COM: Glenelg Tramline Upgrade

[Cruise]

is there a tram/train builder in adelaide or even australia?
what about Bluebird international?

[Ben]

City tram service on right track

November 01, 2007 01:15am

THE popularity of the extended Glenelg tram service along North Tce in Adelaide has exceeded the expectations of the State Government.

The major complaint about the service - apart from a few teething problems with manageable traffic delays - is that the trams are too crowded.

The public demand is too great.

Of course in the first two weeks some people have probably caught a tram out of curiosity, simply to see what it's like or to say they have given the service a try.

But consistent use of the trams, particularly within the city square, suggests it has quickly become a part of Adelaide life.

This is an encouraging trend for the Government and the longer-term development of the wider city.

The unexpectedly high use of the tram indicates that people will patronise simple, cheap, efficient public transport.

If the short journey down King William St is proving so popular, it is reasonable to assume that an extension of the service would also be well patronised.

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon has flagged wider plans. Now he should start implementing them.

A loop should now be developed through the western segment of the city, returning to Victoria Square down Grote St.

A further extension to North Adelaide up O'Connell St is also logical and relatively simple.

In the future there are no reasons why trams cannot run to Port Adelaide, Semaphore, AAMI Stadium at West Lakes and, eventually, spider into all suburban areas.

The Government was right to stare down critics of the tram and press ahead with what has emerged as a visionary idea.

Now that the spine has been established through the city, the gradual extension of the service is not only appropriate but desirable.

[AG]

is there a tram/train builder in adelaide or even australia?
what about Bluebird international?

There are no manufacturers of trams in Australia. All of the new trams have been "off the shelf" designs of those currently being manufactured for European systems by Bombardier, Alstom and Siemens. The Bombardier built Flexity trams running around Adelaide are almost an exact replica of those on the system in Frankfurt, Germany.

For trains there are quite a few manufacturers, although mainly for standard and narrow gauge. EDI Rail manufactures locomotives, railcars and electric multiple units (for Sydney's CityRail, Brisbane's QR Citytrain and TransPerth) as does United Goninan. Alstom has a facility in Ballarat in Victoria that constructs and maintains broad gauge railcars, which was used to build V/Line's VLocity trains and most of the Connex network's X'trapolis EMU trains in Melbourne.

[Will409]

is there a tram/train builder in adelaide or even australia?
what about Bluebird international?

While the H class were built by Pengelley and Co in Edwardstown, 78 passing years has seen all tram manufacturers within Adelaide dissapear Incase you werw wondering, we also had Duncan and Fraser Co). However, there is a manufacturing base in Australia. That happens to be Bombardier in Dandenong (suitable really, being outside of Melbourne). The last trams that I can recall they built were the 'Vario Trams' in Sydney 10 years ago. Before that, they had built the B2 class for Melbourne finishing in 1994/1995. In more recent times, they have had Adelaide Flexi sitting there for some part stripping. The Dandenong plant does still have the capability to build new trams but if they wanted to build a Flexi for example, they need all the tooling imported from Germany.

[Bulldozer]

Any further tram extensions should be held off until the rail network is overhauled so that the government can then place a large order for trams and trains. With a large-enough order it could be made a condition that they be manufactured here in SA. If one car is produced per week there is the potential for a number of years worth of work for many people with the possibility of further work after that if the factory bids for other orders in our corner of the world. Since rail used to be a big industry in Port Augusta it would make sense to re-establish the manufacturing there and provide a much needed boost for the regional economy.

There'd be a few years of constructing rail cars before getting onto trams, as we'd need 100 cars to replace the current fleet, but really we'd want double that so we can double the frequency of services. That gives more than enough time to build out and test new tram lines so that a network is all ready to roll when they get around to building trams.

[jimmy_2486]

hmmmmm smart thinkin there bulldozer.

The ol' 'buy in bulk and save' technique.

[BillD]

Interesting sight at Glengowrie depot today: H370 & 380 have moved up, and are at the barn's back doors after languishing deep in the south yard for ages.

Could they be getting ready to have their undercarriage tweaked to suit the new extension?

Fingers crossed.

Bill

[Diamond]

hmmmmm smart thinkin there bulldozer.

The ol' 'buy in bulk and save' technique.

I wonder if they'll get discount if they pay cash?

[Cruise]

hmmmmm smart thinkin there bulldozer.

The ol' 'buy in bulk and save' technique.

I wonder if they'll get discount if they pay cash?

more importantly do they get a 4 cents off a litre voucher for fuel?

[Norman]

They probably would get a discount if the credit is paid within 30 days, assuming there are net 30 terms associated with the invoice (sorry, Accounting exams coming up )

[duke]

I just saw this on Wikipedia.

The Gold Coast Rapid Transit System is a proposed rapid transport system for the Gold Coast, Australia. The Gold Coast is one of the fastest growing cities in Australia with travel demands exceeding population growth. In order to tackle congestion effectively, there is a need to squeeze much more capacity from existing corridors. The system is expected to encourage visitors and residents to use public transport to reduce major traffic congestion and pollution problems.

A number of studies in the 1990s such as the Line Haul Public Transport Foundation and Feasibility Study in the City Transport Plan 1998 eventually culminated in the The Gold Coast Light Rail Feasibility Study. This started in 2001 with the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments each contributing $650,000. In 2004 the draft summary report was released.[1]

Queensland Transport through TransLink and Gold Coast City Council are jointly considering light rail and bus rapid transit options to deliver the project, although Council has given preference to the costlier light rail option.

...

The study suggests the use of special third-rail configuration for the light rail option to reduction the visual impact of overhead wiring but this system would only be used sparsely due to higher construction costs.

At the time of the release of the 2004 study the light rail option was estimated to cost between $320m and $360m for the 17-kilometre route.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_Coast ... Queensland


Looks like Adelaide isn't the only place in Australia looking at light rail for future transport needs.
I would love to see how public opinion on the Gold Coast compares to Adelaide's. For some reason I imagine there would be a lot less complaining on the Gold Coast.

[crawf]

But I bet their light rail would probably not be built along its busiest road, I reckon if our government proposed to extend the tram line not along a road then there wouldn't be so much controversy.

[AG]

But I bet their light rail would probably not be built along its busiest road, I reckon if our government proposed to extend the tram line not along a road then there wouldn't be so much controversy.

You did not look at the proposal obviously.

The proposal identified by Parsons Brinckerhoff suggests that it follows the Gold Coast Highway (one of the busiest thoroughfares on the Gold Coast) between Southport and Broadbeach. Most of this is much like how the tram line extension was built, with the trams running in separate lanes from other traffic in the middle of the road, with minimal shared street running.

[Diamond]

Just going back to the careless pedestrians messing with trams topic again... there was a drifter walking along the tram line near the South Road station for several hundred metres this afternoon. Does someone need to get killed before people wake up and realise some of the things these idiots are doing are actually dangerous?

The evidence...

[Punishment466]

Just going back to the careless pedestrians messing with trams topic again... there was a drifter walking along the tram line near the South Road station for several hundred metres this afternoon. Does someone need to get killed before people wake up and realise some of the things these idiots are doing are actually dangerous?

The evidence...

Complete utter twats.