News & Discussion: Trams

[[Shuz]]

For the umpteenth time, there is no point in providing a link to the Trashvertiser website because it is blocked by a paywall.

[Westside]

Also all of this trackless-tram talk really needs to go in the thread it deserves: Buses discussion

[gnrc_louis]

For the umpteenth time, there is no point in providing a link to the Trashvertiser website because it is blocked by a paywall.

No shit, I'm aware of that and I can't read it either, which is why I usually request people post Advertiser articles. The point I'm making is the headline indicates they've likely again been reading this forum and turned it into an article.

[Chats]

Here's the article.

Adelaide City Council to lobby for trackless tram to North Adelaide over new King William Road bridge

Several city councillors have renewed their push for new tram technology to expand Adelaide’s public transport network into North Adelaide.

Trackless trams are being mooted again as a solution of connecting the Adelaide CBD to North Adelaide.
Adelaide City Council will ask Premier Peter Malinauskas to support the replacement of the ageing Adelaide Bridge as part of a tram network extension.

The bridge, opened in 1938, is nearing the end of its operational life and requires replacement within the next six to seven years at an estimated cost of $60m.

Trucks weighing more than 26 tonnes already have been banned from using the bridge, which would not be able to support the weight of trams.

A council meeting has voted for Ms Verschoor to write to Mr Malinauskas as part of a bid to obtain state and federal funding for the project, which is regarded as critical infrastructure.

Ms Verschoor told the meeting the option of using trackless trams, which are powered by electric batteries and guided by magnetic strips, should be examined again.

“They are certainly not a bus,” she said.

“If you put a train together with a bus and they bred, you would get a light-rail trackless tram.

“It is new technology which would have a different impact on the bridge in terms of engineering and weight.”

Ms Verschoor said trackless trams worked on new technology compared to conventional trams which use overhead electric wires.

“They use GPS, they are lighter and they don’t have to stick to one track,” she said.

Ms Verschoor and North Adelaide ward councillor Mary Couros advocated for trackless trams before the last council elections in November 2018.

Cr Couros told the meeting it was the first time she had heard about them.

“It was technology that people could not comprehend at the time,” she said.

“I think we know more information about it now.

“The beauty about it is that you don’t need to dig up major infrastructure to put tracks down.”

Cr Couros said she did not know if the new government had an “appetite” for a tram extension to North Adelaide.

“Hence why I am seeking for council to have these conversations,” she said.

Cr Couros said a tram extension to North Adelaide could service the $250m redevelopment of the former Le Cornu site on O’Connell St and a new $80m regional aquatic centre planned for the northern parklands.

Trackless trams gained support from former Liberal transport minister Stephan Knoll, who said they were “an exciting potential solution that could deliver better public transport at lower cost”.

Perth had conducted a trial in its CBD using the technology while another potential route in Adelaide was between the CBD and Adelaide Airport.

[SRW]

Cannot wait for these bad faith operators to be booted from council. And of course the 'Tiser presents the idiotic notion uncritically.

[PD2/20]

Here's the article.

Adelaide City Council to lobby for trackless tram to North Adelaide over new King William Road bridge
...
Perth had conducted a trial in its CBD using the technology while another potential route in Adelaide was between the CBD and Adelaide Airport.

As of Mar 2022 the intention to conduct the trial was announced. I couldn't find any updates on this.

[rubberman]

Lol. The trackless tram IS a bus.

Guidance? Yep the O-Bahn does that.

Length? Yep the Brisbane busway has long buses.

Double end and doors each side? Yep those airside buses at airports taking passengers from hard stand to the terminal do that.

There's simply nothing this "trackless tram" does that a bus cannot.

If it looks like a bus, acts like a bus, drives like a bus...yeah...It's a bus.

Having said that, it's really an O-Bahn bus with optical guidance, rather than trainer wheels.

There's absolutely a good case for using it along with trams. Adelaide Metro could use it in a couple of places. Along the tram track in Port Road on the 117/118 route, for example. Run the trackless tram along the tram corridor between trams.

The only real objections are that the trackless tram name is just hype. The second is that it does need a special road base, just like trams. Grenfell and Currie Streets bus lane show furrows in the pavement that need regular repairs. The much more precise wheel location that is associated with optical methods means that ordinary pavement will be worse. If they don't put down special pavement, they are setting themselves up for failure.

