I'd rather see all (or however many extras are required) the Z3s refurbished over the As. I know they are older and some may require more work, but they are far more practical having 3 equally spaced doorways over the As non equal doorways. Much quicker and easier at loading/unloading passengers. Also the Z3s are standard throughout, particularly with their B2 class cousins, whereas there are two types of As and some different parts compared to B2s.
Sim
On Friday, 27 November 2020, 01:53:10 pm AEDT, Mal Rowe mal.rowe@...> wrote:

On 27/11/2020 13:29, TP wrote:
> How long is the "life extension" meant to extend lives for? It seems

> from the numbers that the present fleet size (about 500) will be

> overtopped by the combined total of new and refurbished trams. Given

> the number of new trams, will some life extensions (presumably of Zs)

> be cancelled? Converting the As to coupled sets would help too!


Hi Tony,

I think you are probably right - some of the Z3s will get bumped from
the list, and given that a lot of Z3s have already been done, some As
may also get bumped..

There are 100 new trams to come - so on a one for one basis only 70 As
and Z3s are needed to maintain current fleet numbers.

Both of these classes require being stripped down to bare frame level -
to replace insulation.  Both also have asbestos contamination in the
sealants - so the stripping is more expensive.

I can't imagine a major rebuild of the As into articulated or coupled
sets - they are a bit old for that and they are not low floor.

Mal