On completion, services will operate from Circular Quay to both Randwick and Kingsford, operating every four minutes during peak hours on the shared section, providing an eight-minute interval service on the branches. Alstom will supply a fleet of 30 Citadis X05 low-floor LRVs, which will accommodate up to 450 passengers, the equivalent of nine standard buses. Deliveries will start in September 2017.

Mr Andrew Constance, minister for transport and Infrastructure, stressed the importance of recognising the challenge ahead, as well as the need for change.

"We've been elected to get on with the job of transforming NSW through major transport projects such as the North West Rail Link, Sydney Rapid Transit, WestConnex and NorthConnex and light rail in the Sydney CBD and Parramatta," says Constance.

Construction is due to be completed in April 2018, with commissioning scheduled to start in June 2018.