Wednesday, December 31, 2014

How Much Would It Cost Nowadays To Build A Tram System Like Melbourne’s?

December 31st, 2014 by  from http://cleantechnica.com

Melbourne, Australia, is home to what is by far the largest streetcar system currently in operation in the world — one that makes those found in the US cities where there is one at all seem like a fair ride in comparison. The urban streetcar system comprises roughly 249 kilometres of double-track and 487 trams in total.
You’re probably getting jealous now, and for good reason. So a good question to ask would be, why doesn’t the city I live in have such great public transportation infrastructure? And how much would it cost for it to develop a similar system?
image


Now an important point to make from the start on this topic is that Melbourne’s system has been in place for quite a long time now — such systems were actually very common throughout much of the world in the early parts of the 20th century. Had the system been removed back in the 1950s-60s like the systems in many other major Australian cities were, the costs for building it would likely now be unaffordable.
Going by the $1.6 billion that it cost to build the relatively new 13 km Gold Coast G link line, Melbourne’s system — were it to be developed today — would probably cost somewhere around $30 billion. Going by other recent light rail projects, it could be even higher, up to $45 billion.
Big numbers. So, why would it be so much more expensive nowadays?
One of the main reasons is that new systems almost invariably are kept separate from now ubiquitous car traffic — something that wasn’t always necessary.
The Urbanist provides some relevant thoughts on that matter:
However if Melbourne were building a new system today from the ground up it would face the same sorts of pressures to provide a much better and more costly network (eg with more segregation from traffic) that other cities are experiencing. Decisions made many years ago simply wouldn’t be politically viable in today’s car-oriented world. 
A brand new 250 km network would have the advantage though of offering an opportunity to obtain substantial economies of scale. However whether that opportunity was realized would depend on the sequence of construction; Melbourne’s network was built incrementally over the course of a century.
There’s no guarantee, or even likelihood, that any new network of similar size would be constructed in accordance with the most efficient schedule. No matter what they might say, politicians don’t think or act like that.
All good points. It’s also worth noting that the level of bureaucracy and intermediation (and accompanying graft) has increased pretty significantly in the years since the Melbourne network’s creation. There’s a lot of red tape to go through in the modern world, and a lot of people with their hands in the pie. It no doubt isn’t as simple to get things like the tram network done nowadays as it was back then.
The main takeaway from this all, though, is that maintaining and/or rebuilding or renovating legacy infrastructure is usually the most economical approach to public transportation infrastructure buildout… by far.
It’s just too bad that so many of these quite effective tram systems (which once covered the US) were done away with during the wild embrace of the personal automobile during the last century.
Image Credit: LHS; RHS

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Sydney: Commuters set to vote on new-look Sydney trams

WILL it be the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House or perhaps the face of Luna Park?

The trams in Reims, France.
The trams in Reims, France. 

Commuters could be given a vote on the look of Sydney’s new trams so they reflect the character, heritage or personality of the city.
French transport giant Alstom, which is supplying the trams for the CBD to South East light rail, scheduled to begin operation in early 2019, gives its customer cities the option of customising the “nose” or front of their trams.
In the French city of Reims, for example, local authorities gave their citizens the opportunity to vote on the design of the driver’s cab.
Tramway Montpellier. Montpellier, where a diving mask was used.
Tramway Montpellier. Montpellier, where a diving mask was used.
A tram in Dubai, where a diamond shape was chosen.
A tram in Dubai, where a diamond shape was chosen.
About 15 per cent of the residents of the city, famous for its fine champagne, turned out to vote in a community referendum and chose a depiction of a champagne flute.
In oil rich Dubai, a cut diamond shape was chosen to reflect the wealth of the Emirate.
A diving mask was used in Montpellier, a prime scuba diving centre on France’s Mediterranean coast, and Lyons has trams that look like silk worms, a link to the city’s historic manufacture of the luxury material.
In Toulouse, the headquarters of Airbus, the trams are designed to look like the front of a passenger jet.
The state government hasn’t ruled out letting Sydneysiders vote on the design of their own trams.
A tram in Toulouse.
A tram in Toulouse.
Alstom’s Christian Messelyn, who headed the Reims tram project, said the vote was conducted on the internet on the tram nose design over a week.
“It was like a small election and was very well received,” Mr Messelyn said.
“About 40,000 people then turned out for the line’s opening ceremony.”
Will Sydney have trams trundling along George Street with a nose shaped a funnel web spider or a giant black arrow, similar to those sewn into the uniforms convicts used to wear?
When asked if she is considering offering Sydney residents an opportunity to have a say in the design of the tram, Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian was non committal.
“Customers will be using brand new modern and clean light rail vehicles as part of this exciting project,” she said.
“Of course the new vehicles will reflect local needs here in Sydney.”

