Walter Burley Griffin's master plan for Canberra proposed the construction of a tram network.
The proposal did not eventuate and the city was exclusively served by buses from 1926, when the Canberra City Omnibus Service was introduced, until 2019.

While railways across Canberra, including one to Belconnen were seriously considered until the mid-1960s, little discussion of a metropolitan tramway occurred until the 1990s.
Prior to 1989, the ACT had been directly administered by the Federal Government thus any large public infrastructure expenditure in Canberra was subject to national scrutiny.

In the early 1990s, Canberra Land proposed a 8.5-kilometre (5.3 mi) line from Canberra Racecourse via Northbourne Avenue to Civic with Melbourne tram B2089 displayed in February 1992.

A light rail connection for Gungahlin was proposed as far back as 1992, when a syndicate of private land developers MBA Land and Consolidated Builders (together known as Canberra Land) incorporated rail into an urban village plan.
The Gungahlin proposal followed a 1991 Murdoch University report, Towards a More Sustainable Canberra, which suggested the city was too car-oriented and should implement a light rail system along the Y-Plan.
In 1993 a report by Maunsell-Denis Johnston and Associates found that a dedicated inter-town busway was a more viable transport option for Canberra than light rail.

In 1994, the ACT Government commissioned a study into light rail, based on the findings of an independent report that light rail would be viable in Canberra by 1998.
In its detailed report consultants Booz Allen Hamilton recommended a route from Belconnen to Barton via the City and Kings Avenue Bridge be operating by 1998; Woden to Barton by 2000; Tuggeranong to Woden by 2002 and Gungahlin to City by 2004.
Routes to Canberra Airport and Queanbeyan received a lower priority.
By January 1995 the then ACT Liberal Opposition Leader, Kate Carnell, announced her party's opposition to the light rail proposal citing "suspect" patronage figures and questioned the report's projected population for Canberra-Queanbeyan of 474,000 by 2016.
Projections in 2017 for the Canberra-Queanbeyan population, forecast the metropolitan area reaching 474,000 between 2020 and 2023, four to seven years later than the 1995 projections.
In 1995 the ACT Liberal Party came to power and plans for a light rail system in Canberra were dropped.

In February 1998, the ACT Government announced its support for the Federation Line, a proposed 7-kilometre (4.3 mi) line from the National Museum of Australia via Civic to the Australian War Memorial.
The line was proposed to use heritage trams.

In September 2001, to try to garner support for the project, Melbourne tram W249 and Sydney tram R2001 were placed on display outside the Australian War Memorial, the latter operating on a 50-metre section of track and being powered by a diesel generator.
In a further display in September 2003, W249 operated on an 80-metre section of track on Parkes Way.
Walter Burley Griffin's master plan for Canberra proposed the construction of a tram network. The proposal did not eventuate and the city was exclusively served by buses from 1926, when the Canberra City Omnibus Service was introduced, until 2019.
While railways across Canberra, including one to Belconnen were seriously considered until the mid-1960s, little discussion of a metropolitan tramway occurred until the 1990s. Prior to 1989, the ACT had been directly administered by the Federal Government thus any large public infrastructure expenditure in Canberra was subject to national scrutiny.
In the early 1990s, Canberra Land proposed a 8.5-kilometre (5.3 mi) line from Canberra Racecourse via Northbourne Avenue to Civic with Melbourne tram B2089 displayed in February 1992.
A light rail connection for Gungahlin was proposed as far back as 1992, when a syndicate of private land developers MBA Land and Consolidated Builders (together known as Canberra Land) incorporated rail into an urban village plan. The Gungahlin proposal followed a 1991 Murdoch University report, Towards a More Sustainable Canberra, which suggested the city was too car-oriented and should implement a light rail system along the Y-Plan. In 1993 a report by Maunsell-Denis Johnston and Associates found that a dedicated inter-town busway was a more viable transport option for Canberra than light rail.
In 1994, the ACT Government commissioned a study into light rail, based on the findings of an independent report that light rail would be viable in Canberra by 1998. In its detailed report consultants Booz Allen Hamilton recommended a route from Belconnen to Barton via the City and Kings Avenue Bridge be operating by 1998; Woden to Barton by 2000; Tuggeranong to Woden by 2002 and Gungahlin to City by 2004. Routes to Canberra Airport and Queanbeyan received a lower priority. By January 1995 the then ACT Liberal Opposition Leader, Kate Carnell, announced her party's opposition to the light rail proposal citing "suspect" patronage figures and questioned the report's projected population for Canberra-Queanbeyan of 474,000 by 2016. Projections in 2017 for the Canberra-Queanbeyan population, forecast the metropolitan area reaching 474,000 between 2020 and 2023, four to seven years later than the 1995 projections. In 1995 the ACT Liberal Party came to power and plans for a light rail system in Canberra were dropped.
In February 1998, the ACT Government announced its support for the Federation Line, a proposed 7-kilometre (4.3 mi) line from the National Museum of Australia via Civic to the Australian War Memorial. The line was proposed to use heritage trams.
In September 2001, to try to garner support for the project, Melbourne tram W249 and Sydney tram R2001 were placed on display outside the Australian War Memorial, the latter operating on a 50-metre section of track and being powered by a diesel generator. In a further display in September 2003, W249 operated on an 80-metre section of track on Parkes Way.
Light rail in Canberra