Perth Public Transport

[Yappofloyd]

Originally Posted by docker

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-...osal-for-city/

Light rail proposal for city
BEATRICE THOMAS, The West Australian May 1, 2010, 2:15 am

Street median strips would be ripped up and replaced by modern, electric light rail capable of carrying up to four times more people than buses under a $315 million proposal to link the University of WA through the city to Canning Bridge.

Created over two years by a team led by Peter Newman and Jan Scheurer, of the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute, The Knowledge Arc Light Rail report is being touted as a vision for the next phase of public transport in Perth.


Travelling at up to 110km/h, light rail could carry 20,000 passengers an hour, compared with 5000 an hour on buses.

Light Rail travelling at up to 110km/h!!! Sounds dangerous......

[jarkti]

..

Originally Posted by miensie

From this Saturday's Voice:

[big e]

That last line is not entirely accurate.

From http://www.pets.org.au/pets10p.html

Depression doldrums: 1930 - 1939

The worldwide depression of the 1930s had effects in Perth similar to those in many other places.

Although people were less able to afford private transport, patronage on trams also suffered: due to high unemployment, fewer could afford to catch public transport. After years of steadily increasing patronage there was a sudden and marked decrease after 1930.

Maintenance of the fleet and infrastructure was difficult due to financial considerations. Conversion to trolley bus operation was found to be cheaper than upgrading and converting single track lines to double track.
There had been a continuing need for further tramcars to be built, but in the end this was possible only by reusing equipment from some older vehicles. As it turned out, the last new tramcars for Perth were #126-130, completed in 1932-4.

Wartime: 1939 - 1945

Public transport demand and usage was high during the war years, caused by rationing of fuel for private transport, and by high employment, especially in war-related industries. At the same time, funds were scarce, and although the fleet and infrastructure were of an age where maintenance would normally become heavier, much had to be "deferred". Materials and personnel directed into the war effort were also a factor.

....

Dismantling and closure - Why the trams stopped: 1948 - 1958

The depression followed by the war had thrown together a combination of factors which eventually proved to be lethal for the tramways: an aging tramcar fleet, aging infrastructure and years of delayed maintenance had all compounded by heavy use during the war years.

The fact that much of the track was single, including some at the side of the road, would have meant additional expense if it were decided to modernise the tramway system.

The shortage of funds for rehabilitation also applied to operations - buses, as well as being more flexible and cheaper to acquire, would also be cheaper to operate as they could be operated by one person, which was not possible for the Perth trams of the time.

There was the additional feeling among many that trams were oldfashioned and inflexible, and their overhead wires were unsightly. Increased use of private cars, especially after the ending of petrol rationing in 1949, reduced tram patronage and increased crowding on the roads - the trams were seen as a problem for the cars.

Thus it was a combination of financial problems with a lack of will to overcome them which ultimately caused the closure of the tramway system.

[dbrown.wa]

A detailed history of the development and the closure of the Perth tram and trolley bus system [with over 400 illustrations of old Perth] can be found in a forthcoming publication, "Tracks by the Swan" - due for release in September.

For more information about this 312-page book

- visit the Facebook page [and click on "Like"]:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tracks...29790313716485

- and the web page:

http://www.pets.org.au/tracks.html

[Blindfold]

Welcome to the forums dbrown.wa and thanks for the info

[andrewM]

Transperth are proposing some pretty significant changes to bus services between Ellenbrook, Morley and Bassendean station

http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/Port...%20Quality.pdf

In summary

• Two new services 955 and 956 will be introduced. Both will go to Bassendean train station but the 955 will continue to Morley. These will replace the 337 service. The 336 will be changed to provide an intra-Ellenbrook service.
• The services will operate down the main thoroughfare through Ellenbrook from the new village in the north, so all of Ellenbrook will be serviced.
• The services will run at 10 minute intervals during peak periods and 15 minutes non peak
• As the route to Bassendean station is a more direct one, other services will be introduced to cater for those areas previously serviced by the 336 and 337

Apart from some quibbles about some areas within Ellebrook now being further away from a bus service, this looks like a pretty good change to me. A park/kiss n ride facility would be great addition though

[hayds]

[andrewM]

Good photo Hayds, was it taken from Kings park? Really shows off just how many buses you would need to replace just one train

[tj.obrien]

Not sure if it has been posted before but found a video on the Greens Proposal on Light Rail. Which includes a mock map towards the end http://perthlightrail.org/

[LordBarrington]

now we need more rail lines and stations within existing lines

[Eco-rat]

LordBarrington, that's precisely what you don't want.

Us non-Perthites look enviously on as your trains get up to decent speeds, because they don't have unnecessary stations to stop at.

And you've been closing stations on existing lines. A good thing.

The political culture over here is such that they can't close stations without trembling they will lose their seats, and useless ones like Laburnum that should have been closed, get rebuilt.

[commentking]

http://www.oneperth.com.au/2010/08/1...-coastal-tram/

[crazyknightsfan]

thank god somebody is talking sense - get off the freight corridor

[commentking]

http://www.oneperth.com.au/2010/08/2...ngineer-union/

[commentking]

Pretty exclusive "transport", but what the heck ...

http://www.oneperth.com.au/2010/08/1...gallo-raceway/

[AndyGM]

Originally Posted by crazyknightsfan

thank god somebody is talking sense - get off the freight corridor

Certainly light rail shouldn't be heading down that route.

I think that the option should be kept open for heavy rail in the future though, especially if the long term plan is to move the port further South, removing the need for freight traffic.

[Bulbous]

I totally agree with not having light rail on that corridor, but the existing heavy rail should be sent that way for sure...... there are currently 2 trains per day (I have seen up to three use it before, but max seems to be two per day right now) that use the link to get to the Freo container terminal, and they already mix with the Transperth trains between Fremantle station and the river bridge...... if they are mixed with the passenger traffic between The Esplanade (park thing) and the station (due to single track past the Roundhouse - space issues - and freight bypasses the Freo platforms), then again between the station and the river bridge, there is no real difference to the current situation, except for a doubling of the time exposed to freight traffic (around 5 minutes per freight traversing the section at most currently).......

The container traffic will be moving to the Kwinana area when the new port is done down there, and the sidings currently serve no other sector of the port....... might as well get the passenger trains rolling through to Cockburn/Spearwood/Cannning Vale/Thornlie and leave the two freights per day to mix it with the pass's till they become redundant........

[commentking]

Beatup yesterday that train drivers would not service Royal Show debunked by WA Industrial Relations Commission decision ...

http://www.oneperth.com.au/2010/09/1...ce-royal-show/

[hayds]

[marki]

This has been a quiet thread lately...

Derailment halts Mandurah train services
PerthNow December 16, 2010 8:58PM 1 comment
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/west...-1225972330322

TRAIN services on the Mandurah line have been disrupted after a derailment this afternoon.

The derailment left the train stranded on the line near Mandurah.

Public Transport Authority spokesman David Hynes said there would be an investigation into the derailment but could not comment as to the cause just yet.

Passengers escaped serious injury because the train was travelling slowly as it approached Mandurah station.

Trains were still running between Perth and Rockingham, with Transperth arranging replacement buses between Rockingham and Mandurah.

Normal services were not expected to resume for several hours.

There would also be some delays on peak services on the Joondalup Line, though the Cockburn-Whitfords shuttle was not expected to be affected.

.