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Sydney light rail contract signed, likely to open for services in 2019

Date

Transport ReporterTransport Minister Gladys Berejiklian says the project will create more than 10,000 jobs.

New South Wales, State Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian says the project will create more than 10,000 jobs. Photo: Nick Moir
The light rail line from Circular Quay to Sydney's eastern suburbs is likely to open for services in early 2019, after the $2.1 billion contract for the project was signed on Wednesday night.
The cost of the project is a $500 million increase over the previously announced $1.6 billion price tag, but less than the $2.2 billion reported recently.
The contract also includes provisions for major works to finish within 2018, meaning major disruptions in the city and suburbs will take just over three years, starting in late April 2015.
Services will be tested before opening to passengers in early 2019. The light rail line will run down George Street, through Surry Hills to Randwick and Kingsford.
Late changes nominated to the project include increasing the size of the vehicles from 45 metres to 67 metres, meaning the line will also have a larger capacity than first planned.
In a statement on Wednesday night, Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said: "This project will provide a significant improvement in public transport in Sydney, as well as creating more than 10,000 jobs for our economy."
"Customers will have brand new clean, modern, reliable and efficient services from Circular Quay, through the CBD, to major event venues at Moore Park and on to the south east's major residential areas and educational and medical facilities," she said.
"This is the best option to tackle congestion in the CBD and south east of Sydney."
"We will continue to work closely with the community to fine-tune the detailed week by week program for construction, and regular one-on-one meetings and community and business forums are already underway along the light rail route.

Canberra, Australia: Capital Metro light rail bidders announced for City to Gungahlin tram line

The ACT government has named four private business consortium groups who will be considered for the building of Canberra's $800 million light rail line.

Thanks to: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/capital-metro-light-rail-bidders-announced-for-canberra-gungahlin-tram-line-20141222-12c2e0.html

An artist's impression of the proposed Canberra light rail.
An artist's impression of the proposed Canberra light rail.
Some of the world's largest transport, engineering and construction firms look set to join the bidding for Canberra's $800 million light rail line.
Capital Metro Minister Simon Corbell announced four groups have expressed interest in building the 12 kilometre line from Gungahlin to the city – including the companies behind light rail projects in Sydney and the Gold Coast and the operator of Melbourne's historic city-wide tram network.
Transport giants Downer, Bombardier, Keolis, Alstom Transport, UGL Rail Services and TransDev Australasia are represented in the consortiums.
A short list will be prepared for the formal tender process by the end of March 2015 and an interactive bidding process will lead to a construction and operation partner chosen within a year. 
Some of the infrastructure and construction firms named in the consortiums include John Holland, Leighton Contractors and Spanish company Acciona Infrastructure.
Big name finance groups including Macquarie Capital and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi are also involved.
The consortium names could also provide a hint for the future branding of the line, which is expected to be the first in a wider network. Names revealed on Monday include Canberra Metro, Activate, Connecting Canberra and CANGO.
Mr Corbell and the cabinet will consider groups for short listing, inviting two or three to submit proposals as part of the project's request for proposal stage.
The successful bidder could also win a strategic advantage for future lines as part of the wider network. A light rail master plan for Canberra is due for release soon. 
Expression of interest documents called for trams to have space for bikes, priority seating for the disabled, areas for  wheelchairs and prams and be capable of wire-free operation.
The trams must be able to be used "at all times without anxiety", with well-lit stops, surveillance systems, and be safe, clean and well-maintained. 
The targeted travel time from Gungahlin to the city via Northbourne Avenue, the Federal Highway and Flemington Road is 25 minutes.
Bidders will be required to deliver the project affordably for the ACT community, with the territory reserving the right to determine a cost threshold. 
Mr Corbell said specific proposals for user experience, design and on board services were not included in the expression of interest stage. 
"It will be through the request for proposal stage that we will ask them to address all of the specific requirements that we have put forward, including the quality of the service, the nature of the service, the type of rolling stock to be used, accessibility and bikes on light rail."
Construction is on track to get under way in 2016 with services commencing by 2019.  
Opposition transport spokesman Alistair Coe said it was unsurprising large multinational companies were expressing interest in the project, which would include hundreds of millions in accessibility payments from the taxpayer over its lifetime.
Mr Coe warned the consortiums that a future Liberal government could tear up the contracts. 
"We hope that the project in 2016 has not progressed and therefore we can easily cancel it. In the event that it is in some way progressed, we will look into what we can do to try and stop it."

