> Other notes
>
>
> The last extension opened was the additional 2km of the Bundoora
> route
> (86) to RMIT in 1995, taking this route to 21km, Melbourne’s longest
> tram
> line. Few tram line elsewhere in the world are longer. About the
> last
> 10km of this route is on a high-speed centre reservation in Plenty
> Road.
>
> Other extensions planned, but not followed through with the change
> of
> government, included the further extension of the Airport West line
> to
> Gladstone Park (near Tullamarine Airport), the further extension of
> the
> Bundoora line to South Morang, the extension of the Mont Albert line
> to
> Box Hill and the further extension of the East Burwood line to Knox
> City.
> Who knows what the future holds? They may still be built.
>
See my reply to part 4. You have to fix up the existing Labor left
mess first.
Do you really think that Joan Kierner's government would have built
those lines. They have more chance under a pro-tram conservative
government than any Labor government, especially one that openly
planned to close tram lines and put buses on in the evenings and
weekends. That has been the standard way most tramway system
abandonments world-wide, not just Australia, have been orchestrated.
In fairness to Labor, perhaps a leopard can change its spots if it
rubs hard enough and get the right incentives from its travelling
mates. Look what's happened in Sydney - Labor abanded the second
system and have introduced the third.
This is the first time they have helped initiate a new tramway system
in Australia(?) (may have done so last century or early this one in
NSW)
BTW, for those who don't realise it, Sydney, TTBOMK, is the first city
in the world to introduce trams three times. (London doesn't count
since Docklands has no street running. I'm not sure we Croydon comes
into the picture, but then technically its not London and has only had
trams once before.)
Cheers
Garry R. Ford
Chairman
Brisbane Transport Research Group
and transport historian