Services were able to continue further south on the light rail line after an ‘ice-breaker’ vehicle (not pictured) got stuck near the Mitchell stop. Photo: Michelle Kroll
The stuck light rail vehicle spotted on the line during ice-related disruptions on Wednesday (11 June) was, in fact, meant to remove the ice from the overhead lines.
Canberra Metro Operations’ (CMET) standard winter mitigation methods include sending an out-of-service light rail vehicle to clear frost and ice, which can impact electrical signals.
But this method failed when the ice-breaker itself became stuck.
“[There was] significant build-up of ice on the overhead wires overnight, [and so] the light rail vehicle deployed as an ice-breaker became temporarily immobilised between Sandford Street and Well Station Drive Stops, preventing other vehicles from operating north of Sandford Street,” a Transport Canberra (TC) spokesperson explained.
“The icy conditions affected the wires that power the light rail vehicles, preventing normal operations in the northern section of the alignment.”
The spokesperson said the rest of the line was able to operate as normal due to the network’s resilient design.
“This includes the ability to isolate power to certain sections of the overhead wire and turnback points to allow light rail vehicles to operate partial services,” they said.
“Prior to services commencement, an out-of-service light rail vehicle was able to access the network south of the Mitchell Light Rail depot (Sandford Street Stop) as the frost/ice build-up was not as severe southward.”
Regular services were able to continue between the EPIC/Racecourse and Alinga Street stops.
Northbound services beyond Sandford Street were affected until approximately 7:30 am, after which operations began to gradually resume.
Rail replacement buses were deployed from 7:30 am to 8 am, and full service was restored across the entire line by about 8:30 am.
When questioned by Region about what other ice mitigation methods were available – and why they weren’t deployed to remove the stuck vehicle – the spokesperson said CMET had a range of “operational controls” and “preventative measures” to keep disruptions to a minimum.
“This includes routine infrastructure and systems maintenance, testing and monitoring, as well as post-incident investigations and corrective action,” they said.
“Canberra can experience challenging and unique climate and microclimate conditions. Ice and frost on the overhead wires are not uncommon during Canberra’s winter, and similar delays last occurred in August 2024.
“While current operational measures, such as early morning ice-breaking runs, are effective in most circumstances, exceptionally cold mornings may still pose occasional challenges.”
Another complaint from the public was that they only found out about the disruptions when they arrived at the platforms.
The Transport Canberra spokesperson defended communications, stating information was uploaded to social media “as early as practicable” as efforts focused on solving the issue at hand.
“Passenger information displays and PA announcements are made at stops and on board affected services every 4 minutes during an incident,” they said.
“Additional Transport Canberra and CMET frontline workforce are deployed to major stops to assist customers and to access rail replacement buses.”
