Some Canberrans travelling between Woden and the city on the proposed new light rail route could face journey times up to twice as long than the current express bus service.
When complete, the ACT Government expects the second light rail route from Civic to Woden to take between 25 and 30 minutes.
That estimate is almost twice as long as the current express Blue Rapid bus service between the two destinations, which takes 16 minutes in peak hour.
But Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris pointed out that the light rail route would capture significantly more passengers by travelling through Barton and the Parliamentary Triangle.
"It's not the same route … it will therefore take a little bit longer," she said.
Ms Fitzharris has not confirmed whether the Government will keep the Blue Rapid service once light rail is operational, but a similar service in Canberra's north is being nixed with the completion of light rail along that corridor.
More than double the price of stage one
The second stage of Canberra's light rail project could also cost well over double the price of stage one.
Early costings for the route estimate construction at between $1.3 billion and $1.6 billion, compared with $707 million for the first stage.
Ms Fitzharris said the two prices were "comparable", given the additional complexities of sending light rail to Woden.
"A couple of key considerations of course are getting across the bridge, which is probably one of the most challenging aspects of building a city-wide light rail network," she said.
"The requirements of the Commonwealth are that there be wire-free running, and we also have a mind to the state of the national infrastructure market."
The Government hopes light rail stage two will be operational in 2023-24.
Last week it was revealed the Government had been forced to push back completion dates for stage one in five areas after the consortium building the light-rail project failed to meet all but one of its delivery targets this year.
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