Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1 | COX Architecture

Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1 | COX Architecture | Photographer: Simon Wood

2026 National Architecture Awards Program

Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1 | COX Architecture

Traditional Land Owners

Dharug People

Year
2026
Chapter

New South Wales

Category
Urban Design
Builder
Parramatta Connect (Public Domain) & Great River City Light Rail (Depot and Stops)
Photographer
Simon Wood
Media summary

Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1 is reshaping movement and public life across Sydney’s Central River City. 

Designed by COX Architecture with CONTEXT Landscape Architecture and delivered for Transport for NSW, the 12-kilometre, 16-stop line links Westmead to Carlingford via Parramatta CBD, uniting health, education and cultural precincts with a cohesive civic identity.

Curvilinear, prefabricated stop canopies establish a distinctive visual language inspired by the Parramatta­­­­­­­ River, balancing beauty with precision in lighting, stormwater management and wayfinding. 

A planted green track – the first of its kind in NSW – reduces urban heat, improves stormwater performance and softens infrastructure within the public realm. 

Parramatta Light Rail provides a new civic spine for a growing city, embedding public, environmental and cultural value at every stage of its design and delivery. 

The design of PLR Stage 1 has balanced the need for a safe, convenient and accessible transport service with the integration of other transport modes (including active transport), green place-making, heritage and urban environment considerations.

It’s helping to meet the needs of this Parramatta as Sydney’s second CBD growing region—connecting people and places and transforming the way people move around by enhancing mobility and accessibility for residents, workers, and visitors.

PLR Stage 1 is not just about delivering a transport service; through its design, it is delivering future–resilient, inclusive, connected, and vibrant places.

Project Practice Team

Ian Connolly, Project Director/Urban Designer
David Holm, Project Director/Architect
Satvir Man, Project Architect
Kate Macdonald, Project Architect
Nazmul Khan, Designer
Matthew Bolton, Project Architect
William Hamilton, Designer
Ameila Cooper, Designer
Nick Lucchese, Graduate of Architecture
Yvonne Tong, Graphic Designer

Project Consultant and Construction Team

CPB Contractors (Parramatta Connnect), Infrastructure
Downer (Parramatta Connnect), Infrastructure
COX Architecture, Urban Designer
CONTEXT, Landscape Architecture
WSP, Engineer
Aurecon, Engineer
Transdev (Great River City Light Rail), Supply, Operate, Maintain Contractors
CAF Rail Australia, Supply, Operate, Maintain Contractors
Laing O’Rourke, Landscape Architecture

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