Keolis Downer has been formally named as the operator of the Stage 2 extension of Australia’s Gold Coast tram system.
The consortium already operates and maintains the Stage 1 network and will begin running services on the 7.3-kilometre extension when it opens in 2018.
The aim is to open the line before the Commonwealth Games in April 2018.
Preliminary works for the new route are already underway, with the main construction phase due to begin later this year. Stage 2 will include three new stops and four additional Flexity trams from Bombardier.
Stage 1 of the network, which links Gold Coast University Hospital and Broadbeach, opened in July 2014. Around 6.5 million passengers are estimated to have used the Gold Coast light rail system during its first year in service.
