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

[taliesin@chariot.net.au (Taliesin Walker)]

Does anyone have experinece of riding on trams that have priority? How
noticable is the difference between this and what Melbourne has now?

Tali


On Mon, 20 Nov 2000 06:25:47 +1100, "David Lindstrom"
<D_Lindstrom@Bigpond.com> wrote:

>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.
>
>
>