COM: Glenelg Tramline Upgrade

[Adamo]

Did a whole route of the extension today, and still no further work, obviously since no workers are on duty

Anyhow the transport SA website has not yet posted the final stage

Anyone know any additional information regarding upcoming progress?

[AtD]

Adamo: I suspect the final stage start until the rest of the line is complete and ready for use. The Victoria Square stop will have to be closed and trams stop at City South while the line is redirected around the square. Waiting until everything's ready should minimse disruption to tram commuters.

[rhino]

Article from today's Advertiser:

ANNA VLACH, TRANSPORT WRITER
July 02, 2007 02:15am

AN EXTENSION of Adelaide's light rail network into the suburbs has been flagged by a visiting U.S. transport authority.

Portland civil engineer Meghan Oldfield, who has been studying Adelaide's network for two months, said returning trams to the suburbs should be considered by the State Government.

Portland's tram network, which the Government sees as a model, has light rail and buses into the suburbs rather than heavy rail.

"I am a big fan of light rail," Ms Oldfield said. "It's a popular mode of transport."

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon said yesterday he supported the concept.

"We've always said we believe in light rail and its ability to drive urban renewal but, as always, it's a question of funding," he said.

Ms Oldfield said the light rail extension in the CBD was going to be very successful.

"In our experience, projects of this nature enhance the transit service and help encourage development and urban revitalisation," she said.

She said the State Government should also engage stakeholders, such as Adelaide City Council, to audit the Victoria Square-West End extension during its planning and first 12 months of operation.

While opponents have been highly critical of its $31 million bill, Ms Oldfield said taxpayers were getting value for money.

Ms Oldfield is in Adelaide as part of a work exchange with TriMet, Portland.

[bdm]

From KWS to the Hutt St precinct, out to Norwood along the Parade, turn north at Penfolds Winery, then finish at St Bernards Road, opposite Magill Uni.

Perfect.

[Adamo]

I think the next upgrade will be the proposed Port Adelaide Route.

One step at a time

[ReallyBad]

Absolutley extend the tram to the suburbs - definetly to Port Adelaide, North Adelaide (possibly further to Prospect), Norwood and Unley. Even to other areas like Henley Beach or Marion. I always heard people saying the old tram was a waste of time and money - however it has historic value and that is worth preserving, however now we have the new trams I feel we must utilise them more extensively otherwise the tram system is just that - a waste.

[jimmy_2486]

Hell yehhhhhhh id love to see trams back in action..... very easy access to the city especially in peak times as buses get stuck in traffic. (I bet those people in the 50's didn't think that would ever happen!!!!)

I believe areas like noarlunga and elizabeth should also have their own separate tram network to major stations with heavy rail taking them into the city. But lets not get carried away...one step at a time!!

[AG]

Hell yehhhhhhh id love to see trams back in action..... very easy access to the city especially in peak times as buses get stuck in traffic. (I bet those people in the 50's didn't think that would ever happen!!!!)

I believe areas like noarlunga and elizabeth should also have their own separate tram network to major stations with heavy rail taking them into the city. But lets not get carried away...one step at a time!!

I don't think there is a real need for trams in the outer reaches of the city. Feeder bus services already do a job more suited to that purpose with spare capacity.

[Shuz]

So after this extension (finishing September 2007) Rann holds another 3 years in office. I know he's all talk about doing the trams to the suburbs (notably Port Adelaide) but given the size of the next extension (12km, plus feeder lines) This would take more than 2, bordering 3 years to complete, which could very well tie in with his next election date. I don't know if Rann wants to take that risk on building something that could end up a failure (cost blowouts, construction mistakes, etc)

However I do know that it was the Port Adelaide Council that proposed this extension at first, so if they allocated some of their budget to the extension, Rann would probably take that chance to build it, seeing as he has someone to share, or really, shift all the blame to if anything wrong happens.

Next stop: City West Loop.

[Will409]

I am sorry for the late post with photos but I havn't been able to access the PC much. Here are photos from last Sunday.


Pole work outside of the railway station.