[RetroGamer87]

Trackless tram FFS. Is Adelaide Council just run by the pointy haired boss from Dilbert?

[Nathan]

This is of no surprise for anyone, but confirmation that the current government has zero plans for the tram network.

Developer Pep Rocca’s bold vision for The Parade in Norwood includes a tram line

A tram extension connecting Norwood with the CBD, a vibrant small bar scene and more apartments would make The Parade one of the country’s premier high street destinations, comparable to Melbourne’s South Yarra and Sydney’s Paddington, a prominent developer says.

Pep Rocca, who has spearheaded more than $300m worth of development in the precinct in recent years, has outlined his vision for The Parade after securing planning approval for a $95m plan to build an eight-storey apartment building – known as ORTA – opposite the historic Norwood Hotel.

Mr Rocca said more projects like his $110m COMO apartment, retail and office development, currently under construction at the Norwood Mall site, would help elevate The Parade to one of the country’s “must-visit high street” destinations, rivalling the most vibrant neighbourhoods in the eastern states and around the world.

“I’ve worked in Norwood for 30 years, my whole life is on The Parade,” he said.

“I want to see Norwood become a major high street destination comparable to the likes of Paddington in Sydney and South Yarra in Melbourne.

“People want to reside where there’s cosmopolitan living. They want excitement.”

The centrepiece of Mr Rocca’s vision is a tram line extension from the CBD to the heart of Norwood.

Steven Marshall’s victory at the 2018 election killed off Labor’s tram plans at the time, which included a $279m extension of the line from North Tce along The Parade through to Norwood.

Mr Marshall had argued the proposed extension had little support from local residents given it would disrupt traffic, reduce parking and require the removal of the strip’s landmark ironbark trees.

But Mr Rocca wants the tram extension back on the agenda, arguing it would stimulate further development and would make Norwood an even more sought-after place to work, live and play.

“It would be wonderful to restore the original tram line on The Parade,” he said.

“Trams are used in all the best metropolitan places in the world to connect people with the central business district. This is the way of the future in any progressive city.”

A tram line extension would also stimulate further development at the eastern end of The Parade, Mr Rocca said, including more apartments, restaurants, bars and offices between Osmond Tce and Fullarton Rd.

But a state government spokeswoman said priorities had changed since the 2018 election, and the new government had no plans for tram extensions.

“The government’s priorities are to fix the health crisis and grow the state’s economy by investing in skills, early education, advanced manufacturing and projects that build on our leadership in renewable energy such as the hydrogen jobs plan,” she said.

In addition to the COMO and ORTA projects, Mr Rocca last year splashed out $15m on a 4300sq m site on the corner of The Parade and Sydenham Rd.

Designs for a mixed-use development on the site are currently being drawn up.

[[Shuz]]

Very poor form of the new government. Hopefully they will change their mind shortly. If they continue to provide minimal investment in public transport, it will cost them support.

[gnrc_louis]

That's ridiculous - you can invest in health AND public transport. This Government needs to drop the pseudo-populism before they just become a second coming of the Rann Government, rather than the one of big ideas that the Premier loves to say he is.

[rubberman]

That's ridiculous - you can invest in health AND public transport. This Government needs to drop the pseudo-populism before they just become a second coming of the Rann Government, rather than the one of big ideas that the Premier loves to say he is.

You can, if you have enough money. But with what looks like an ongoing increase in beds required for covid, we need to prioritise that.

At the 2018 election, we had a choice to vote for the party that was going to extend the tram line, and we voted against them.

At the 2022 election, nobody, but nobody brought it up. It was all ramping and antivaxxers and freedumb. Trams? Crickets.

So, by what measures would a government think the electorate was interested enough?

I'm a tram lover from way back, but the tram revival died in 2018 when we voted Weatherill out.

It's dead, deceased, gone to meet its maker, it's turned up its toes, gone to meet its maker, joined the choir invisible...it's a dead tram system.

[RetroGamer87]

All trams have been stopped in the city. What happened?

[Nathan]

All trams have been stopped in the city. What happened?

While on one of the stuck trams, I overheard a message to the driver about an ambulance on the track about to clear soon. I suspect someone had a medical issue on one of the other trams.

[MT269]

I hope the passengers weren't imprisoned inside the trams for over an hour, in spite of platforms being a block or two away.