Light rail is becoming more popular around Australia, with both Sydney and Western Australia planning to put in new networks forecast to cost billions of dollars.
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The ACT is far from alone in its aspirations for light rail, with the Gold Coast working on a 13-kilometre integrated tram system that will connect Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.
The ACT Government has announced it will go ahead with a $614 million light rail project from Gunghalin to the city, but it is being vehemently opposed by the Canberra Liberals.
However, despite the criticism, the ACT Government's vision appears in step with other cities, with the Victorian government also announcing last month it would expand its network to include an underground rail line with stations in Southbank and Domain and a link to Melbourne Airport, which is expected to cost $11 billion.
University of Canberra Associate Professor of economics Dr Cameron Gordon said there were many pros and cons to light rail but it was important to reach decisions on the future of the ACT's public transport soon because costs would only increase if there were delays in taking action.
"This conversation about more effective means to move more people around will not go away,'' he said.
"You are going to have transit being an issue and if you think light rail is the solution then it's only going to get more expensive if you wait. In five years time the problems will be worse and it will be that much more expensive - whichever solution you choose."
Dr Gordon said, based on global trends, light rail tended to go over budget because there were often unforseen obstacles in the construction phase.
"Light rail and other big infrastructure projects generally go over budget,'' he said. "Light rail seems like just one technology but it wildly varies.
"If you have to do tunnelling it's a lot more expensive, if you don't then it's a lot cheaper. Also there's utilities – if you have a lot of those underground it is expensive if you don't – it's not. There's a huge range in costs per kilometre.
"Once you start building – that's when you find out.''
The existence of underground utilities and pits is causing headaches for the NSW Goverment's planned $1.6 billion tram line for central Sydney and the eastern suburbs.
A peer review of the business case for that light rail earlier this year pointed out risks of delays and cost blow outs because of complications arising from the cables that run under the city.
The costs involved are even more of a worry on the other side of the country. The West Australian Government's Metro Area Express Light Rail project has been pushed back for three years due to cost. The WA Government announced last December that it would defer it and some other major projects in order to recover its AAA credit rating.
The WA light rail is now expected to be finished in late 2022 and will stretch 22km from Mirrabooka in the north through the Perth CBD before splitting into two branches – one to the QEII Medical Centre and the other to the Causeway.
