billion on roads in the past decade.

Cities throughout the world with populations similar to or smaller than Canberra's are successfully investing in light rail, according to the Australasian Railway Association.

Association chief executive Bryan Nye will tell the national light rail conference in Sydney that proposals to build tram lines in Australian cities and overseas usually face public and political opposition during the development and construction stages.

"Light rail extensions in Adelaide, and the Gold Coast light rail, faced such opposition but experienced significant shifts in perception by the media and the local and business communities after their completion," he will tell the conference.

"Both projects have exceeded their initial patronage expectations and have spurred demands for the creation of city-wide light rail network plans to expand single lines into a network in both cities.

"This is also the likely scenario for the future of light rail in Canberra, particularly since the extension in scope of Capital Metro Stage One from Civic to Russell Offices."

Mr Nye will speak about overseas projects also used by the ACT government to bolster Capital Metro, such as in Portland, now the fourth-busiest light rail system in the United States.

"Australian cities will come to a standstill unless governments take a systemic approach that considers the optimal integration of all transport modes according to the requirements of each city," he says.

"Concentrating the majority of transport infrastructure investment into roads has created an unbalanced, inefficient transport system that is unable to meet the growing needs of the population.

"As part of a growing recognition across Australia of the limitations to more road building, Canberra's Capital Metro project is part of a broader renaissance of light rail in Australia.

"New light rail projects are either operational, under construction, or being planned in Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, the Gold Coast, Perth, Newcastle and Sydney while smaller cities such as Hobart and the Sunshine Coast are proposing their own light rail projects.

"Light rail is experiencing a global renaissance in cities of all sizes, from cities with populations around 100,000 to under 1 million.

"According to the International Association of Public Transport, 189 tram or light rail systems were operational throughout Europe in 2009.

"Between 2004 and 2009, the number of networks in Europe grew by 10 per cent. Since 1975, 30 cities in the United States and Canada have constructed light rail systems."

Mr Nye says because light rail runs on dedicated rights of way, it does not suffer the delays that affect street tramways.

"Behavioural research continues to find that people prefer to travel by light rail than bus," he says.

"The wide median strips down the "main boulevards" of Northbourne, Adelaide and Wentworth Avenues are all reminders that a major part of the Griffins' vision for the city is missing – they envisaged a Canberra connected by light rail."

A survey of Gungahlin residents – those set to benefit the most from the ACT government's proposed light rail – revealed last month nearly 70 per cent plan to use the tram.

More than 1300 Gungahlin residents completed the survey, conducted by the Gungahlin Community Council, and 67 per cent of respondents said they would use the light rail for their work commute.

The report illustrates the city divide over the proposal, contrasting with an October survey from Tuggeranong, where light rail will not reach under current plans.

In that survey by The Canberra Times, nearly 70 per cent of Tuggeranong residents said the capital did not need light rail.