The South Australian government built a tram line into the heart of Adelaide for less than half the per-kilometre price the ACT government has proposed for light rail from Civic to northern Canberra.
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A 2.8-kilometre tram line in Adelaide was completed in 2010 and cost $94 million, or about $33.5 million per kilometre, including work to widen a bridge.
The ACT government was under renewed pressure yesterday to explain why 13 kilometres of track from Civic to Gungahlin would cost up to $66 million per kilometre to build, according to its recent transport study.
The estimated costs are also double to triple the cost of other light-rail projects in other capital cities, including Sydney, according to a 2010 feasibility study for light rail in Stirling City in Western Australia.
The ACT Greens has called on the government to publish its study in full and demonstrate why the $700 million to $860 million price tag is allegedly four times a 2008 PricewaterhouseCoopers and Treasury estimate for the same project.
The Canberra Business Council has also said the government should publish detailed calculations for both light rail and bus rapid transit along the corridor.
But Environment and Sustainable Development Minister Simon Corbell said the costs were as detailed as possible for the project's early phases.
Canberra Business Council chief executive Chris Faulks said the 2008 study estimated 54 kilometres of light rail for the territory would cost just over $2 billion, but would bring an economic benefit of $5 billion.
Mr Corbell said the estimate was produced by engineering consultancy URS Australia, which used the Constitution Avenue upgrade, the Gold Coast Light Rail Project, and the Melbourne Hoddle Street Planning Study as benchmarks.
He said the estimate included a contingency of about 30 per cent because the project was only in its early stages.
Mr Corbell also dismissed claims by the Australasian Railway Association that compared the territory's project to Portland's light-rail network, which was built in the United States city at a cost of only $350 million.
''This project was built eight years ago and cost estimates were first produced in 1999,'' he said.
''In the last decade there have been significant price increases and it is not an up-to-date comparison.''
He said the $700 million to $860 million estimate for light rail to Gungahlin included dedicated track-bed and signalled crossovers, electrification, including substations, overhead wiring and support systems, slightly larger and more complex stops than rapid bus transit, a depot for stabling and maintenance, vehicles and planning and design costs.