Monday, October 27, 2014

Sydney Australia: Second Light Rail System Announced Today

http://media.smh.com.au/news/national-news/parramatta-light-rail-on-its-way-5924642.html

Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian released four possible routes on Monday for a new light rail line to be built around Parramatta, with construction  to start in the next term of Parliament.
Ms Berejiklian said the government would now analyse which route made most sense to be the first built, but said she wanted to eventually deliver a light rail "network" around Parramatta.

The four routes are Parramatta to Macquarie Park via Carlingford, which would take over the existing Carlingford rail line; Parramatta to Castle Hill via Old Northern Road; Parramatta to Bankstown; and Parramatta to Sydney Olympic Park and Strathfield/Burwood.

Ms Berejiklian would not nominate her preferred route, and would not set a date for choosing one.
"I'm hoping to do the work as quickly as we can," the minister said.
Connections: The four possible light rail routes around Parramatta to be considered by the state government.
Connections: The four possible light rail routes around Parramatta to be considered by the state government. 
"The important thing is to be thorough. You can't get it wrong. You have to make sure you get the planning right."
But Dr Lee, the Liberal state MP, immediately nominated a link between Parramatta and Epping and Macquarie Park, along the Carlingford rail line and Carlingford Road, as his preferred option.
This option would mean that the Epping to Parramatta Rail Line – proposed by the former state Labor government in 1998, cancelled in 2003, and the subject of a funding offer from the federal Gillard government in 2010 – would be built instead as light rail.
"From Parramatta we join up the University of Western Sydney, we replace the Carlingford Line, and then we go right up to Epping or Macquarie Park," Dr Lee said.
"The wonderful thing about that option, the Carlingford Line we already own that track right up there," he said.
"So we have the existing corridor which we replace. And I think you'll find along Carlingford Road there's already a corridor along there."
But David Borger, the former state Labor MP for Granville and current Western Sydney director of the Sydney Business Chamber, backed a route from Westmead to Sydney Olympic Park via Camelia.
"I think all the routes are good routes, I just think western Sydney hasn't been able to capture a lot of knowledge jobs," Mr Borger said.
"There is a real opportunity here to connect Westmead, Parramatta and Sydney Olympic Park as one city."
But Mr Borger's suggested route would require an extension north-west from Parramatta to Westmead, which was not on the list released by Ms Berejiklian.
Ms Berejiklian said: "The key thing for us is obviously to see what is going to carry the most people and cover the most key institutions around Parramatta and Western Sydney. But also we need to consider as little disruption as possible to the community."
The minister said she "envisaged" construction would start in the next term of government.
Separately, Ms Berejiklian said last week the proposed $1.6 billion budget for a light rail line through central Sydney and to the eastern suburbs would increase.
She said the preferred bidder for the project – a consortium including Transdev Sydney, Alstom, Acciona Infrastructure and Capella Capital – would deliver 50 per cent more capacity than the 9000 passengers an hour previously stated.
On Monday, Ms Berejiklian said the extra capacity would come from longer vehicles and longer stops – not fewer seats.
"The way that we will achieve that increased capacity is because of longer and larger vehicles, of additional vehicles, and longer and larger platforms as well," she said.
The Carlingford Line is the least-used among Sydney's rail lines, carrying about 237,000 people last year. Most services on the line operate in a shuttle between Carlingford and Clyde.
The state opposition has separately promised $20 million into a feasibility for light rail around Parramatta.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/convert-carlingford-rail-line-to-light-rail-parramatta-mp-geoff-lee-says-20141027-11cdx9.html#ixzz3HKWFX6ne


Thanks to Sydney Morning Herald.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Dubai's RTA gearing up for completion of Dubai Tram: Arabian Supply Chain


by ASC Staff on Sep 22, 2014 


As the November 11 launch date approaches for phase one of the Dubai Tram, Gulf News reports that Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) workers are racing to finish the project on time.

