Keolis Downer opens light rail in Newcastle, Australia

Keolis Downer has started operating a light rail service in the Australian city of Newcastle, which will serve as part of a multimodal transport network. The Australian subsidiary of Keolis was awarded the multimodal contract in 2016. It covers the operations and maintenance of the light rail service as well as buses and ferries for a ten-year period. In 2017, the company started operating the bus and ferry services and a year later introduced a real-time, on-demand transport service, powered by Via, a
February 22, 2019 Read time: 1 min

6546 Keolis Downer has started operating a light rail service in the Australian city of Newcastle, which will serve as part of a multimodal transport network.

The Australian subsidiary of Keolis was awarded the multimodal contract in 2016. It covers the operations and maintenance of the light rail service as well as buses and ferries for a ten-year period. In 2017, the company started operating the bus and ferry services and a year later introduced a real-time, on-demand transport service, powered by Via, a developer of shared ride technology.

Keolis Downer says it has now completed the light rail and is operating the service on behalf of Transport for New South Wales.

The 2.7km long network features six stations and runs between Wickham and Pacific Park while also connecting with existing bus and ferry services.

Related Content

  • January 27, 2012
    Rapid growth of bus rapid transit schemes on US Pacific coast
    This section pulls together all the multi-modal topics in each issue. Subject matter will include smartcards; ticketing and payment systems; passenger information systems; fleet management for buses, trains and light rail; park and ride systems; on-line access to real-time information via Internet portals
    Read More
  • April 4, 2023
    Sice systems future proof Fehmarnbelt Tunnel
    Picking up the electro-mechanical contract for the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel was a milestone, according to David Calero Monteagudo, head of global ITS and tunnel business for Spanish company Sice. David Arminas finds out more
    Read More
  • June 17, 2016
    Brooklyn eyes Bogota’s BRT system
    David Crawford considers the increased interest in bus rapid transit and looks that the latest trends. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is gaining an increasingly high profile in the US public transport agenda, for two main reasons. One is the potential for ‘trains on wheels’ to save substantially on installation costs as compared with other modes such as underground metros or light-rail transit. Another, highlighted in the case of New York City, is the value of having a rapid surface-based alternative available whe
    Read More
  • September 16, 2014
    Major funding announced to improve Bristol’s public transport
    A new rapid bus network for Bristol will be built after the UK Department for Transport announced US$55 million funding towards the US$73 million total cost of the project. The aim is to provide better bus connections between key areas of employment, housing, retail and leisure. The network will tackle traffic congestion, help create regeneration and support new jobs and homes. The Metrobus is intended to encourage car drivers coming into Bristol to shift onto public transport. Existing bus services i
    Read More

Highlighted Content