The network consists of four passenger routes, the L1 Dulwich Hill, L2 Randwick, L3 Kingsford and L4 Westmead & Carlingford lines.

By contrast, the 2010s saw major expansion and reform of light rail in Sydney including the announcement and delivery of multiple new infrastructure projects, integration of ticketing with the city's other transport modes, the introduction of new trams and the transfer of the network to full public ownership.

SLRC was awarded a 30-year concession to operate the light rail system until February 2028 when ownership would pass to the New South Wales Government.

[8] The contract gave the company significant control over the commercial arrangements relating to future extensions or interconnecting lines.

[10] The SLRC purchased TNT Transit Systems in August 1998 as part of a joint venture with CGEA Transport.

[16] The purchase removed the contractual restrictions on expanding the light rail system and allowed the government to dismantle the monorail, assisting its plans to redevelop the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre.

[17][18] From 1 July 2013, the Metro Light Rail brand was phased out as part of a broader rebranding and reorganisation of public transport services in New South Wales.

Transdev was contracted to operate the Parramatta network as part of the Great River City Light Rail consortium.

It connects Sydney's Inner West with the Pyrmont peninsula, Darling Harbour and the southern end of the city centre.

[26][27] From late October 2021 to February 2022, services were replaced by buses after major cracks were found in all 12 Urbos 3 trams serving the line.

[28] Limited service was then restored with borrowed Citadis trams from the CBD and South East Light Rail.

CBD and South East Light Rail were built to reduce bus congestion in the CBD and provide higher capacity public transport to the Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Cricket Ground, Randwick Racecourse and the University of New South Wales, which were previously served only by buses.

In contrast to the Inner West Light Rail, the line is mostly on-street and follows a similar path to routes used by the former tramway network.

[33] In February 2024, Stage 2 of the Parramatta Light Rail linking Parramatta to Sydney Olympic Park via Rydalmere, Melrose Park and Wentworth Point received planning approval after the New South Wales Government invested $200 million to expedite planning processes for the project in its 2023–24 state budget.

2113 was skipped due to superstition, particularly among the Chinese who travel to the Star casino by light rail, about numbers ending in 13.

[47] On 28 October 2021, service was suspended on the Inner West Light Rail after cracking in welds was discovered in some of the Urbos 3 vehicles during routine inspections.

[49][50] As part of the winning consortium to build and operate the CBD and South East Light Rail, Alstom supplied sixty Citadis 305 trams.

[52] Original plans for the line intended for the trams to be approximately 45 metres (148 ft) long and operate as single units.

The network's original rolling stock was the Variotram which was introduced with the opening of the first section of the Inner West Light Rail in 1997.

Having been retained by Transport Heritage NSW, in October 2018, 2107 was placed in the custody of the Sydney Tramway Museum, Loftus.

The smartcard-based Opal card ticketing system, which was introduced to the network on 1 December 2014, is valid on metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail services.

[86] The government's 2018 Greater Sydney Services and Infrastructure Plan included a proposal for an extension to Maroubra Junction.

[87] The Bays Precinct is a large waterfront area to the west of the Sydney CBD being proposed for urban renewal by the New South Wales Government.

A planning document released by the government in October 2015 suggested light rail could be extended to the northern part of the precinct, possibly using the Glebe Island Bridge.

[88] The government's 2018 Greater Sydney Services and Infrastructure Plan included a proposal for a new line from Leichhardt North to Pyrmont via The Bays Precinct and the Glebe Island Bridge.

In early 2017, Transport for NSW had begun an investigation into an extension of the Parramatta Light Rail from Carlingford to Epping.

[89] The government's 2018 Greater Sydney Services and Infrastructure Plan proposed investigating unspecified extensions to the network.

[87] In 2024, the NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into Current and future public transport needs in Western Sydney recommended "that the Government urgently investigate extending Stage 2 of the Parramatta Light Rail project so that the line no longer terminates at the Carter Street precinct but continues from there to terminate at Lidcombe railway station".

[93][94][95] In July 2015, New South Wales Transport Minister Andrew Constance stated that the area was likely to be served by a light rail link in the future.

In June 2024, ALTRAC proposed a plan for a new light rail corridor between Green Square and Leichhardt via Central.