Phase one of the tram system will see operations begin on the 10.6 kilometre network from Dubai Marina to Al Sufouh, with 11 trains and give carriages divided into Gold, Silver and Family.

The Dubai Tram is expected to serve 27,000 riders per day, operating every sin minutes from 5.30am to midnight daily. 

Each train is designed to carry up to 405 passengers.

Siemens to build modern tram fleet for San Francisco


2
Image: Siemens.
Image: Siemens.
San Francisco has placed a firm order for 175 new light rail vehicles for the city’s Muni transit system.
The $648 million order includes an option for a further 85 cars, making it Siemens’ biggest-ever light rail contract in the US.
It is the second high-profile train order for Siemens’ Sacramento factory in as many weeks.
Earlier this month, Siemens won the contract to build two diesel-electric locomotives and four passenger cars for the Miami-West Palm Beach section of the planned north-south All Aboard Florida corridor.
San Francisco’s new modern trams, which will start to be delivered by the end of 2016, will be based on the S200 vehicles being supplied to Calgary.
San Francisco mayor Edwin Lee said: “Today, we are truly moving Muni forward.
“By expanding San Francisco’s light rail fleet, these new Siemens vehicles will make our city’s public transportation system more reliable, easier to maintain, and ready to meet the demands of a growing city.
“In addition, these new vehicles will be built right here in California, bringing jobs to our regional workforce.”

Friday, September 19, 2014

Overcrowding soars Melbourne's busiest tram routes

Date
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The overcrowding on trams continued the upward trend experienced in recent years and was again most evident on routes serviced by Yarra Trams' ageing fleet of small Z-class and A-class trams.
Route 48 between North Balwyn and Docklands, route 55 from West Coburg to Domain, and routes 1, 3, 5, 8, 16, 64 and 67 - all of which ply the city's busiest tram corridor along Swanston Street and St Kilda Road - were worst hit.
By contrast, Melbourne's busiest route, number 96 between St Kilda Beach and East Brunswick, suffered no overcrowding as it continued to be exclusively allocated the new high-capacity E-class tram.
Public Transport Users Association president Tony Morton said the train network was again showing signs of strain after recent timetable boosts had eased the commuter squeeze.
"We got a big improvement in 2011 from a new timetable that basically plucked some low-hanging fruit that we'd had for years when people realised that we had some extra track capacity in the middle of the city, but the low-hanging fruit is running out now and we need to bite the bullet with some real investment in capacity improvements," he said.
"There's real concern as to whether the best solution is the one being pursued commercially as a result of this unsolicited process," he said.
"We see the need for an independent expert under the auspices of PTV to look at this, who can adjudicate in the public interest without fear or favour."
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/overcrowding-soars-on-melbournes-busiest-train-tram-routes-20140917-10ib4z.html#ixzz3Dl0w0gvl

Gold Coast light rail marks 1 million trips

18 September, 2014 10:11AM AEST ABC Australia. By Charmaine Kane and staff
The Gold Coast light rail system has marked its one millionth paid passenger since it opened to the public. The G:Link was officially launched on July 20 and reached the six-figure milestone on Wednesday afternoon.


The State Government initially revised down its early forecasts of how many people would use the trams.  However Member for Surfers Paradise John Paul Langbroek says the popularity of the G:Link has exceeded expectations.
"From numbers that began as low as 13,000 a day now up to 16,000, 17,000 and on some days even up to 20,000," he said. "Gold Coasters are taking to this whether they are tourists, visitors, locals, they are certainly using it to get to work and to play."
Games 'unlikely factor' in expansion
The Commonwealth Games in 2018 are unlikely to be a factor in considering expanding the city's light rail network. Mr Langbroek says any expansion would need to be carefully planned regardless of the Commonwealth Games.
"It's only four years away and I know there is a small window of opportunity to supposedly extend this and get it done before 2018, but it's also important to make sure we plan properly fund it properly," he said.
"Without it the games are going to go ahead anyway with a comprehensive transport plan should that be the case."
'Confident' of increasing numbers
Mr Langbroek says it is important the city has a number of events which can be serviced by the light rail system. He says the light rail will provide another transport option for people attending events like the Gold Coast 600 motor race.
"The operators of it are very positive about moving people through the precinct where it will be held at Main Beach and that that will be another alternative," he said. "We need to make sure that we have lots of other events, day to day events as well that people use the light rail for.
"I am confident they are going to in increasing numbers." The government will continue to monitor patron numbers on the light rail system.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Edinburgh trams carry 1.5m passengers in first 100 days: Herald Scotland

