Metro Transport Sydney

Metro Transport Sydney
Industry Transport
Predecessor Sydney Light Rail Company
CGEA Transport Sydney
TNT Transit Systems
Founded 1994 (Sydney Light Rail Company)[1]
1998 (CGEA Transport Sydney)[2]
2001 (Metro Transport Sydney)
Defunct July 2013[2]
Headquarters Sydney, Australia
Products Public transport
Owner Australia Infrastructure Fund
Utility Trust of Australia
Colonial First State
Divisions Sydney Monorail
Metro Light Rail
Website www.metrotransport.com.au/index.php/

Metro Transport Sydney (MTS) was the owner of the now-demolished Sydney Monorail and the former owner of the Inner West Light Rail in Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 2001, it replaced the Sydney Light Rail Company (SLRC), the previous owner of the light rail, and CGEA Transport Sydney, the previous owner of the monorail.[2][1] It was bought by the New South Wales Government in 2012.[3] The Metro Transport Sydney brand was discontinued from 1 July 2013, and the SLRC and Metro Transport Sydney were deregistered later that month.[1][2]

Metro Transport Sydney contracted the day-to-day operations of the monorail and light rail to Veolia Transport Sydney, a subsidiary of Veolia Transdev, who operated them since 1998. After the government takeover of Metro Transport Sydney, Veolia Transport Sydney remained as the operator of monorail and light rail. Veolia Transport Sydney later renamed to Transdev Sydney on 1 July 2013.[4] The monorail coincidentally, was shut down on the same day.

Assets

Until the government takeover in 2012, Metro Transport Sydney owned:

  • Sydney Monorail, originally known as Metro Monorail in early MTS years, closed on 30 June 2013.
  • Metro Light Rail, the light rail line now known as the Inner West Light Rail or Dulwich Hill Line.

Metro Transport Sydney advocated for a light rail extension to Circular Quay in the 2000s, but did not gain state government support.[5][6] This extension is now part of a future separate line known as the CBD and South East Light Rail, due to be completed in 2019.

History

Sydney Light Rail Company

In March 1994 the Sydney Light Rail Company (SLRC) was formed. It was owned by Australian Infrastructure Fund (39%), Utility Trust of Australia (39%) and Legal & General (22%)[7][8] and was awarded a 30-year concession to operate the light rail system until February 2028 when ownership would pass to the State Government.[9] The contract gave the company significant control over the commercial arrangements relating to future extensions or interconnecting lines.[10] SLRC contracted operation of the line to TNT Transit Systems, which also owned the Sydney Monorail.

Acquisition of the monorail

In August 1998 SLRC formed a joint venture with CGEA Transport named CGEA Transport Sydney to purchase TNT Transit Systems, the owner of the monorail. The share composition of the joint venture were CGEA Transport (51%) and SLRC (49%, with 19% Australian Infrastructure Fund, 19% Utility Trust of Australia and 11% Legal & General).[8] This purchase resulted in:

  • CGEA Transport taking control of the operation of the monorail as the owner of the monorail[11]
  • CGEA Transport being awarded the light rail operation contract by the SLRC as the owner of the incumbent operator TNT Transit Systems. SLRC remains the owner of the light rail.

As a result, the operations of both the light rail and the monorail came under the same company (CGEA).

In early 2001, Connex (renamed from CGEA Transport in 1999) sold its share of the monorail to the constituents of SLRC, bringing the monorail and light rail under the common ownership of Australian Infrastructure Fund, Utility Trust of Australia and Legal & General.[12] Due to SLRC and CGEA Transport Sydney having the same shareholders, they were subsequently combined to form Metro Transport Sydney. It continued to contract day-to-day opeations of the monorail and light rail to Connex,[13][12] which by 2012 was known as Veolia Transport Sydney.[14]

By 2005, Metro Transport Sydney was owned by three companies: Australia Infrastructure Fund, Utility Trust of Australia and Colonial First State.[15]

Government ownership

Transport for NSW, the transport agency of the Government of New South Wales, established the "MTS Holding Company" on 12 March 2012.[3] It purchased Metro Transport Sydney and its subsidiaries on 23 March 2012 for $19.8 million, which brought the company under the control of Transport for NSW and the government.[16] The purchase removed the contractual restrictions on expanding the light rail network and allowed the government to dismantle the monorail, assisting its plans to redevelop the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre.[17][18] The monorail was shut down on 30 June 2013.[19]

Cessation of the Metro Transport brand

The following day, 1 July 2013, the Metro Transport Sydney brand, along with its subsidiary Metro Light Rail, was phased out as part of a broader rebranding and reorganisation of public transport services in New South Wales. [20] The light rail was also placed under direct control of the government. Both SLRC and Metro Transport Sydney Pty Ltd were deregistered on 17 July 2013.[1][2]

The process of shutting down Metro Transport Sydney and transferring assets to Transport for NSW was completed in September 2014 with the deregistration of MTS Holding Company.[21][22]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Sydney Light Rail Company Pty Limited". ASIC. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Metro Transport Sydney Pty Limited". ASIC. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 "NSW Auditor-General's Report to Parliament (Volume Eight 2012)". NSW Auditor-General. 2012. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  4. ↑ "Light rail in Sydney". Transdev. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "Nominated Loan Council Allocations For 1998–99". The Australian Treasury Website. 7 May 1998. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Government defies logic on Light Rail issue". 22 May 2006. Archived from the original on 8 October 2006. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  7. ↑ "Sydney's new light rail system" Railway Digest September 1997 page 14
  8. 1 2 Stock Exchange Announcement Australian Infrastructure Fund 11 August 1998
  9. ↑ "Sydney Light Rail Extension – Stage 1 Inner West Extension Product Definition Report" (PDF). Transport NSW. July 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014.
  10. ↑ Mills, Gordon (1997). "Light Rail in Sydney: Some Privatisation Lessons" (PDF). Agenda. 4 (4): 435, 438.
  11. ↑ "Technical Details (Metro Monorail)" (PDF). Metro Light Rail. 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  12. 1 2 "Overview of Connex Worldwide and in Australia". Metro Light Rail. Archived from the original on 25 April 2003. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  13. ↑ "About Us". Sydney Monorail. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  14. ↑ "New South Wales". Veolia Transport Australia. Archived from the original on 21 October 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  15. ↑ "Technical Details (Metro Monorail)" (PDF). Metro Transport Sydney. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2005. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  16. ↑ Cosgriff, Stuart; Griffiths, Emily (5 July 2012). "Light rail strategy for Sydney". Clayton Utz Insights. Clayton Utz. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
  17. ↑ Campion, Vikki (23 March 2012). "Last stop for Sydney Monorail". The Daily Telegraph.
  18. ↑ Tan, Gillian (23 March 2012). "Australian Infrastructure Fund sells Metro Transport stake". The Australian (from The Wall Street Journal).
  19. ↑ van den Broeke, Leigh (1 July 2013). "Sydney monorail makes its last loop after 25 years of service". The Daily Telegraph.
  20. ↑ Saulwick, Jacob (18 April 2013). "All together now: Sydney's public transport united under one 'brand'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  21. ↑ "Transport for NSW 2013/14 Annual Report" (PDF). Transport for NSW. pp. 329, 344. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  22. ↑ "MTS HOLDING COMPANY PTY LIMITED". ASIC. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.