Australia’s Transurban sees boost in traffic and toll revenue

Transurban, an Australian manager of highways and developer of urban toll roads, saw toll revenue for the December 2014 quarter increase by more than 63% to US$304 million compared to the same period last year. For the half-year ended December 2014, toll revenue rose by 63.7% to nearly $602 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2013, a company statement said. Transurban, established in 1966 and based in Melbourne, owns CityLink in Melbourne, which connects three of the city's major freeways
January 14, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
891 Transurban, an Australian manager of highways and developer of urban toll roads, saw toll revenue for the December 2014 quarter increase by more than 63% to US$304 million compared to the same period last year.

For the half-year ended December 2014, toll revenue rose by 63.7% to nearly $602 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2013, a company statement said.

Transurban, established in 1966 and based in Melbourne, owns CityLink in Melbourne, which connects three of the city's major freeways. It also has stakes in five toll motorways in Sydney and in five of the six toll motorways in Brisbane.
 
The calculations do not include Queensland Motorways assets and concessions, which were acquired in July last year. Transurban has a 62.5% interest in Queensland Motorways.

Strong traffic growth occurred during the quarter, the company statement noted. This included 3.2% growth on CityLink compared to the same period last year. “This is the highest percentage growth for a quarter observed on CityLink since the June 2013 quarter.”

The north-west corridor of the Sydney orbital network continues to provide traffic growth, “reflecting the benefits being delivered by the M2 upgrade”. This project was completed in August 2013. Average traffic growth across Westlink M7, Hills M2 and Lane Cove Tunnel was 9% for the quarter.

Last October, Transurban reached agreement with the Victoria state government in Melbourne to deliver the CityLink Tulla Widening. The project is a major upgrade to add extra lanes in each direction between the Bolte Bridge and Tullamarine Freeway to Melrose Drive, Essendon Fields, as well as extra lanes on the Bolte Bridge and an eastbound section of the West Gate Freeway between Bolte Bridge and Power Street.

Integrated engineering firm 2642 Thiess Australia was announced as the preferred design and construction contractor for Tulla Widening work. Major construction is expected to start in October this year for completion in 2018. Transurban will fund the $850 million project.

In the US state of Virginia, Transurban opened the 95 Express Lanes ahead of time and budget. “This has enhanced Transurban’s network position of Express Lanes in northern Virginia and brings total lane kilometres of that network to 199.” Early completion of the roadway improvements from the 95 Express Lanes allowed the project to be opened to motorists on 14 December, after a two and a half year construction period. Tolling stared on 29 December.
Finance & Funding

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Sandvik wins tunneling machine deal in Australia
    July 6, 2015
    Sandvik is supplying a major order of tunnelling machinery for use on a construction project in Australia. This deal is for a major tunnelling project in Sydney. The NSW Government, Transurban and the M7 Westlink Shareholders (the Project Sponsors) are in process to build, operate and maintain a tolled motorway linking the M1 Pacific Motorway at Wahroonga to the Hills M2 Motorway at West Pennant Hills. The new route will be called NorthConnex.
    Read More
  • Highway link for Melbourne, Australia
    December 9, 2015
    Plans are now well in hand in Australia for the US$4.04 billion Western Distributor Project in Victoria, due for completion in 2022. The project will be built under a new partnership between the Victorian state government and Transurban. The road project is supported by the Victorian Transport Association and will connect the West Gate Freeway to CityLink. The new route will help reduce the numbers of HGVs using the West Gate Bridge and will also upgrade the link to the Port of Melbourne. The project calls
    Read More
  • Managing urban motorway complexity in Sydney
    October 4, 2012
    Sydney’s Hills M2 motorway is being widened while still carrying traffic and meeting tough environmental criteria More than 100,000 vehicles and over 27,000 bus commuters use the Hills M2 motorway on a typical workday, making it one of Sydney’s busiest motorway corridors. Owned and managed by Hills Motorway Ltd (HML) and a key part of the city’s orbital motorway network, the road stretches over 21km, providing a seamless link between the Lane Cove Tunnel and Westlink M7. The Hills M2 Upgrade is one of many
    Read More
  • Transurban to test Melbourne drivers in road trials, including tolls
    June 23, 2015
    Melbourne’s road users are the focus of a year-long study into what options are possible for funding road infrastructure projects including various user-pays models. The study headed by Australian toll roads operator Transurban will conducted across Melbourne’s entire road network to see how drivers react to tolling and other road-use models such as charging motorists for each kilometre travelled, a charge to access roads, annual fixed costs per kilometre on expected usage and price per trip. It will al
    Read More

Highlighted Content