On 19/03/2017 8:50 AM,prescottt@... [TramsDownUnder] wrote:
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> But Mal there's only one tram in that photo! It's when you see a row of them ....
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> The Flexitys and the Citadis are identical in capacity to the Melbourne Es as c30 metre trams. The Flexity (which is basically an E platform with 2 less doors) is limited in its practical capacity by having too few doors (you noted how long it took to load), but the Citadis has effectively as many doors as the E (4 double-leafs and 2 single-leafs = equivalent of 5 double-leaf doors, but better distributed than on the E because of the singles at the ends of the car, making 6 doors in total). The Citadis should perform very well indeed in terms of passenger exchange and load distribution, as long as the aisle is wide enough.
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Hi Tony,
That's fair comment on the Citadis - I didn't see how they handled loading.
However, the Flexities are certainly slow loaders with a large crowd.
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> My feeling, as I've said, is that the Glenelg line is a relatively stagnant performer, not fully tapping into the big development at the western end of the Anzac Highway just a couple of blocks away, where people are making use of the faster bus. I think the line needs to be rejigged to tap into this and take over the role of the bus a bit more proactively, as well as putting serious effort into hauling ass in order to attract more people. T
The Colley Terrace development is very close to the tram line - and there are already bus stops there. As others have said, I don't see any justification for taking the trams out of Jetty Rd and putting them in Anzac Pde.
As you said (somewhere else) the current reserved track line serves an area with little new development and that means a lack of growth in patronage. When and if Adelaide has some economic renewal and starts to grow it's possible that we will see the higher density housing that has driven some of Melbourne's growth. However, Colley Terrace is not that sort of development and it is already close to the tram line.
In terms of 'easy improvements' I would nominate moving all the city stops to the side of the road *after *the traffic lights. At the moment, when a tram does eventually load and get the doors closed it has to then wait for the next light cycle. Moving the stops to after the lights would allow immediate departure.
It would also mean that the island platforms would only have passengers on them going in one direction. They are quite congested now in peak periods.
Meanwhile, here's a pic for Greg S - grassed track in a city with limited water.
http://tdu.to/205_VictoriaSquare_14Mar2017.jpg
Mal Rowe - amateur observer