CJ Wellington Metropolitan Region

It is now official!
The 7.8km light rail route from Wellington CBD to Bonbeach East via Newtown is now open. The new trams carried nearly 7,800 passengers on its first day of operation with most passengers using the service between Newtown and CBD. Within two years until mid-2021, the trams will run every 3 minutes in peak hour until the Government conducts a network review on timetable efficiency. From mid-2021, it is possible the service frequency could increase, depending on demand and patronage numbers.



Within days after the official opening of Newtown Light Rail, the Government of New England has already started collaborating with Transport for Wellington (TfW) in designing a second light rail route. Both the Government and TfW strongly believes that trams (and light rail in general) are the way to go for Wellington's future. Part of the 'Greater Wellington 2030 Plan', the Government of New England wants to build at least 30 kilometres of light rail routes within 11 years. TfW has long advocated for building a new light rail route from Wellington CBD to Stockport via Croydon. This route could be approximately 40 kilometres long and, according to the Government, it would never be built until at least 2035.

TfW has proposed two different light rail routes to the Government for consideration. The routes are:

Option A
Option A is the proposed 6.9 kilometres light rail route to Shoreditch which will branch off at Kings Cross. The estimated cost for this route is $1.2 billion. Wellington Stadium, Margaret Turner Hospital, and Shoreditch Transit Oriented Development (TOD) all are located in Shoreditch. The Option A route has the potential to be extended to Rozelle (4.5 kilometres southwest from Shoreditch). The entire length will take approximately 19 minutes on the tram.

Option B
Option B is the proposed 15.6 kilometres light rail route to Croydon via Kings Cross and Flemington. The estimated cost for this route is estimated to be $3 billion. The route will go through major suburbs such as Flemington, Newmarket, and Croydon South. This route could be eventually extended all the way up to Ongar (8 kilometres north from Croydon). The entire length will take approximately 40 minutes on the tram. Option B has greater economic benefits than Option A.

The detailed route alignment, design, and planning will be released once the decision has been made.