Edinburgh Trams said the passenger numbers and revenue levels were in line with predictions.
It said that major events such as the Edinburgh Festival season and a One Direction concert and Champions League games at Murrayfield helped to boost numbers using the trams over the first few months of the service.
About 130,000 stepped on board during the first week of operations and since then more than 90,000 passengers on average have used the service each week.
Ian Craig, chief executive of Transport for Edinburgh, said: "I'm very pleased with progress so far and with 100 days of the tram service under our belts, coupled with record-breaking patronage on Lothian Buses, we're well-placed to thrive as a modern integrated transport operator.
"What we're seeing suggests a genuine increase in use of public transport across the piece, which is a priority for us but also a shared aspiration for many in the city."
The trams began operating on May 31 and the 100 days covered the period up to September 7.
Lesley Hinds, transport convener and chair of transport for Edinburgh, said: "We can count these 100 days as a very encouraging start and the fact that we've carried 1.5 million passengers speaks volumes about how quickly people in the city have embraced their new tram service.
"These are still the early days of a new operation and there's always going to be scope to refine things to make sure passengers get the best possible service.
"We've got a great team in place to hone and develop the tram operation and to ensure that we deliver a fully integrated public transport system for the capital."
The tram network opened to the public in May after six years of building work and problems including a long-running dispute between the council and its contractor.
The project has seen the construction of a line from Edinburgh Airport to York Place, costing about £776 million.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/edinburgh-trams-carry-15m-passengers-in-first-100-days.1410186380

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

France Besançon’s low-cost tramway opens

01 Sep 2014. http://www.railwaygazette.com

FRANCE: A weekend of ‘modest celebrations’ marked the inauguration of Besançon’s 14·5 km tram line on August 30-31, with local residents attending wearing turquoise-blue to match the trams’ colour scheme.
The tramway has been explicitly developed as a low-cost project by the Grand Besançon municipality, which had hoped to reduce construction costs by up to a third compared to recent light rail schemes in other French cities. It serves 31 stops from Marnières in the east of the city to Hauts-du-Chazal in the southwest with a short branch to Besançon-Viotte main line station.
A consortium of STD, Sacer, Roger Martin, Colas Rail and Alstom undertook civil works on the 7 km western section under a €43m contract awarded in March 2012. The eastern 7 km section was built under a €53m contract by the Eurovia consortium, which includes Bonnefoy, Eurovia Travaux Ferroviairies, Campenon Bernard and Coteb Codiel.
Colas Rail supplied the overhead electrification equipment, while seven substations to supply traction current at 750 V DC were installed by Spie Est. Signalling was supplied by Vossloh Cogifer.
The 19 Urbos 24 m long trams were assembled at CAF’s CFD Bagnères plant in Bagnères-de-Bigorre. Services are operated by municipal transport company Ginko.

Alstom opens new Citadis tram line in Le Mans, France

Le Mans tram line
French train manufacturer Alstom has opened a second Citadis tram line in Le Mans, France, in a move to expand the city's tram network and the Citadis fleet.
The new tram line aims to increase the 15.4km-long network to 19km and the fleet from 26 to 34 trams.
In 2012, eight new trams were ordered to operate on lines 1 and 2.
The 30m-long Le Mans Citadis trams have been modified by widening the seats, adding buzzers to the doors, display and an intercom, as well as improving handrails.
Alstom Transport Key accounts and local authorities director François D'Hulst said: "Setram has also upgraded the 26 trams already in service on the network, according to processes defined and deployed by Alstom, which provided logistics and parts.
Of the 11 Alstom sites in France, five of them took part in building the Citadis for Le Mans."The city of Le Mans now has a fleet of 34 modern trams adapted to the specific needs of people with reduced mobility."
The La Rochelle plant designed and constructed the tram, while Ornans, Le Creusot, Tarbes and Villeurbanne sites offered motors, bogies, powertrain equipment and onboard IT respectively.
More than 1,800 Citadis trams have already been sold to 45 cities worldwide, 1,500 of which are currently in operation.
In August, a low-floor tramway was launched in Moscow, Russia, by TramRus, a joint venture between Alstom and Transmashholding.
Developed on the basis of the Citadis platform, the new tramway is capable of running at speeds of up to 75km/h and will be operated on tram service 17, which connects Medvedkovo with VDNKh metro station in Moscow.

