Start date revealed for Canberra's light rail system
Canberra's light rail system will start taking passengers on April 20, Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris has confirmed, ending months of speculation about the commencement date.
Ms Fitzharris said there would be free travel on Canberra's public transport system on the Easter long weekend to mark the launch of light rail.
However the start date is still subject to Canberra Metro obtaining approvals for the project from the third-party rail regulator.
Canberra Metro is in the final testing and approvals phase on the Gungahlin to Civic stage of the project.
Construction on the project began in July 2016, after the ACT government announced the Canberra Metro consortium as the successful tenderer in February of that year.
It was originally due to be finished in late December, but the operational date was pushed back until early 2019 after construction delays.
But while the tram is yet to begin officially operating, a driver has already been suspended after running a red light and almost hitting a car on March 9.
In an unrelated incident 40 minutes earlier, a pedestrian was struck after walking out in front of a tram with headphones on.
More to come.