[melb]Swanston don't want W-Class

[tram@ding.ding (W-Class)]

Interesting reading in the Melbourne newspapers over the last few days
regarding the W-Class problem at Malvern Tram Depot and the comments
from National Express.

In a few articles National Express said that the W-Class are getting
to the end of their lives and should be retired.	A cynic would
say that they are using the brake issue to get the W-Class off the
road, never to return.

If the problem was the slack adjusters, they could simply remove them
and adjust the brakes manually as they have done for the past 80+
years..and then look into the problem of why the brakes are failing.

Yarra Trams have had problems with the brakes as well, and 992 has
been removed from service.	Rumour is they have loaded the tram
with weights to see how the tram brakes with a full load of
passengers(or at least something that weighs the same amount) but they
have left the other trams in service.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get the Swanston
trams back on the road, or if they are suffering fines from not
providing the service (some would say they never "provide a service"
but thats another story)

I'm thinking that it will be a while, and even then National
Express/Swanston will be gunning for the retirement of the exsisting
fleet of W-Class.

If the current One Person Operation (OPO) W-Class have a problem, why
not just get another 30 trams out of storage (where they are currently
rotting) wack a ticket machine on them and continue on as if nothing
happen.

Finally, I find it odd that Swanston are so willing to blame the tram,
and the braking system.	I thought the current policy of all PT
operators over Australia was to blame the driver, and thus deflect the
blame from the company.		By blaming the tram for a change, they
are undermining their own company, and give the passengers the
impression that the trams are unsafe, thus making the passengers ask
whether they should be scrapped....changing public opinion and getting
the public to do their bidding for them?

Maybe I've just watch the X-Files one to many times?
Ding Ding