Image: Alstom opens line 2 of the Citadis tramway in Le Mans, France. Photo: courtesy of Alstom.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

First Addis Abeba Eithiopia tram rolls out - Railway Gazette

27 Aug 2014

ETHIOPIA: The first of 41 trams being built for the two-line network under construction in Addis Abeba was unveiled at CNR Changchun’s plant in China on August 26.
The trams were ordered in March 2014 and are scheduled to be delivered by January, being shipped via Tianjin and Djibouti with a journey time of about 50 days.


First Addis Abeba tram rolls out - Railway Gazette

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Canberra light rail has benefits for all in a sustainable 21st century.

Date
Canberra Times

Barbara Norman, Tony McMichael, Peter Newman and Will Steffen

An artist's impression of how the light rail may look.
An artist's impression of how the light rail may look.
Canberra at the moment has the highest per capita car use of any city in Australia – not the kind of leadership role we want. Building Canberra’s light rail will help transform the national capital for a more sustainable future. Investing in smart infrastructure to better connect Civic to the newest town centre signals a refreshing approach to planning rather than just providing for yet more cars.  It revives the vision of Walter Burley Griffin.  
Retrofitting a car-oriented city with a light rail network, initially connecting Civic to Gungahlin, combined with well-designed and located transit-oriented development, will bring a wide range of benefits for Canberra communities. These include economic, health, social and environmental benefits, which must be included in any triple bottom line cost benefit analysis.
Rail is booming across the world as cities everywhere are finding that car and bus access is not working well for their congested urban economies.  In China, 82 cities are building metros and in India there are 16. Light rail exists or is being built in 584 cities worldwide, including 118 cities with populations under 150,000. Places such as the Gold Coast are finding that light rail is not only extremely popular but also frees up space for building walkable and lively centres of activity that then attract investment.
Canberra is planning to regenerate its city in this way, but assessment criteria that are confined to transport benefits and costs, ignoring the wider benefits to land-use planning, are clearly inadequate and misleading. Further, increases in land value associated with modern light rail can – and should - be used to help fund the light rail; such funding cannot be generated by bus rapid transit. 
The benefits of a mature light rail system to the community’s health are many. First up, light rail offers an alternative to reliance on cars, thereby increasing levels of daily physical activity, reducing congestion and stress on the roads, curbing vehicle-exhaust air pollution, and – when coordinated with upgraded bicycle paths – reducing cyclist and pedestrian injuries.
More generally, increased use of public facilities helps foster greater community cohesion and social contact – all beneficial to psychological health. Enhanced public transport helps maintain the mobility of the elderly, facilitates tourism and provides employment opportunities. Workplace productivity has been estimated to improve by around 7 per cent due to the increased health and alertness of more physically active workers.
The Canberra light rail system will also deliver major climate benefits through significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Running the system on electricity generated largely from renewable sources will give Canberrans a double bang-for-the-buck in terms of climate action. According to the latest IPCC report, a light-rail car powered by low-carbon energy sources will generate, on a passenger-kilometre basis, only 20 per cent of the emissions of a bus, 4 per cent of a mid-sized car and 2.5 per cent of an SUV.   
By triggering redevelopment along the transit corridor and at the major stations, light rail can indirectly drive even further emission reductions if the associated infrastructure achieves high energy efficiency standards.
Improving accessibility brings significant social benefits and is core to a more liveable and equitable city. A light rail system as part of an integrated transport system (buses, cycling and walking) will go a long way towards meeting the needs of young and old. Reducing journey-to-work times through the location of employment in town centres is also required to complement the rail network. Investing in public places is the other essential ingredient. In other words, good strategic planning, coupled with transit oriented urban design, should underpin smart infrastructure investment to fully gain the benefits.
World leaders are developing UN sustainable development goals to be launched in 2015. Canberra, as the national capital, now has the opportunity to make a step toward change for a more sustainable future with smart infrastructure, renewable energy, urban design and a quality public realm. Investing in light rail is a transformative and timely intervention for our future – and a key feature of a more diverse, vibrant and resilient city.
Professor Barbara Norman, foundation chairwoman urban and regional planning, University of Canberra; Professor Tony McMichael, professor emeritus of population health, ANU; Professor Peter Newman, distinguished professor of sustainability, Curtin University;  and Professor Will Steffen, adviser to the multi-party committee on climate change (2011-12) ANU.
Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/canberra-light-rail-has-benefits-for-all-in-a-sustainable-21st-century-20140803-zzxzf.html#ixzz3BHCrz6g8

