The Sydney service
Barangaroo to Rhodes: a 14.4 km crossing, targeted for commercial launch in Q2 2027. This is Water Roads' one service in delivery, and the working proof of the model.
Route and timing
In approvalsAdditional proposal requestedThe route runs 14.4 km between Barangaroo and Rhodes, targeted for commercial launch in Q2 2027. The crossing is designed to take 18 minutes; the same trip by road or rail takes 45, so the design saves 27 minutes — a 60 per cent reduction.
The service is designed around a fleet of 8 vessels. Each runs on more than 80 per cent less energy than a conventional diesel ferry, and cuts wake by 90 per cent.
What a passenger gets
Each card below takes a figure from this page and says what it gives the person making the trip.
- Time
- 27 minutes saved: an 18-minute crossing where the same trip by road or rail takes 45.
- Frequency
- A fleet of 8 vessels, and a service designed to be turned up for rather than planned around. No peak frequency figure is published yet.
- Ride
- Foiling lifts the hull clear of the water at speed, which removes most of the wake-driven motion a conventional ferry passes on to its passengers. Each vessel cuts wake by 90 per cent and runs quieter than a diesel vessel — there is no combustion engine aboard.
- Emissions
- Zero direct emissions in operation — propulsion is electric, and there is no fuel aboard to burn or spill.
A second route, in negotiation
A second Sydney route, on Kamay (Botany Bay) serving La Perouse, is in negotiation. The status word is what this page publishes: no landing points, timeline or negotiation detail appears here.
Questions about this service
For local Sydney contact information, a government enquiry, or anything else about this service, use the contact form.
Contact Water RoadsEvery city’s current assessment status, and the full city register, is on Cities.