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Peak travel times along Canberra's light rail network will be extended and more services added to meet rising demand for the public transport system. An extra 155 light rail services a week will be added to the timetable from April. Services will run every five minutes, instead of every six, during the morning peak period from the start of term two on April 27 and services will also start one hour earlier on Sundays and public holidays at 7am, rather than 8am. The extra services, which take the weekly total to 1600, will be carried out with the existing fleet of 14 light rail vehicles. The expansion flagged for April comes as the ACT government extended peak hour service times along the light rail network from this week. Southbound peak morning services have been extended by 30 minutes, now running from 7am to 9.30am. Northbound afternoon peak services will run from 3pm to 6.30pm, extended from 4pm to 6pm. Southbound afternoon peak services will operate from 3.30pm to 6pm, extended from 4pm to 5.30pm. Afternoon peak hours will be further extended in April when peak northbound services will run until 7pm and peak southbound services until 6.30pm. READ MORE: ACT Transport Minister Chris Steel the extra services were added to keep up with growing passenger numbers. "More than 15,000 boardings are being made every day on light rail, which is ahead of what we expected in 2021, let alone today," Mr Steel said. "Due to its popularity, we are also seeing some crowding on light rail in both the morning and afternoons. "Light rail has been a huge success, with 3.5 million boardings since it started last year and we want to encourage even more people to get on board." The new services will begin in April at the beginning of term two for school students. The expansion will come into effect on the same day more services will be added to Canberra's bus network as part of changes made to last year's timetable overhaul. "More light rail services will help improve connections from buses at Dickson and other stops and provide a more comfortable trip for passengers from Gungahlin to the city," Mr Steel said. Labor backbencher Michael Pettersson, who called for more light rail services, said the move was a good step forward. "I heard from a lot of constituents that crowding on their commute was an issue and it's great that light rail will now be even more accessible and comfortable for people to move around our city," he said.

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