New overhead mast in King William Street.



New masts in Victoria Square from both the south and north.


The hump at Grote Street.



New platform at Victoria Square.



More overhead masts on the existing track alignment at Victoria Square.


Track drain.


Curve at the southern end of the platform. We are now only within an arm's reach of completion. Note the flexi in the background.

[Will409]

I believe areas like Noarlunga and Elizabeth should also have their own separate tram network to major stations with heavy rail taking them into the city. But lets not get carried away...one step at a time!!

Another quick history lesson here about seperate tram systems in Adelaide. In Gawler, there was a small horse drawn tram system opened in the early 1900s from the railway station on a couple of short routes into the town. It was built to the broad gauge of 5' 3" and was run by the South Australian Railways. It never converted to electric traction and closed between the 1930s and 1950s.

There was a second system and like the Gawler system, was isolated. It ran on a couple of routes around the Port Adelaide area. One route from the system from the Port to Semaphore may be rebuilt in the current Port Line plan. This one was also originally a horse drawn system but fell under the control of the Municipal Tramway Trust. In 1917, it was converted to electric traction. It generally ran with hand me downs from the main Adelaide system. The first fleet of 30 trams were the A1 and A2 classed which were rebuilt from B class toast racks (B 42 has been restored as a toast rack at St Kilda and in operational order). The design was very closey based on the A class but differed in the under frames. The A class had the frames at the end lower from the central saloon while the A1/2 classes has a single level frame. Eventually, a few new 'Birney trams' (303 is also preserved at St Kilda) were purchased for the system in 1922. The system was closed down in 1935 I think.

[Will409]

What are my opinions for a new system in Adelaide? I'm glad you asked even though I was going to tell you anyway!


The red line is the current line, the blue one is current extension, the yellow lines are my suggestions and the whites one is the current proposal by the Government plus an addition.

The first one is the North Adelaide proposal which was found to be unviable although many other people think like the opposite. This line also opens up the possibility of a line to Prospect and in the further future, Enfield and Gepps Cross (the original system went to Prospect and Enfield).

Another one I think should happen is a line to the East End down North Terrace. There will be a major junction at the North Terrace/Frome Road intersection. If possible, using the reserve section on the northern side of North Terrace for quicker running would be desired. One line will continue down Frome Road towards the back of the current RAH site. Once it gets to the parklands, the track should run in reserve again towards Hackney Road behind the zoo. Once it rejoins Hackney Road at the Torrens River Bridge, the line will go along Hackney Road until the current O-Bahn exit. The line will then follow the current O-Bahn alingment towards TTP if it is feasible to go that far as originally planned.

The other line will continue towards East Terrace, the line will then go down East Terrace towards Victoria Park where it will terminate at the racecourse. With the planned rebuild, it is sure to be popular during race days and also Clipsal (that is a certainty).

Finally, a line all the way along Grote Street from West Terrace across Vic Square and towards West Terrace, The line will then make a direct run towards the Airport. A line to the current North Terrace extension would also be included as already proposed by the Government.

All this doesn't exclude the possibility of the Port line either.

[jimmy_2486]

Hell yehhhhhhh id love to see trams back in action..... very easy access to the city especially in peak times as buses get stuck in traffic. (I bet those people in the 50's didn't think that would ever happen!!!!)

I believe areas like noarlunga and elizabeth should also have their own separate tram network to major stations with heavy rail taking them into the city. But lets not get carried away...one step at a time!!

I don't think there is a real need for trams in the outer reaches of the city. Feeder bus services already do a job more suited to that purpose with spare capacity.

Yeah true.....they dont experience much traffic

[rhino]

Will409, I think you need to look at a map of Australia and notice that Western Australia lies to the left of the country. There is a reason for this: West is on the left and east is on the right. West Tce is at the left of the city (the airport side), and East Tce is on the right the Victoria Park side). Apart from this, they're interesting ideas.

[Will409]

Please excuse my mistake but I was also half asleep by that stage (busy day). Ah well, mistakes happen, nothing major.