Re: [Melb] French trams for the city's Paris end

["Daniel Bowen" <dbowen@custard.REMOVE.net.au>]

You'll need to get the paper version to see the diagrams and illustrations
that accompany this article. It's on page 3.


Daniel
--
Daniel Bowen, Melbourne, Australia
dbowen@custard.REMOVE.net.au
http://www.custard.net.au/bowen/daniel/



"David Lindstrom" <D_Lindstrom@Bigpond.com> wrote in message
news:OEVR5.87018$e5.69382@newsfeeds.bigpond.com...
> In today's Age:
> http://www.theage.com.au/news/20001120/A62382-2000Nov19.html
>
> French trams for the city's Paris end
>
> By SUSHI DAS
> TRANSPORT REPORTER
> Monday 20 November 2000
>
> Trams will run along Collins Street every three minutes and parking could
be
> banned in traffic hot spots under a radical plan by a private transport
> operator seeking to introduce European-style tram travel in Melbourne.
>
> The ambitious plan, to be tested on route 109, which partly runs along
> Collins Street, would also involve changing traffic lights to give
priority
> to trams over cars.
>
> VicRoads and Melbourne City Council have both thrown their support behind
> the plan, which they hope will improve tram travel in Melbourne.
>
> Yarra Trams intends to overhaul route 109, which runs from Mont Albert to
> Port Melbourne. The company is investing $100 million in 31 modern,
> low-floor Citadis trams from France, with the first expected to be running
> next September.
>
> Under the Yarra Trams vision, Citadis and refurbished existing trams will
> run every three minutes on Collins Street, eliminating the need for
> timetables.
>
> Tram stops on the street would more than double in size, allowing ticket
> machines to be installed at the super stops. Electronic signs at the stops
> would provide information about the arrival time of the next tram.
>
> Melbourne, which has one of the largest tram networks in the world, has
been
> slow to implement modern light-rail technology. A worldwide resurgence in
> trams, especially in Europe, has resulted in countries such as France
> operating some of the most modern trams in the world.
>
> In 1994, a new tram system and large bicycle network were introduced in
> Strasbourg. The mayor of Strasbourg banned cars from key city streets.
These
> measures brought about faster travel through the city and a reported 30
per
> cent increase in public transport use.
>
> Yarra Trams spokesman Paul Matthews said: "The lessons learnt and
strategies
> implemented in Europe can provide a base from which to build (in
Melbourne).
> Such a vision needs full political and community support.
>
> "We are one of the only tram cities in the world where trams do not have
> priority and struggle for road space with the car."
>
> Yarra Trams is run by the Metrolink Consortium. The consortium is made up
of
> Transdev, one of France's largest public transport operators; Transfield,
a
> privately owned Australian company involved in the construction of the
City
> Link tollway; and Egis, which is involved in the operation and engineering
> of infrastructure.
>
> Strasbourg and Nancy in eastern France have set the standard in tram
> modernisation with models that look like high-tech gliding trains with
huge
> picture windows.
>
> In the western city of Nantes, where modern trams have also been
introduced,
> trams are reported to carry 45 per cent of public transport users and 3000
> fewer cars a day now enter the city compared with 10 years ago.
>
> Yarra Trams' main objective is to develop patronage and revenue increases
of
> at least 60 per cent by the end of its 12-year franchise period.
>
> Since trams were privatised last August, the company has refurbished some
> existing stock and is testing video cameras in some trams to improve
safety.
> This week the company will launch a uniform to be worn by tram staff.
>
> A Melbourne delegation of transport representatives will travel to France
in
> December to study modern tram systems in Strasbourg and Lyon. The group
will
> include Transport Minister Peter Batchelor, the chief executive of
VicRoads,
> Colin Jordan, the secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Lindsay
> Neilson, the chief executive of Yarra Trams, Hubert Guyot, and
> representatives from local councils.
>
>
>