UK: Plans for East Croydon tram extension revealed

By Croydon Advertiser  |  Posted: August 22, 2014

tram

Transport for London has submitted a scoping report to the council for an extension between Wellesley Road and East Croydon on Lansdowne Road and Dingwall Road.

The report states work on a new line could start in 2016 with completion due in 2018 to coincide with the estimated arrival of Westfield and Hammerson.

The proposed line would see trams turn off at George Street, heading down Dingwall Road before turning left into Lansdowne Road and meeting at Wellesley Road.  There would also be a new stop in Lansdowne Road.

Its main function would be to provide additional capacity but also allow trams to turn back without needing to travel the entire existing Croydon town centre loop.




Two alternative new lines being considered if the response to these plans is unfavourable.  The first would see trams run clockwise from Wellesley Road, down Lansdowne Road and then Dingwall Road instead while the second idea is for trams to turn off Wellesley Road down Sydenham Road and then along Dingwall Road until it meets George Street.

Friday, August 22, 2014

Sydney, Australia: Most dread light rail jackhammers but historians can’t wait (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au)

JAMES GORMAN CENTRAL AUGUST 21, 2014 12:00AM

An artist’s impression of the light rail making its way along George St.
An artist’s impression of the light rail making its way along George St.
Construction of the State Government’s contentious CBD light rail could hold the key to unlocking more details about Sydney’s colonial past.
But it could also add months of delay to the $1.6 billion project as makeshift archaeological sites are established along the route.
The big question is exactly what archaeological evidence will be discovered when work commences at Circular Quay and along George St next year.
This 1860 watercolour shows how George St once looked.
This 1860 watercolour shows how George St once looked.
In order to lay the light rail track and install the appropriate infrastructure, sections of George St will be torn up and it is during that construction phase that pieces of Sydney’s past could be uncovered, creating instant digs.
A spokesman for Transport for NSW said the State Government would take the utmost care to ensure any artefacts were undamaged.
“Like with all major projects of this size, a detailed heritage impact assessment was undertaken as part of the environmental impact statement for the CBD and South East Light Rail,” a Transport for NSW spokesman said.
The proposed Circular Quay light rail station.
The proposed Circular Quay light rail station.
Much of George St will become pedestrianised when the light rail is built.
Much of George St will become pedestrianised when the light rail is built.
The assessment outlined management measures to be implemented if significant Aboriginal or historical archaeological material was identified during the works. The measures include:
● Contractors notifying the NSW Heritage Division and Transport for NSW;
● Photographic archival recording of heritage items/areas in accordance with the relevant NSW Heritage Division guidelines;
● Post-excavation reporting, artefact analysis and also conservation of relics, if found.
The Sydney CBD circa 1900.
The Sydney CBD circa 1900.
“The utilities investigation work Transport for NSW has been doing for more than a year has also resulted in some interesting finds,” the spokesman said.
“In addition to locating utilities (electrical, water, gas, sewer and telecommunications) as expected, the investigation work also revealed old tram infrastructure including old tram tracks, sleepers and steel plates; pedestrian underpasses; utilities tunnels, utilities pits, pipes and chambers; and substations.
“The utilities investigation work ensures we will be prepared when construction begins and be able to reduce risks and minimise the impacts to businesses, residents and motorists.”