Newcastle light rail has to be viewed as the foot in the door to stimulate
support for an extension westwards. So while it might look underwhelming
now, the fact that it's there at all is more likely to trigger a future
extension (for which provision has been made at the railway interchange)
than if there was no light rail at all. It's a pity though that they chose
the capacitor power system because that would be totally unsuitable for a
long extension westwards. Imagine the frustration of waiting 45 seconds at
every stop when you're rushing to catch a train or appointment. There's
nothing more irritating than waiting in a stationary or crawling public
transport vehicle watching all the car traffic rushing past. It's enough to
make you, well .... want to drive. Perth rail and Sydney metro have
certainly well and truly knocked that particular issue on the head. The
rest of Australia ... meh.
Tony P
On Friday 19 April 2024 at 18:19:41 UTC+10noe...@... wrote:
> My one regret was not having travelled to Newcastle by train when the line
> actually went to the city
>
>
>
> You don’t know what you were missing, Bob. I arrived at Newcastle station
> several times on the steam hauled Newcastle express, hauled by either 3820
> or 3822. A couple of times I had a cab ride but had to get off at
> Broadmeadow and go and ride on the cushions in case there were powers that
> be lurking at Newcastle.
>
> Happy days.
>
> Noel
>
>
>
> *From:*tramsdo...@... tramsdo...@...> *On
> Behalf Of *Bob Pearce
> *Sent:* Friday, April 19, 2024 10:00 AM
> *To:*tramsdo...@...
> *Subject:* RE: [TramsDownUnder] Re: Canberra- CAF
>
>
>
> Well I guess it has to start somewhere.
>
>
>
> Newcastle, I’m surprised, hasn’t done anything to shore up its existence.
>
>
>
> It was I think always going to be a white elephant. My one regret was not
> having travelled to Newcastle by train when the line actually went to the
> city.
>
>
>
> Did the cutback achieve the BS put out when it was done other than to line
> the pockets of the developers?
>
>
>
> .
>